He Who Walks Behind the Rows

For the record, I like corn.

Now that we have that out of the way, I plant several types of corn. Blue dent, bloody butcher, sweet corn and popcorn. I use them for feed as well as in my kitchen. I am partial to the dent corn myself.

But how? How can you grow so many types of corn without cross pollination problems?

Ah yes, that conundrum. Many tell you that corn must be separated a half mile to a full mile to prevent cross pollination. I have a large garden but not that big. Large, edible sunflowers have become my secret to many garden dilemmas. For starters, plant your corn in blocks rather than rows. This will allow the corn to pollinate each other by brushing up against one another ( hmmmm corn gropping) rather than relying on wind or bugs. Then plant the sunflowers to help block any potential wind carried cross pollination. I have been able to do this successfully for several years, and have seen no change in my corn.

I also plant in clay, without adding topsoil. Clay soil has lots of good in it, large plants thrive well in it. After several years of planting corn and sunflowers, and tilling under the stalks, my clay soil changes and small seed crops can then be grown there. A tip, if you fish, throw the leftovers from you cleaned fish at the base of your corn stalks. They love it.

Corn is another easy to grow food, as I said earlier, popcorn is a mainstay in traditional homesteads. Just don't bunch them up together as I have seen other suggests. The quality and quantity of corn you get is greatly reduced. These plants do fight, and none tend to win. You will end up with very small cobs and kernels, not worth seed saving.

Baby oil rubbed on the is as soon as they appear, does greatly reduce the amount of worms eating through your corn cobs.

I have a post on the nutritional values and why I think organizations warning people off raising their own corn is hog wash, over here. Becuase I feel most people merely tell you what they think you want to hear and what might sell their books. And if you click on the link at the top of my blog, recipes, you will find several ways to prepare corn.

An exhausting weekend

Saturday, the boys and I did a bit of garden work. Planted some more cool weather veggies in the ground, since our last frost isn"t until April. I don't care that it has been in the upper 70's, we have seen it before and a killing frost has moved in. For all those people putting in there summer veggies now, locally, I do hope things are different this year. When it warms up like this, people tend to forget, but really, you shouldn't plant heat seakers until after your local frost date.

Things are blooming early however. All my fruit trees are in bloom. I am enthusiastic that they will fruit before a possible killing frost. If not, you might just find us in the orchard with several fires going to keep the freeze off the blooms.

And grass is finally growing.

We also managed to dress out the pig over night, Saturday night. Took us only 3 1/2 hours to do so. A record I think. Missy was pushing 300 lbs. No more screaming pig is a burden lifted. She is curing in a friends fridge right now, and we will break the meat down to certain cuts later tonight. Poor horse neighbor's wife. She was afraid she was going to hear Missy make a racket. Horse neighbor said she had turned the fans on and turned the tv up just in case. But it was a clean kill. Remember our farm hand? He came out to lend a hand. He asked to do the shooting, and did a great job of it. Missy had no clue what happened, it was fast and clean. I always assumed it would get easier, emotionally, as time went on and the more butchering we had done. But I still have trouble watching it all go down. I can clean the animals with ease. Husband still must do the killing. Or in this case, the farm hand.

We are meeting with a lawyer today to attempt to stop a fired client of Husband's from libeling Husband on public forums.

The woman who was accusing me of starving my cattle, her husband showed up Saturday evening. It was a strange encounter indeed. He was very very drunk. Cross eyed drunk. He approached us as a friend however, and didn't show up to spout accusations as his wife had planned to. He admitted to having an affair with another neighbor, he wanted to buy us hay as a friend, he complained about the Mexicans in the neighborhood. Did I mention he is from chihuahua, Mexico? And is heavily accented? Oh but how he did go off about the ungrateful Mexicans here. Even brought up bad dog neighbor. Apparently he did a bunch a tractor work for bad dog neighbor, and when he only asked for gas and some oil for payment, bad dog neighbor told him he was asking too much. Oh did that set him off, and he went on and on for what seemed like an hour. He told me he is not like the Mexicans around here. Honestly I wasn't sure how to respond to it. Was he saying these things because we were white, or because he was drunk?

He then offered to purchase 3 of our calves. At a discount of course. I told him I would think about it. Then he said the funniest thing I heard all weekend. Of course me laughing at it makes me a bigot, but don't care. It was one of those moments one had to laugh. "if I said to you, let me write a check, you would say heck no because I am a Mexican. . . But I would say heck no too because I'm a Mexican." now come on, how would you respond to that. I stared at him for a moment, and just started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. He was impressed I could cuss in Spanish though, and we laughed about that. He stood out here for about 2 hours, ranting and joking about all the neighbors, but not once accusing us of anything. Let me amend that, all the Mexican neighbors. He did mention how he wanted to help us as neighbors if we needed the help and that he too was interested in raising cattle, then drifted off into telling us how a Mexican who he was training and boarding his horse didn't pay for feed or anything else for several months and he sold the horse. The owner showed up wanting to know where his horse was, and he asked the man which horse was his? Then he got upset with us for selling and butchering some of our herd last summer. Aw drunks. They can be entertaining.

