Another Case Of Catching Up

Good heavens I am behind again.  Details of the house tend to get lost with other things more important but last night we hosted our card party group.  Getting house and food in order along with our regular life creates its own challenges.  The good news is the house is clean and the evening was quite enjoyable.  Now I will catch up....

Thursday-We started the day with a trucker coming for 2 cull cows.  One had an extra large udder due to the support ligament failure and one was a cow we couldn't get pregnant.  Neither were paying for their own feed so it was time for them to leave.  The pasture is now done so the cows are in the barn for the winter.  Bruce is working through the feeding challenges that come with the changes of corn silage from a new silo, extra haylage now that there is no grass in their rations and trying to figure out what amount of feed the cows will eat.  Judging by the bulk tank numbers, the cows aren't exactly excited about the recent changes.  We tested milk, knowing that the production numbers weren't going to be what they should be.  We will get the SCC information and were able to get the cull cow information.  We now know we have 1 more cow that can leave.  When we test milk we attach meters between the milker and pipeline to measure production.  Our tester then enters these amounts into his laptop computer and also takes a milk sample.  From this sample we will get the fat, SCC, protein and production information.  When we are done a print out is created with initial information.  The complete test information will arrive in 3-4 days.

Friday-After milking we let the cows out in to the yard so we could watch them and get some exercise.  They were ready to go out to pasture and were quite confused when they saw us walking home for breakfast.  We had assumed that they would be able to find their stalls easily when we let them back in since they had been going in and out all summer. As usual, the cows didn't read the manual.  Their first challenge was at the door where they are basically used to coming in single file.  With everyone right outside the door it was more crowded when everyone wanted to come in and they had to turn the correct direction amongst that traffic.  The second  challenge was they are used to brand new feed when they come in.  Bruce had fed them for the day before milking and had swept up what they had pushed away.  Some of the cows went into their stanchions and then backed out thinking they would find something better in another stall.  This caused more problems since the cow who actually belonged in that stall would stand on the alley and block traffic.  Eventually they all managed to get where they belonged  but it was obviously not without problems first.  While I spent the day getting ready for company Bruce did feeding early and had started milking before I got to the barn.  We were out of the barn nice and early.

Saturday-We let the cows out into the yard again while we ate breakfast.  They came back in to their stalls a little better today.  Like anything, they will get used to the new system.  Bruce spent the day cleaning the steer yard.  He now has one of the yards officially cleaned.  Tonight Joe and I milked while Bruce got some feeding done.  For a change of pace I had Joe move all the milkers and I prepped and post dipped.  We have a cow with a sore quarter that Bruce treated this morning so other than having a special needs cow again milking seemed to go pretty quickly and both Bruce and I were in the house by 9:15!

Quiet

Shortly after Bruce left the house this morning the phone rang.  Early morning calls are rarely good but this morning it was Bruce calling to tell me that a bald eagle had landed in the trees close to the house.  The crows made lots of noise since they weren't at all impressed with him sitting there for about 3/4 of an hour.  Bruce thought he might get lucky enough to take a picture but he must not have felt like being photogenic since he flew away as Bruce came out of the feed room. Eagles aren't terribly uncommon around here but seeing one that close is always impressive.  It was a pretty quiet day.  Bruce had an appointment in town and then made a few stops before returning home.  He was able to get corn silage out of Ed's silo tonight after the electrician came.  Turns out the contactors and switch were just rusty and corroded so that was an easy fix.  The cows came in the barn tonight and some of them backed out of their stalls looking for their "normal" feed.  They had gotten used to fresh chopped corn so this not only looked funny it also smelled different.  By the time we were done milking they had gotten the normal amount eaten already so they adjusted to the idea pretty quickly.

Done

The plan for the day was to open the corn silage silo at Ed's and start feeding cows out of there.  Bruce took the plastic cover off and Ed helped run the cable and unloader down to the silage. After repositioning the unloader so it was ready to feed Bruce realized that when he turned it on nothing happened. Bruce called Ed, who had gone in to eat lunch so he could get started combining, and he said a breaker needed to be turned on in another box. After they turned it on there was still nothing. After lunch Bruce replaced the breaker assuming it was the problem but still nothing.  Bruce then went home and got another breaker and replaced it a second time but still nothing. He had already checked the cord and the motor reset so he called the electrician.  It was fairly late in the day so he will come tomorrow to figure out what is going on.  The suspicion is that, because it hasn't been used for many months, the contacters are either sticky or possibly full of asian lady beetles.

