Spoon Feeding Nitrogen to Wheat

Last week, the Farmer and I spent several days (I lost track of the week about Tuesday) giving the wheat a little fertilizer.  Just like the corn, on our farm we don't apply all the fertilizer the plants need at once.  If we get a big rain, it can dilute the fertilizer and possibly carry it deeper in the soil where the roots may not grow to reach it, so we try to apply fertilizer at different times.  We also try to apply when the plants need it.

The ground view level of the wheat last week.  It will really start growing fast with the warm days we are getting, the rain we were blessed with last week and the added nutrition.

On the wheat, holding back part of the fertilizer controls the growth of the plant.  We don't want the wheat to grow too fast before we are sure Spring has truly arrived.  A late freeze on big wheat is not a good thing just like your hostas don't like it when they are out of the ground and it freezes again.

Wheat really needs to be dark green to show that it has all the Nitrogen it needs to grow.  The neighbor's wheat definitely has a yellow tinge to it showing it needs some more nutrition (aka fertilizer).

Farmers use a combination of dry and liquid fertilizers.

The dry fertilizer is like the pellets you can sprinkle on your lawn or that you see mixed in your Miracle Gro potting soil.

The spreader we use just happens to be A LOT bigger.

The liquid fertilizer is like the Miracle Gro that you mix with water to apply.  We use our sprayer with special "tips" that put the fertilizer on in a stream.

I spent several hours a day last week in the truck hauling liquid fertilizer to The Farmer.  After school, the boys "got" to go with me.  Homework was done in the truck.

Still researching Massachusetts agriculture on mom's phone.

Anyone that thinks that all kids need an electronic device haven't met my 7 year old.  He begged to stay at the field to finish his project with a stick and the dirt in the road.

 Just makes me smile!  How about you?

 I couldn't get enough pictures of his intensity and dedication on this project.

Applying fertilizer takes way more time than if we applied it once, but it is better for the plants, the soil and the environment.  And it gives us lots of extra family time without the distractions of a TV.  :)

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Silent Sunday- Moving Hay Bales

While my Farmer was gone this week to yet another meeting, I met one of my best farm mom friends for lunch.  I asked her preschooler if he wanted to go with me to check the cows and he said he would if it was OK with mom.  They raise pigs...lots and lots of pigs, so getting to see cows in a pasture up close was apparently something he has not gotten to do before.  As he was leaving, he asked why I had a funny bed on the back of my truck.  His mom took him to where I was picking up some bales to take home and she took this picture story for all of you.  His comment when I got out to shut the gate was, "2 bales!  That's just crazy!!"  LOL  

Enjoy if you have never seen this.

One more note:  It was 28 degrees and the wind chill was 16 degrees.  Yes, my hair was blowing around and yes, I may look cold because I WAS!

UPDATE:  OK, I am pretty much silent, but since I am driving my Dodge Pickup in this post here is the best commercial of the Super Bowl!!

Thank you Dodge!!!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Farmers are Busy Even When Not Farming Part 2

I haven’t been a very good blogger lately.  You see it was the end of the year.  That meant that even though we weren’t driving tractors or helping deliver baby calves we were still super busy and that if my rear end made it to the computer, the computer was on Quickbooks or Excel Spreadsheets.  My post What Farmers Do When They Are Not Farming has been very popular, so I decided to add what we are doing now.

1.        Lots and lots of meetings.  Some farmers like to call this meeting season.  Farmers don’t get paid to attend these meetings and usually have to pay someone to take care of things at home while they are gone.  We look at these meetings as continuing education to not only learn from the presenters, but what worked for our peers the last year.

2.       I have been getting my Quickbooks up to date for the accountant.  Farmers don’t have until April 15 to file their taxes, ours are due March 1.

3.       Last month, I finished up the crop insurance reports for soybeans and reported the acres of wheat we have planted.  I also had to let the government know where our wheat was planted at the local FSA office.

4.       Farmers do a great job of helping one another out, but we do a terrible job of keeping “settled up” with one another.   We spent some time figuring out how much we owed The Farmer’s cousin and my parents and how much they owed us (and discussed a lot of other stuff along the way, too.) 