Let's see if he shows up here sober. He didn't arrive yesterday with the hay he promised, but we weren't expecting it. However with all the rain, our hay guy has yet to deliver our feed. So I had to drive 40 minutes yesterday to pick up some brome because she was the only person answering her phone on a Sunday. Nice lady. Brome was still green, which makes my girls happy.

We have been seeing good neighbor a great deal more lately. Which is nice. With the weather change and our zombie moat doing it's job, we should see him more and more. He is planting a peach orchard near the fence line. Looking forward to that myself.

Husband and I are taking a nice long motorcycle ride today. After this weekend I think we really need it.

Can you tell the difference?

Are both these cows healthy?

I have a woman in the neighborhood that would tell you that the bottom cow is being starved to death, and we must intervene. I would say that both these cows are indeed healthy.

Dairy cattle, like the Brown Swiss above, are slimmer than beef cattle, like the Angusrind at top.  

My darling Murrial has become a point of debate.

The woman has decided to take it upon herself to tell my neighbors that she is going to confront me about starving my cows. Now how did this come about?

She was visiting the bad dog neighbors, and has awesome eyesight, as she relaid to good neighbor's mother, that she was concerned that my cows were not being fed. She said she could see large bales, but the cows had no access to them, and that they looked skinny to her.

Only ones that would look skinny are Murrial and Courage. (And Courage is going through a lanky growth stage right now). The Kerries are as fat as a cow (haha).  After I received several calls from neighbors about this woman, not about my cows and their worry (interesting) but about this woman, I waited for her to show up and confront me. The longer I waited, the angrier I became.  As you all know I have sacrificed a lot to make sure they had food. We did get some light stuff, however they have never gone without food. Ever.

The house where she spied on us from, doesn't have a full view of my fields, she spread the rumor that there was no feed out there. My house and barn block the view to where the hay ring is at this moment. 

I got the calls on Sunday. No one has said anything to me about the condition of my cattle, as they can all see the feed, and know this woman is off her rocker. She still has yet to come over. And I have a feeling that even though my neighbors told her that they were milking cows, she will be calling Animal control on me.  I am tempted that if she does, to pass the information on to them, that she has too many horses allowed by law on her property. But I probably won't. I have done nothing wrong, and county is more than welcome to look. 

The lesson I guess, make sure you know your breeds of cattle before you spread accusations. Because it makes you look bad in people's eyes.

Maybe even, if you are concerned, offer some friendly help. Find out what is happening.  It's better than spreading rumors.

I'm a big girl now!

Couldn't help it, now you all have that diaper commercial jingle rolling around in your head. ~insert evil laugh here~

I am all slap happy with myself. Husband was all ticked off at me this morning, doesn't matter that I spent almost 2 hours trying to get him awake. I apparently didn't try hard enough, nor did I do it the right way (behave yourselves boys). This meant he was running "late" to  get to the bank and then to work an hour early. He would be unable to go get the Milo. So it fell to me.

Nope, I have never hauled the hay before, at least not this distance. It was always his job, you know the manly stuff. I can do most of it, but to be honest I rather enjoy the "I'm just a girl" with the pout (I am told that I can get a good pout look going even with these lips) and feign gender weakness. Don't start, I find it entertaining, plus I don't have to do all the freakin' chores, and with my history of  finding new and unique ways to cause myself bodily harm, you should be happy that I do it. (Ok I am in a good ole playful mood today, it is driving the boys nuts) 


Small and Medium loaded themselves up in my truck, and we were off for the nice 20 minute country ride. Of course I beat the hay guy to the leased farm, but only by 5 minutes. He loaded up 3 bales. Now I am dragging 4,200 lbs behind me. This makes me a bit nerves. I have visions of me having to call the Sheriff to get them to direct traffic as I wait for the hay guy to bring his tractor to the major intersection or railroad crossing I managed to dump one of the bales on.

At our first stop, Medium jumped out to see how far the last bale was hanging off the trailer. Only by this much, arms extended by a foot and a half. No worries there, at least for now. Most of the bulk is still on the trailer. First railroad crossing, no trains in the distance, I cringe as that last bale rocks. gggrrrr. . . I might end up self inducing a stroke the way I was clinching the steering wheel and attempting to watch the road and the side mirror at the same time.

And of course I live in the only area in South Central Kansas that has hills. One nice steep hill that sleds could fly down. Visions of the Sheriff and a nice hefty ticket flutter thorough my mind.  Be nice to be able to tie them down, but with my intense paranoia about these things, it still wouldn't have helped. And people driving so close behind me that if a bale did fall, it would have landed on their car really didn't help the matter. Give me some room people. I finally waved one guy passed me.