It is official!  I am done with the garden produce.  I canned the last of the tomatoes and froze the peppers today.  We will make applesauce but that can wait until later since we have a cold room to store stuff in.  It was nice to reclaim my kitchen by taking all the kettles and canning equipment downstairs and putting it back on the shelves where I store it. 

Bruce is hearing reports of moisture tests on corn.  The numbers have been anywhere from 14% to 31%.  Things that contribute to these numbers are the variety of corn, the days to maturity and how early or late it got planted.  Bruce says some of ours is testing at 27% but it isn't consistant.

Fall Harvests

We spent yesterday doing stuff in the house.  As much as I like adding video's to these writings, for some reason they take hours before they are done.  Making sure the video of Mike got added took a good chunk of day.  We are still working on garden produce and made green tomato mincemeat using the tomatoes and apples we have here.  Joe came later in the afternoon and he mowed the lawn for the first time with our new mower and he seemed to think he would like using it next summer since we are officially done mowing now for the year.  Since the mincemeat took a long time to cook Bruce milked with Joe and I got to stay in the house and actually accomplish some things while the pot simmered. 

Today Bruce had a water line that had come apart in the pasture to fix and then he spent a lot of his day hauling manure.  It is nice that the corn is off and he can spread directly in the field instead of piling.  After milking he took the 4 wheeler and went to the field to grab an ear of corn to test.  This particular ear tested 27.4% so we are getting closer to harvest.  Bruce would like to wait until it is consistantly down to 23-24 on the tester before we harvest since the tester tends to test a bit lower than actual.  The aim is to store corn at 25% moisture.

All About Mike

Bruce took this video (probably best watched on youTube) a few weeks ago when the cows were in the perfect pasture to see what Mike actually does.  He gathers naturally.  His "lie down" still amazes us even after 3 years.  He is trained to standard border collie commands so "come by" means clockwise and "away to me" is counter clockwise." Walk up" means to walk toward the stock wherever he is. "Bring them here"  means just that. " Look back" is to get him to look back and see an animal he may have missed or one that is over a rise out of sight.  He will run back and search. When the grass is high it's very comical to watch because he will run, and every so often bounce up on his back legs to try to see over the grass.  There are also many commands that are specifically ours like "get the cows up" and he gets the ones up that are lying down in their stalls.  Border collies do not bark when they work but when Mike gets cows up he makes frantic laps around the barn barking, always in a clockwise direction.  Cows that don't get up eventually get punched with his front feet or  bitten, although its more like a dog kiss actually. When we tell him to "put the steers in"  he gathers the steers in the cow yard and puts them in a pen next to the barn so we can lock them in and run the cows through the yard.  "Go around front, get her outa there" has him going in front of a cow that hasn't backed out of her stanchion and nips her so she will back out and go outside with the rest. "Lie down ,watch em"  he lays down and holds a spot like in a doorway or an alley. "Jump in / jump out" and he will come into a pen through the stanchions if I need his help or go back out if I don't and so on.  He is not aggressive and when it looks like he bites we think he just punches them with his feet and maybe pinches them with his teeth.  There are times we wish he was more aggressive but he is not.  We laughed watching this video because Bruce had to tell him to lie down twice the first time because he wanted to make sure he was laying where he could see something. Also when he comes back from going all the way up on the left  he hears Bruce's voice and he assumes he will go left as he did before. He starts to go left but when Bruce sends him right he nearly runs into the last cow changing directions. At the end he is looking back trying to figure out what Bruce is doing while he follows the cows. On a normal morning Mike takes the cows home and Bruce goes and resets the next fence.  When Mike has all the cows safely across the road he goes part way back to the pasture and waits for Bruce to come with the 4 wheeler so he can get a ride. If we let him take the cows back to pasture by himself he goes very slowly and when we get out there he has gently pushed all the cows into their new break of grass and he is just laying there watching them eat .  These days he is beside himself with so little to do.  As we are milking he comes into the barn every 10 minutes to check and see if we are ready to do anything fun.  He goes out into the steers feed bunk and watches them.  They, and also the calves, wash his ears so he is generally wet.  When the weather is nice he plays with his ball or goes and watches the goats which we refer to as watching Goat TV.  We think he is already looking forward to spring.