5.       The Farmer spent several days getting prices for fertilizers and chemicals that we will use this year.  Many of our suppliers had special prices that were good until the first week of the new year.

6.       I spent some time at my computer putting together our family Christmas letter and getting pictures of the family sent out to our friends and family.  In addition, we delivered 2 Cheese Braided Bread to our neighbors and landlords that live close to us.

7.       Of course, the girls have needed extra feed and attention with the cooler temperatures.  We even had to use an axe several days to break the ice, so the cows could drink water from the frozen ponds.  We checked to make sure one pasture’s fence was still secure and moved the cows to it on our anniversary.  The pasture actually has a creek with running water in it which means no chopping ice as long as the water keeps running!!

You can't see my husband, but he isn't very far from our boy. 

8.       Of course, we are preparing for calving season which will start before the end of the month.  There are supplies to be gathered and cows to be moved to the proper pasture before we start getting those adorable babies.

I am so excited our son is big enough to open gates.  :)

9.       We spent most of Christmas Break with the boys.  I sure do miss them when they go to school.  They keep us entertained and remind us when we forget to do something as well.

10.   And yes, we even found time to work on some 4-H projects.  The boys like to do Arts and Crafts, but most aren’t really boy approved.  We spent several day watching them put together Legos and helping them find the pieces they needed.  We also worked on their talks that they will give at 4-H competition day in February.

So you see, I really have been busy and don’t forget to throw in the family dinners, gift exchanges and spending time with my brother and sister in law while they were here from Connecticut.  Whew!  I got tired just thinking about everything I have done the last month.

Here are what some other farmers in different parts of the country are doing this winter:
Feeding Silage with Graff Land and Livestock
Soil Conservation with Kissed a Farmer
Twas the Morning before Christmas
Dealing with winter with Minnesota Farm Living
Dairy Farmers in Wisconsin Winters with Dairy Carrie

-A Kansas Farm Mom

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Common Knowledge or Science?

Another question from one of my Facebook followers and I got My Farmer to help with the answers!

Lisa asked, "First, let me say I am completely farming illiterate. I would really like to know how farmers know when to perform the functions of farming (ie: planting/sowing, harvesting, tilling, not tilling, burning a field, watering). Is it all passed down from generation to generation, or more trial and error? How much stock do you take in the Farmer's Almanac?"

First of all I want to say that I am so happy that I have those of you that are "farming illiterate" following me on Facebook and reading my blog.  That is exactly why I do this.  If you haven't noticed, I don't sell advertising on my blog which means I am making no money doing this.  I spend the time writing, so you know where your food comes from and how it is raised and if you have a question I can help you find a honest answer.  So thank you for following me especially if you don't know everything about what we do!!

Some of what we do is passed down from generation to generation, but honestly today most of our decisions are based on science and research.  Some decisions are somewhat personal preference and what works with your labor force and mindset.  Let me explain and try not to bore you to tears.

Let's start with corn planting.  Corn is one of those crops that is very dependent on temperature above and below ground.  We try not to plant corn until the soil temperature is at least 50 degrees.  If the soil is cooler than that, the seed will not germinate and will likely lie in the soil and rot.

Tilling and not tilling.  This is one process that is probably determined more by tradition than anything else.  We practice no-till farming which means we do not work or till the ground at all before we plant the next crop.  There are a couple other farmers in the area that farm this way, but most still farm similar to the way their fathers did.  My farmer has a degree in Agronomy and believes it is best for the health of the soil, earthworms and soil microbes.  We also see the benefit in reduced chemical and fuel usage.  

Harvesting.  The basis of determining when to harvest a crop centers around the moisture content of the grain and not the actual plant.  When grain is harvested and stored in a elevator or grain bin it cannot have excessive moisture.  Simply put it will spoil, large fans and heaters can decrease moisture some but there is no substitute for wind and sunshine to dry a crop.  Farmers must also harvest their crops before they get too dry.  If the grain gets too dry, it will shatter out and fall to the ground before the combine can harvest it.  This is good for the field mouse, but not the farmer.  -The Farmer

Burning.  Most crops do not require old dead material to be removed by fire; however, there are a few grass crops that can have tremendous benefits to having the old material being removed. For instance in the tall grass prairies of the Flint Hills, fire has become an important tool in managing encroachment of brush and trees.  These prairies developed under centuries of fire in their ecosystem.  Only recently has human intervention disrupted this process.  Now we have more residences in rural areas that need protection from wild fires and with these homesteads come fence rows, shelter belts and other areas that provide seed to infest native prairie with trees.  -The Farmer

Watering.  We personally do not irrigate our crops actually there are very few in our area that do, but my friends in California irrigate their almond trees.  Would you believe that their computer tells them when to turn on the water?  They have sensors buried in the ground that tell them when the ground is getting dry and tells them when and where to direct the valuable water. 