Home with no incidents.  The boys run and make sure that the cattle are all penned, while the pig decides to chase the boys down. Lots of giddy screaming coming from all three, boys and pig. We get out to the field, the cows making it known to the free world that they are starving to death. . . starving. . . mmmoooo. They are starving to death every time they hear my truck start. Now we have to unload one of these bales. Just me, the girl, and two little boys. Did I mention that they weigh over 1,400 lbs a piece? And that they are flattened on the bottom where they have been sitting?

But I and my mighty thighs (say a bad thing and I will find you) and my little minions thighs managed to rock the bale, just enough to send it over the edge.  We sat on the second bale to be able to push the third off. There was a lot of yelling "I CAN'T HOLD IT!" MY BUTT HURTS!" "I CAN'T MOVE!"  "IT'S GOING TO FALL ON ME!" With only one of those shouts emitting from my vocal cords. The cows joined the chorus as their moos changed from desperation, because according to them they haven't eaten in 3 year, to those of moon howling jubilation. Shortly after, as we unwrapped the bale, the jubilation turned to annoyance, and I swear that one of them has learned to cuss in human English.

Now, to just get the trailer unhitched.

Soybean Hay

Soybean hay isn't very common here. Although I read that in other parts of the country, it is. So color me stupid when Husband came home the other day and told me that they were baling the soy fields.

The heat and drought conditions have cause a bit of desperate times, not only for us raising cattle, but those in the large crop production farming. The corn is terrible, Brome and alfalfa are almost non existent, and prairie hay is sub par. Although we found square prairie hay bales for $5 a piece (they are going for up to $10) high protein fodder is getting to be a problem to find, and winter is coming.

So when Husband came home talking about the soybean hay I had to look into it. I know that 90% of soy is GMO, but sometimes you have to feed some hot dogs to your family just to make sure they survive, and that's where we are at.

From NCSU; (pdf)

Soybean silage runs 14-20 % protein, Soybean hay is high protein (averaging around 15%) and beef cattle fed soybean forage should also be fed a lower quality forage. Feed the soybean hay or silage (or pasture) as 20-30% of the ration. This will stretch the higher quality feed and balance the lower quality forage. It will also avoid problems with bloat. Bloat has been reported so use good bloat management.

If the soy hay is being sold for a lower price, we will probably jump on it.

Yesterday while Husband and I were out, I saw the soy fields. I knew they were bad, even the ones that have irrigation. But when we took a tour, I saw even more drought devastation. Some of the soy looks like it has been burnt, some just dried. few have any pods, so soy hay makes sense to help them recoup some of the lose.

Nothing seems to want to grow this year.

Making your own small scale silage

Now is a good time to start making and storing your own silage. It is rather easy on small scale.

The simplest is for those that mow their grass. Simply mow, allow to wilt, bag in a large zip type plastic baggy, or trash bag, and press out as much air as possible. If mold grows on it, the silage is ruined and should never be fed to your animals.

Depending on the animals that you are making silage for, you will need different plant materials. Crops suitable for silage are non-leguminous fodder crops rich in soluble carbohydrates, such as maize, oats, sorghum, pearl millet, and cultivated grasses are most suitable for ensiling. Materials can be grasses, legumes, fodder crops (sorghum, maize), crop residues or by-products. These items need to be harvested in the young age, before flowering, to help ensure that you have enough sugars for proper fermentation.

And don't forget your tree and shrub fodder. Just restrict the amount of tannins. And be cautious of the type of plants you are harvesting for your animals. Tannins has been shown to help with worm problems in sheep and goats, still restrict the amounts though.

If you are growing legumes, harvest leaves before your dry season, allow them to dry in the shade, then mix in with your silage.

If you wish to do it on a slightly larger scale, a pit works good for storage as well (cover with black plastic and weight it down with tires), as does a buried deep freezer. Place your silage in it in layers, then walk on it, pressing the silage down removing as much air as possible. Keep it cool and dry (plastic and weights work here as well).

Come winter, you can feed a nice nutritional "fresh" meal to all your lovely critters.

The Cost of Feed

I was asked about how much it costs us in feed. pending on the area you live in, feed costs are going to be different.

We grow dent corn and popcorn and beets to supplement the feed costs for our chickens. I spend on average $6 a month on feed for the chickens.

$12 a month for the rabbits, and supplement with leafy greens.

The sheep I spend around $12 a month on, supplementing with leafy greens. dent corn and popcorn.

The cows are the expensive part of it all. I spend around $20 a month on treats for milking. I spend an average $1500 a year in hay. That's with the 12 heads. I would be paying more if I hadn't made a deal with a local farmer for his premium hay. Agreeing to buy out his entire stock of bales, ensures that it isn't stuck there to rot and he is guaranteed a sale. We managed to get it for a little more than half price this way.

Starting this year, we will be selling lambs and beef. 1 cow will pay for the years worth of hay. The Lambs will pay for everything else.

We spend as of right now, $1980 a year on feed, however we get 5 gallons a milk a day, and about a dozen eggs. This year will will have 750 lbs of beef, and who knows how much lamb and rabbit. We did the math before, will have to ask husband again, but we are saving money. Now time and physical labor are another story.