Feeling Small

We continue to have amazing fall weather.  Bruce spent the day feeding of course followed by the cleaning of the pens in the barn and bedding them.  When Bruce sorted the calves back he was able to empty one pen and I was able to get the 3 calves that were in the hutches in.  These calves are huge since they have been weaned for quite awhile and I have been carrying feed out to them.  You don't realize how much they eat until you carry everything so I am pretty darned excited that their feed will now be delivered when Bruce feeds the rest with the feed cart and they can drink out of the drinking cup whenever they want.  I have a system for getting calves into the barn.  I don't feed them on purpose the morning I want to get them in so they are extra hungry.  I go out a bit later and  I fill a bottle with milk or replacer and then lead them in.  Since they haven't had a bottle in awhile they get pretty excited and will follow me anywhere.  As soon as everyone is in their new pen I feed them in pails as usual.  Tonight I had one lose the bottle and start to run away when we were already in the barn.  Bruce sent Mike around her and had him lie down.  That was just enough help that she turned around and once again connected with me.  It is stuff like that with Mike that still amazes me. 

We got our last pregnancy tests back and we had exactly 50% pregnant.  Now we know where we are with everyone which is nice.  Bruce commented the other day that Speckles must not be pregnant because right after she was bred she felt she had enough job security to kick the milker off routinely.  She has been behaving lately so Bruce thinks she realizes her security isn't as assured as she may have thought earlier. Sure enough, she is open.

The neighbors farm is rented by a cash cropper that runs a couple thousand acres of crops in total around the county.  This spring he planted all 400+ acres by GPS.  This morning while we were milking he moved in with his combine, semi, and grain cart.  It looks like a major army invasion when he arrives and 30 minutes later the first semi of corn was leaving!  Bruce commented tonight that with the GPS system in place he could sleep while the combine did the work.  Bruce is guessing that he has an equipment investment of nearly a million dollars!  A few years ago we purchased corn from him and he delivered it in his grain cart which holds 1 semi load.  It didn't take long to fill our silo that year since we unloaded a semi load in 9 minutes!  Oh my goodness was it noisy!

Yesterday started out late and continued that way all day.  The elevator that handles the haylage out of the silo had worn a hole in it where the chain goes.  This was installed with the other elevators in 1998 and they have all served us well but everything wears out eventually.  Bruce has had a steel liner on hand to fix it for quite awhile but after the chain caught and slipped the belt on the motor 4 times it became pretty obvious that this elevator had moved up from the  "some day" list to the "today" list.  He spent the morning and part of the afternoon feeding everyone that he mixes for because that haylage comes out of a silo bag.  Once he had that done he disconnected the chain, removed the top section of the elevator, cut out the section that was bad and then installed the new liner.  This liner goes the length of the elevator so he had to drill and file (the holes are square) the holes and then it was ready to put back in place.  Of course the project took more time than expected so feeding and milking were late so it was a long day.

While Bruce was working on that I did some house stuff but I also harvested the squash.  Bruce thought there were about 20 but there were actually 35!  We also have an apple tree.  Bruce compares this time of year for us as the same as the squirrels, packing away food for future use.

Today we started the day with our first actual killing frost.  We have had a wonderfully long fall but we still have plenty to do.  After breakfast Bruce hauled the load of manure that had been sitting in the spreader and then cleaned the barn and hauled that also.  It is nice that he can  now haul and spread directly on the corn fields that have been chopped off.  Bruce did have an interesting story about his first load of manure.  As he was spreading the load he saw a mouse running around on top of the load.  He got off in the field and went to rescue the little guy and pitch him out so he wouldn't get ground through the spreader but he hid behind the hydraulic cylinder in the spreader and he couldn't get to him.  He spread the load and on his way home he saw him again, running around the top edge of the spreader.  Bruce backed the spreader under the barn cleaner and the little guy jumped from the spreader back under the safety of the cleaner!  If mice have 9 lives this guy used his all in one trip! He will have a story to tell at the newyears party that none will be able to top!