Farmer's Almanac.  To be completely honest, I don't remember the last time I read a Farmer's Almanac.  The Farmer and I were in a store the other day and laughed at the number of options there were for an almanac-I think there were 5 different ones in one store.    

I hope this answers your questions, if not ask me some more on Facebook.  I need some help on what to keep writing about.  I have ideas, but would love to answer your question if you have one!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

How Big is our Farm?

A week or so ago on my Facebook page, I asked what you my followers wanted to see a blog post about.  The first response made me a little was uneasy.  After talking to my friend Janice Person, she told me to tell you why it made me feel uneasy. 

Sharon said,  “I'd love to know the size of your farm and your harvest volume. Do you use any of your home-grown wheat and soybeans? Grind your own flour? etc.”

Why would this make anyone uncomfortable?  Because no matter what I answer, I am going to make you jump to conclusions.  Some people might think our farm is really large and others will think it is small.  I look at it as close to average for our area with 2 full time farmers and no off farm jobs.

This is the only picture I can find with the whole family crew in it.  I love it...I am much skinnier in it.  LOL

91% of the ground The Farmer and I care for we do not own, but care for other families.  45% of the ground we farm is owned by our families, and some of this ground we are the 5^th generation to farm.  The balance of the farmable land is rented from other families most of which we are the third generation to take care of this land for them.  Our farm is a business and like any business if it is not growing, it is going backwards.  The Farmer and I are both the 5^th generation to farm and ranch in the same county in Kansas.  

I would never ask my friends who have a business in town what kind of sales they had this year, but I also want you to understand how many acres it takes to justify the large (and expensive) equipment that is needed to plant and harvest timely and to provide a clean wholesome product for you the consumer. Also, please realize that my husband and I work full time on the farm.  We have no other job to provide our insurance, retirement, or other benefits. We also do not get paid vacation...well I guess we do, we pay someone else to watch over things so we can go on vacation.

This year we planted about 1700 acres of soybeans, 700 acres of corn and 1100 acres of wheat.  We have 2500 acres of crop land, but we plant soybeans after the wheat and often let the cattle graze the wheat in the fall.  One thing I have learned about the size an operation needs to be to be sustainable is greatly dependent on where the farm is located and what the average production is for the area.  I know I have friends in the “Corn Belt” that can make a living off of fewer acres, but their soil and climate make their area much more productive than ours.

We also have our cow herd that has been shrinking over the past couple of years due to the drought situation.  If we don’t get rain –mainly water for the cows- it may shrink some more.  Currently, we have about 300 cows.  43 of them calve this fall and the rest should start calving in late January.

We have one high school student that works part time in the summer and after school.  My father in law retired in 2007, but still helps where and when he wants to.  My parents retired from crop farming last year.  They help a lot with child care, taxiing to fields and even go on supply runs for us.

Porcupine Meatballs

We always use our home grown beef that is fed the corn, a few soybeans and oats that we raise.  I have not been as forward thinking with our grains; however, I am going to try grinding my own wheat for whole wheat flour this fall.   I did make my own corn nuts once and they were pretty good. 

Henry Ford Chocolate Chip Soybean Cookies

I am also planning to make some soynuts.  One of the boy’s schools is nut free.  Soynuts are a great tree/peanut substitute and are pretty good in these chocolate chip cookies.

Hope this answers you questions and  I don't lose too many of you for thinking we are too big or too small, but I do want to be open and honest with you.

Now I will go take a deep breath and hope too many of you don't think that our farm is too big to be interesting and unfollow me!

Here is an update on who is working on our farm now...The Crew that keep me Sane.

-A Kansas Farm Mom