Farming in the shade

We recently harvested our rye crop, and after our combine engine blew , we hired someone else to harvest our oats.  Once the grain was harvested, it was time to work the fields. We hooked our trusty, dusty Massey Ferguson MF2705 to the offset disc and went to work. We waited a few days and disced the field again. Waiting a few days and then working the field allows weeds to sprout and be killed, sprout and be killed.  After two passes with the offset disc, we used the chisel plow on the fields and waited again. Then we used the field cultivator. Our plan is to thoroughly kill any plants in these fields, and have them begin decomposing. It's very dry right now, which hinders the decomposition process. We need some rain. Eventually, after we have a very smooth field, with no weeds and no big clods, we will plant hay/pasture for next year.

The ditches are becoming clogged with willows. Every couple of years we really need to work on cutting them back. The Farmer has a saw blade that fits on the end of his weed whacker that helps with brush whacking. Perfect for the willow invasion.  Here's a  photo of the before: And an idea of what things look like after: There are piles of dead willows along many of the ditch banks on the farm. Our township has a summer burning ban, so these willows will be collected for a fall brush fire after the ban is lifted.

A friend of ours has a portable sawmill (handy!). The emerald ash borer has been hard on the ash trees in our area. These ash trees were taken out of a woodlot and made into nice new fence posts for us. Because we are certified organic, our fenceposts cannot be treated. We will just have to replace them more often.

About a week ago, it was time to put the bull in with the cows for breeding. He'd been sounding like a donkey for about a week or two, indicating that he was longing for some company. The braying began when we moved the cows to the west of the bull's pasture. I'm sure the prevailing wind brought their scent and sound to torture him. The move itself was rather free-form. We usually set up lots of fences to minimize escapes. In this case, he knew where he wanted to be, and so we were able to just walk along in case he made any wrong turns. Being up close and personal with an animal of that size worries me. In this case, he's paying very little attention to us. And he finds what he's looking for... And announces his arrival: "MOO!" (See his head lifted up?) Glad that went as smoothly as it did.

Last week we harvested our rye crop. Afterwards, The Farmer headed out to custom combine a couple of very small rye fields for nearby blueberry farmers. This is what the evening ended like: Now that's not a great picture, I'll admit. It was late and it was dark. So I'll explain it to you. The large tractor was towing the combine home. The combine engine blew while The Farmer was custom combining. We knew the engine wasn't good. But we decided to keep using it until it wouldn't go anymore. And that time has come. Three years ago our old combine gave up the ghost during harvest. We scraped together enough money to buy this one . And now it needs a new engine. I explained it this way to a friend--we can only afford to buy the combine equivalent of a 1979 Chevy Nova. Now, I'm not bashing the Nova (much). But when was the last time you saw one on the road? I didn't think so. We have a new engine being shipped to us. One that cost more than half of w...

Last week we took off the first of our two small grains fields. Small grains are generally considered to be the cereal crops: wheat, oats, rye, spelt, buckwheat, and maybe more than I can't think of right now. They generally grow as grass that puts up a seed head. We harvest the seeds, thresh them (removing all the extra chaff) and bale up the dry grass stalks as straw. There is not much nutritional value in the straw, so it is generally used as bedding for animals. It's much more golden in color than hay, which is generally green. We raise rye for seed to replant as cover crops. We sell some to other farmers to be used as seed for cover crops. Since we are certified organic farmers, sometimes you see weeds in the field--like this milkweed plant. The combine harvests the rye, cutting the stalks, separating and retaining the grain, and spitting out the chaff and straw. The oat field is also almost ready for harvest. You can tell that the oats do not suppress th...

One of our daughters really loves sheep. For the past two summers she's helped us out by moving the sheep to fresh pasture. But this summer she has been in New Zealand doing a college internship on a sheep farm. We sort of knew she was doing a lot of work here during the summers, but I am learning first-hand just HOW much work it is to move animals around. The Farmer helps out when he can, but many times it is me moving sheep, cattle or (college daughter's) horses to fresh pasture. This has been a fabulous summer for pasture growth. Regular, plentiful rains and cooler temperatures have provided us with lush pastures. A couple of our pastures like the one in the photo below have loads of purple clover in them.  The sheep know the drill. Every other day they willingly and eagerly pour through the small opening I make into the next pasture. I then spend time moving the waterer and the mineral feeder to the new pasture, take down the old fence and set it up for the pastu...