I have a love/hate relationship with silo bags.  There is always a certain amount of feed that spoils, more if rodents get into the bag and allow air in.  There are always pieces of plastic since, as you feed you cut more plastic away.Sometimes in winter it gets snowed under before it gets picked up and then it gets pushed into a pile with the snow and minor amounts of feed.  In the end there is a mess to sort and clean up.  Today we did just that, pulling out the plastic we could at first and then Bruce used the skid steer with pallet forks to stir through the old feed. We had more spoiled feed today than usual because we had a bag that got a hole in it (rodents)  that we didn't notice until the bag started to settle in the middle.  By the time he got done he had stirred through and repiled all the spoiled feed and loaded all the plastic onto our dump trailer.  This will get dumped  and then reloaded into our dumpster.  The spoiled feed is now ready to get spread back onto the fields.  These bags happen to be in the area that is now cow pasture.  Some bags store feed for a few years before they get used up so we are glad to have these empty and now cleaned up.  Next spring this area will be direct seeded and be part of the cow pasture.

Brrr Cold

There is a bite in the air that sure feels like fall.  We started the day with the phone ringing and Bruce's dad informing us there were cattle where they didn't belong.  As it turned out I had forgotten to chain the gates into the barn and the steers decided to wander all over the place during the night.  As usual, Mike didn't see a problem and, except for the one that stepped on and totally destroyed Bruce's plastic hoof trimming tool box, the steers didn't cause much trouble. Mike got several of them out of the calf barn back onto the dooryard with the rest and then Bruce held the drivethru gate open and Mike put them back in the steer yard.  We did 8 blood draws and sent them out for pregnancy checks.The ones in the barn were easy but the one heifer that Bruce had to get home from the pasture could have been more trouble than she was. She just walked into the barn all by herself like she wanted to be checked. VERY strange! Hopefully we will have those reports by Friday.  After all the aggravation getting the 4 wheeler tire mounted and back on yesterday Bruce was pleasantly surprised that the 2nd tire went on without any problems today.  With 2 new front tires the back tires really look bald.  Another set of tires will be ordered as soon as we get a chance.

Corn Chopping Done

I am this close to being done with the garden. 
Not pictured is the 20 butternut squash : )
Our tomato crop has been incredible!!!

Bruce chopped 2 loads of corn yesterday and then he climbed up the silo and watched as Ed ran it in.  It is never fun to unplug the pipe so if there was a problem he could have Ed stop.  The corn silage is now within a foot of the roof and will still settle some.  After leveling it off he covered it with a plastic silo cover so it can ferment.  The official tally is 23 acres filled 40 ft in our 20ft x 60ft silo and also Ed's 14ft x 50ft.  That leaves approximately 65 acres to shell and put in the harvestore.  One more job done!  Bruce picked the last of the garden produce with a forecast of frost.  Again we managed to stay warm enough, just barely, that nothing froze.



Today Bruce had to do some work on our corn storage bin.  Over time there is a build up of corn, mainly the fine particles, and it had gotten to the point that the corn wasn't feeding down like it should.  He got part of the bin cleaned but will continue working on it when he has more time.  Other than feeding everyone, the project for the day was mounting the new front 4 wheeler tires.  He was forced into doing it today because the old tires would no longer hold air.  Bruce is familiar with mounting tires but for some reason these tires gave him a challenge and he only got 1 mounted before it was time to feed tonight.  Joe came and helped milk and he and I started and then Bruce and Joe finished so I could feed my one calf and accomplish the rest of the things I needed to do.  The cows seem to be adjusting to the change of their routine with a nicer tank amount yesterday.  Hopefully that will improve some yet but we realize we are heading to the end of the season.

Once Again Catching Up

Thursday-We had 2 inches of rain by the time we went to the barn this morning so we were glad we kept the cows inside.  I especially appreciated having cleaner cows, with the exception of 2 that didn't read the manual.  With a forecast for more rain we kept the cows in for the day also.  Bruce finally had the time, and actually remembered when it was light, and worked on our missing yard light.  He knew what the problem was right after they quit but didn't have the time to deal with it.  What caused the outage was wild grape vines growing where they really don't belong, and then wind whipping them around and tearing off a wire.  The cows spent the night in the barn again over night.  Mike is beside himself with nothing to do. 

Friday-This morning we let the cows out on pasture after milking.  They were anxious to get out and ran and kicked up their heels like they hadn't been out in weeks.  Bruce had to do some investigating of the water lines since the water pressure in the barn had dropped last night so he had turned the water to the pasture off.  He found the fitting that had come loose so he repaired that and turned the water back on.  We are going to start keeping the cows in over night, first of all, to create a routine for them.  They don't work very hard eating on pasture so we can feed them better over night and let them out in the daytime.  Other advantages to having them in are less time spent by us getting them in and out so our days are shorter.  We will let them out during the daytime for as long as they have pasture to eat and the weather cooperates.  Since they get fed regardless we only add bedding them to our normal day. The dog is thrilled to have something to do, even if it is less than normal. 

Bruce chopped 2 loads of corn and blew it into the silo to freshen it up today. 

Saturday-My office is also a guest room and we were lucky enough to have the company of Jim & Jen for the weekend.  For a change we didn't have anything critical to do other than milking and feeding so we took the day to go to the orchard.  Company is also my excuse for being behind in my writings this week : )  According to the numbers on our milk tank the cows are not impressed with our easing them into the winter routine.  Hopefully that will improve some this week with more routine but at this point their displeasure is realized with less milk.  We have again contracted milk, this time for the rest of 2012.  We have only contracted about 2/3 of what we normally do so if the price goes up we will gain and if it goes down we won't lose as much.  We wish we had a crystal ball to know what to do, but since we don't, this gives us some peace of mind.

Sunday-Jim helped Bruce remove the silo pipes on the last silo that we took the distributor out of.  Part of the agreement was removing the pipes so now we can consider that project DONE.  Done is a rare description of projects around here.  We are much more familiar with almost done or on the list so having it done is exciting.  Bruce ran a moisture test on some corn today and it is at 30.4%.  The ideal moisture level for the harvestore is around 25% so we are getting closer to harvest.  The fall has been beautiful so the corn has been able to mature like it should.  The first signs of mature corn is the browning of leaves.  The kernels start to dent and then the milk line works its way towards the cob as the kernel dries.  Eventually it "black layers" with the tip turning dark as the drying process continues.    The longer it can dry in the field the cheaper it is for producers who sell their corn since an ideal moisture for that is 15%.  If corn is harvested at a higher moisture than that it has to be dried so it will store without spoiling.  Drying is expensive so the lower the moisture from the field the more profit for the producer.

Fall Rains & Dirty Cows

Today was rainy, and at this point we have gotten 1.3 inches.  The cows spent a bunch of the day just standing around.  It isn't really cold but the combination of rain and short days does not motivate cows to eat.  Bruce had everyone on the farm to mix feed for and also had to chop 2 loads of corn to top off the silo again.  He managed to get the chopping done before it rained too hard but dreary days don't motivate people either so he started feeding a bit late.  As he was feeding he decided that we should keep the cows in the barn over night.  That is usually how the fall goes, we start keeping them in nights and let them out to eat grass during the day.  Keeping them in involved getting all their stalls scraped (they tend to collect old bedding and feed) and then we bedded them with chopped straw and adjusted their trainers so they use the gutters instead of making a mess under themselves.  After the cows were in we ate supper and Bruce still had one group of animals to feed so I started milking myself.  The cows were filthy from being out in the rain and laying in groups.  Normally I can milk with 4 milker units but at times tonight I was down to 2.  When cows are dirty and you have to dip and clean them extra times it changes milking from 240 squats to easily 360!  Tonight I am worn out but everyone is fed and dry,Bruce came home when I did and the cows will be clean in the morning.

Quiet

The last couple days have been rather quiet.  Yesterday Bruce chopped a couple loads of corn again to put in the silo.  This involved a couple trips up the silo to adjust the distributor to fill areas that were low.  The feed can settle 4-5 feet a day yet as it packs down.    Vicky came to check in on the animal details.  She was concerned that we needed to get animals bred.  Evidently the milk testing records weren't current and the information looked much better when she was here.  Today we started the day with rain and ended up with about 1/2 inch.  Bruce had an appointment in town and then continued on to shop for front tires for the 4 wheeler.  Those tires are smooth already and starting to lose air so it is time.  As it turned out the store only had 1 in stock so he came home and ordered them off the internet. 

Vacation

After a few months wait I had the opportunity to go on a "weekend" away with girlfriends.  My weekend was actually only 34 hours between departure and return but it was a great break and more time off than I am used to.  As I was leaving Bruce was trying to figure out a mystery since there was manure on the road.  At first he was confused because our cows seemed to be where they belonged and so did both groups of heifers on pasture.  Suddenly he realized that there was a heifer in our group with unusual markings, and after further investigation he realized that they had tags in their ears that identified them as belonging to a neighbor 2.5 miles away!  We have always wondered how Mike would handle other cattle and this group gave him a chance to show off for the neighbors.  It didn't take long for him to introduce himself to the group and enlighten them on his expectations.  In the end there were 6 people sitting and watching Bruce and the dog get the cattle corralled, sorted and loaded for their return trip home.

Joe was able to help Bruce milk while I was gone.  He hasn't been here since school started so it was good to catch up with how he was doing.  I got home early enough to milk tonight so Joe and I milked and Bruce fed the steers and goats. 

Bruce and Ed continued chopping corn yesterday and today and late this afternoon the blower plugged.  That happens when the feed gets high enough to plug the outlet at the top of the pipe.  The good news is we are close to done chopping corn.  We will add loads for a few more days as the feed settles. 

Procrastination Is Not Helpful

I didn't do any writing on Wednesday night because I knew I had time to do it on Thursday.  On Thursday, not only did my day disappear, so did the sattelite that provides my internet service.  Here I am at Friday and 3 days behind again.

Wednesday we finished milking and then Bruce took milk samples for both culturing and a milk plant drug test on our fresh cow.  We also took blood samples for more pregnancy checks, 8 in the barn and 10 heifers.  The heifers that we needed to check had never been fed grain in this barn.  They had no idea what we wanted them to do so we ended up catching them one at a time.  It is a way to get the job done but it certainly took longer than feeding them grain and catching them all at once in the stanchions.  I had done a search on the internet for a lab closer than the one we had been using for the BioPRYN tests and found one about an hour from here.  I was hoping to shorten the time it takes to get information back since the lab we are using now is in Minnesota  and, for whatever reason, it takes 3 days priority mail for them to receive the samples, and 24 hours to run the test.  Bruce ran the silo unloader up in the corn silage silo and then they started chopping corn with Ed chopping and Bruce hauling and unloading into the silo here.  Our fresh cow passed her drug test so we are able to milk her into the tank.  We are still milking her with a seperate milker since we haven't gotten her milk culture back.

Thursday Bruces dad had other things to tend to in the morning so I was in the barn early and watched the road while the cows came home.  I always find it humorous that even after being out all summer some of the cows still actually run home, often breaking into a run when they get to the road and not stopping til they get to the barn.  The silo filling continued after Bruce got everyone fed.  They aren't able to get very long days in by the time Bruce feeds in the morning and afternoon.  Bruce started chopping and Ed hauled loads and unloaded.  More progress.

Friday Ed was gone so Bruce chopped the first 2 loads.  I got to the field to see him looking under the tractor and it was pretty obvious something wasn't working right.  I drove out to where he was and found him talking on the cell phone to the mechanic.  As it turned out the shifting lever is connected to a ball/socket and the ball had worn to the point that it was pulling out.  Bruce, being the mechanical type, used plastic twine and electrical tape to hold the socket together.  He continued chopping and I ran to town to pick up the part that he would need if this didn't work.  After 35 miles and $9.97 I got back and chopped 10 loads without any further problems but the part is sitting on the table just in case. I realized today I haven't chopped corn in a couple years.  Last year Jim was home and he and Ed helped.  The last time I chopped it was muddy and on the hills the chopper wouldn't follow the tractor very well, sliding down hill.  The wagon would also slide down hill so it was a continual challenge to keep the chopper on the rows I was trying to chop.  Backing equipment up in the mud is another adventure.  Today the fields were dry and flat with nothing just slowly curving rows to follow.  Chopping is like anything else you do a lot of, it doesn't take long to remember how it is done.  Bruce climbed the silo and said our 10 loads gained us 5 feet.  Silo's settle a bunch as you get closer to the top so you can work all day and seem to get nowhere.  We got home to a phone message that our fresh cows culture was fine.  Good information and now we can milk straight up the row again without anyone with special considerations. We did get our pregnancy results via email also so sending the samples to a closer lab worked well.  We weren't as pleased with the outcome of this group with only 50% pregnant.  We do know they were bred when it was really hot so I can't say we are totally surprised.  The frustrating part is they should have been checked earlier but the heifers were on the farthest end of the pasture and on the "to do" list so we have lost valuable time in getting some of them them pregnant.  We got a late start milking tonight because Bruce had problems with the haylage unloader.  Time to let the door down...already tomorrow's list has started ; )

The Day Plus Pictures

The class III price for September has been announced at $19.07.  The price for September 2009 was $12.11 and 2010 was $16.26.  This month was a win/lose on our contract with one making us $197.50 and the other an opportunity loss of $1867.50.  The 15 year record high was $20.07 in 2007 and the record low was $9.92 in 2002.  As a general rule the highest prices for the year are the months of September through December.  This year was a first with both July and August prices higher than September.

Today was another perfect fall day.  Bruce is still milking our fresh cow out of the tank so I am continuing to do puttery jobs while I wait.  When he had those 2 cows treated I washed the pipeline and vacuum line and relabeled it all.  Since then I have put ear tags back in cattle that have lost them, started washing the light covers (we have 37 four foot fluorescent lights) and have 6 done.  I have trimmed all the cows tails with all of them having grown at least 5 inches of switch (hair) since I did them last.

Bruce had good news today.  He called our nutritionist, Vicky, about the switching between old fermented corn silage and Ed's silo and she said cows don't have a problem going from fermented corn silage to fresh chopped corn.  The problems come with half fermented corn silage so Bruce was thrilled.  Instead of waiting until Ed's silo is ready they will just start chopping and filling the silo here and feed corn like we did haylage, chopping some fresh and feeding it in the mix.  It makes feeding slower but it works and we can use this incredibly cooperative weather to continue on field work.  Ed moved the blower from his silo to ours today. 

We got the BioPRYN results back today and I was taken by surprise.  We sent in 8 blood samples and had 8 pregnant cows.  To achieve these pregnancies we had 1 cow that was bred 3 times, 1 cow that was bred twice and 6 cows that were only bred once.  The quick count means we have 8 calves due in May but it is likely that number will go up since we again have 18 that can be checked (10 heifers & 8 cows).  Oh my goodness!  I think I better enjoy feeding only 1 calf for as long as it lasts!

Mike got to go to town with Bruce today.  He likes riding in the truck, although sometimes I am not sure why since he usually just curls up and sleeps.  Today he got his rabies shot so he is again good for 3 years.  He doesn't seem to mind adventures at the vet.  For only 3 1/2 years old he has gotten himself into trouble a few times.

The corn husks are turning brown and tipping

Just a picture from our neighborhood....awesome : )

This fuzzy pod is one of Ed's soybeans.  They tend to have 3-4 beans per pod.

Ed's soybeans in the field after the leaves have fallen off.  We didn't plant any soybeans this year but we have in the past depending on the crop rotations.

The grapes are ready!  I made 9 quarts of juice concentrate today.

More grapes!

Chopping

The morning started with a fresh cow in the pasture.  This cow is a prime reason why we want everyone pregnant at about the same time.  Her bull calf is 2 months younger than the last calves and 2 months older than our December calves, and will not really fit in a group.  On the bright side we will have another cow to add to our tank soon.  Now if this calf would only figure out that jerking around all over the place is not helpful when you are trying to drink.  He also doesn't really understand he has to suck which is why he is frustrated and moving around alot.  Maybe tomorrow he will have it figured out.

Bruce and Ed finished filling the small silo with chopped corn today.  Bruce shoveled it all off level and covered it with plastic so it can ferment.  It is nice to have that much done.

We got the first tests back from the haylage we are feeding and we have nearly perfect 3rd crop.  That means we will be able to feed less very expensive protein.  Our SCC counts have improved greatly after Bruce treated those two cows.  We will see what the numbers are on the pregnancy tests we sent in.  Hopefully they will be good too : )

Fall Clean Up

There is no other way to describe the weather today other than absolutely perfect!  Sunny and 70.  I was on a mission today to do some yard work. I didn't get my entire list completed but I was pleased at how far I got. Bruce started cleaning in front of the machine shed and shop.  I have a picture in his woodworking shop that says "creative minds are rarely tidy".  That is most certainly the case for the area in front of the shop.  By the time Bruce got done everything was put where it was supposed to be.  It has been so many years since that area was this clean that it is actually unrecognizable even to us!  The next big project will be the inside of the shed!  Perhaps we will get caught up to where we should have been in spring by the time winter comes again : )

Chopping Begins

Early  Thursday morning Bruce saw this roll cloud go through.  Surprisingly, the camera was in the milk house so he was able to get this picture.  Bruce's dad, 80, reports seeing only 4 of these in his lifetime.  They move pretty quickly.  Once this cloud moved through it was a very windy day with gusts up to 51 mph along with rain on and off.  The basic description of the day was cold and miserable for us people and a great bath day for the cows!  Bruce and Ed worked on getting the blower in place and the unloader pulled up in the 14' x 55' silo in Ed's yard. We tested milk.  So far the cows listed as culls are producing enough milk to make them worth keeping for awhile.  For the first time in months we didn't have any cow freshenings or dry offs to report. We had taken a milk sample for one of the treated cows and she passed her drug test.  Her culture had also come back fine so we were able to milk right up through the group with only one special needs cow to consider.  Having that one pass was unusual since cows aren't usually known for cooperation and timing.

Friday they began chopping corn and managed to get Ed's silo about half full.  In the past we have had fermented corn silage in this one that we could switch to when we fill the silo here.  Since it was empty Bruce planted 95 day maturity corn first and then planted the longer maturity, up to 107 days, later.  The plan is to fill this silo and use a microbial inoculant to promote the fermentation process.  This encourages the acid producing bacterias to grow and those acids basically "pickle" it so there is no spoilage.  We put this on the feed by first mixing the bacteria in water.  It is then metered and sprayed on the feed as it is unloaded into the blower using a small(25 gallon)tank with an electric pump that runs off the blower tractor battery. It is a live freeze dried bacteria that comes in a foil packet. 200 grams treat 200 tons of silage so if there are 6 tons on a load we need to apply 6 grams per load.We mix 1 gram per quart of water and then calibrate the sprayer so that it puts out a little better than a quart a minute  (approx. 5 min. to unload) = 1 gram per ton.  In about a week it will be fermented and ready to feed while we fill the silo here.    In the past I have also chopped corn but requested not to this year.  There are so many things that need to be done before winter arrives and this gives me a chance to actually accomplish some of them.  Making hay takes 3 people since it has to be cut first.  Corn is chopped directly from the field so 2 people can do it.  We rent a friends chopper to do corn which is a completely different brand than our hay chopper.  This means it has totally different electric controls and, although I have used it many years, I find it very stressful.  Not chopping will be a nice break.

We had a low temperature over night of 33 degrees.  Chopping continued today and the silo is nearly full.  They are going to take tomorrow off to give it some time to settle and then fill it again. Our last treated cow passed her drug test today so tonight we were able to milk straight through the barn again.
Tomorrow we have a mystery that needs to be solved.  We have no yard lights.  We suspect there is wiring that is compromised, probably involved with our wind the other day.  Last night we could turn them on here but not in the barn.  It was a very precarious walk home in the dark for me.  You never know what is parked where from day to day.  Tonight none of the switches work so I was glad I remembered and took a flash light with me ; )

We are seeing lots of signs of fall.  The trees are starting to turn colors.  The corn is turning brown and the ears are tipping down.  Ed's soybeans have lost all their leaves so we can see all the bean pods exposed.  There was a frost warning out for us last night but we managed to get by.  We are looking forward to a forecast of a really nice week ahead.