winter chalkboard

winter [ chalkboard ]

I LOVE this old slate chalkboard!! It is actually one of my favorite decorative pieces. I repurposed it for my farm house décor. And, it is displayed in my kitchen along side of rustic barn board shelving I pulled out of a barn. They look so adorable together!

 

Throughout the year, I scribble on the slate chalkboard. For this winter, I chose some of my favorite words and phrases. I think it looks nice! Every time I look at the chalkboard, it I am in the spirit of Christmas.

 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

 

#cattlegypsystyle

O9 photo styled

[ O9 ]

 

This is one of my most favorite cow photos I have taken...O9. I mated and framed a 16x20 black & white print for myself. It is in my living room where I can enjoy it every evening after working on the farm.

 

The O9 framed photo sits on a barn board bench my dad made for me. The bench is behind the couch as you enter my living room. Since the bench is wood, I styled it with colors of black, yellow, and turquoise for a rustic look. 

To the far side of the barn board bench is the black & white print of O9. On the opposite, I placed a framed black & white 5x7 print of my sweet farm dog, Rosco. I have two old brass keys for a little character. A yellow candle in a grapevine wreath and antique, turquoise Ball jar add a pop of color! From a visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards, I have a sugar mold that props up the framed photo. During the winter...I add a pair of wooden skies, and a black and white herringbone print pillow that has a white embroidered snowflake. Both are from Target. So cute! I really like how this is styled!

 

#cattlegypsystyle

farm chick favorite

Love this room spray from The Cow Patty!



the cow patty

I bought wax melts and room spray in the scents of fall frenzy, hazelnut coffee, and homespun. And, the hazelnut coffee smells wonderful in my farm home! This was a fundraiser for Sigma Alpha at Western Illinois University. As a Sigma Alpha and agriculture grad from WIU, I was happy to support!

 

These wax melts and room sprays from The Cow Patty are perfect gifts!

#farmchickfavorite

Friday on the Farm

It was a gorgeous sunset. As I was feeding cattle, I enjoyed the beauty of the sun setting behind the barn and feed shed. I stood in amazement. The sky was a watercolor with shades of purple and orange. Peaceful.

 

[ agriculture photos @ monicastevens.photoshelter.com ] 

farm chick favorite

FARM

market tote

I wanted a tote to carry what I need into work...and this was perfect! It is a market tote from Southern Farm Co. The tote is 100% cotton canvas with the black FARM logo on the front. The bag measures 19.5 x 15 x 5 and has two sturdy straps. I am so excited about using this cute tote!

There are so many cute things at Southern Farm Co!

#farmchickfavorite

farm chick favorite

Confidence...wear it like makeup
I love this bag so very much!

 

This bag is made of canvas material that is tan in color. The interior is a blue and white striped ticking. It also has a small pocket on the inside. The bag measures 9 x 11 with a zipper. It is cute inside and out!

 

I found this adorable travel bag at Southern Farm Co.
So cute y'all!

#farmchickfavorite

black walnut cake

Black Walnut trees are close to my heart. They grew in our cattle pastures. And, I grew up on a farm in Walnut Grove Township, Knox County, Illinois. Here is a recipe for a delicious Black Walnut Cake!

1/2 cup      butter
1 1/2 cups      sugar
2 cups      whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons      baking powder
3/4 cup      milk
4      eggs
1 cup      black walnuts (chopped)
1 teaspoon      vanilla

Cream together the butter and sugar. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Slowly add in the milk. Mix in the chopped black walnuts and vanilla. Beat well. Blend in the eggs to the mixture. Grease and dust a 9x13 pan with flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

 

This black walnut cake is perfect for fall and winter!

peanut butter cookies

Another classic fall favorite is peanut butter cookies! I was looking through an old Illinois Shorthorn Lassies cookbook of my grandma Stevens and found this recipe!

 

 

1 cup      butter

1 cup      peanut butter

1 cup      brown sugar

1 cup      granulated sugar

3 cups      whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon      baking soda

1 teaspoon      salt

1 teaspoon      vanilla

2       eggs

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Blend together butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix ingredients well. Shape dough into one inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Or, press balls of dough with a fork to flatten making a crisscross. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cookies cool.

farm chick favorite

This is my absolute favorite mug! It is perfect for a cup of cocoa on a chilly day of cattle chores. I adore it. I found it on my 2016 visit to Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas. Such a great reminder of a fun adventure!

 

 #farmchickfavorite

carrot breakfast cookies

Here is a yummy recipe for carrot cookies! Perfect for breakfast during the fall!
They are great for a busy fall days!

1 cup      oats
3/4 cup      whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons      cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon      baking soda
1/2 teaspoon      salt
2 tablespoons      butter
1      egg
1 teaspoon      vanilla
1/2 cup      honey
3/4 cup      shredded carrots
1/3 cup      chopped walnuts
1/3 cup      golden raisins 

Mix oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk butter, egg, vanilla, and honey in another bowl. Combine the ingredients thoroughly together. Fold in carrots, walnuts, and golden raisins. Spoon cookie dough onto a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes. Recipe makes a dozen cookies.

the farm office

the farm office is the heart of the cattle farm...

  

On our Shorthorn cattle farm, it is very important to have a nice office that is purposeful and well organized. I love to be and need to be organized. Since I often work long hours at times throughout the year in my farm office, I also want a space I love. If I have an office I adore and enjoy working in, I will be much more productive. And, I do love working in my office! I think it's pretty cute...  

 

functional  +  funky

 

black saddle chair
black painted captain chair

laptop & wireless printer

iPad

telephone

desk calendar

sea grass basket [ calendar, patterned binder, portfolios, and Vigortone manual ]

b&w print magazine holder [ natural paper file folders labeled with a black Sharpie ]

clear lamp with burlap shade

2 barn board shelves

clock

sea grass basket [ black binders and a clipboard for cattle records ]
clear + turquoise tote [ calving records ]

black tray [ additional cattle records ]
purple sticky notes

patterned notepads
mini clipboard + notepad

binder clips in an antique Atlas jar

Sharpies [ in my favorite colors...lilac, purple, turquoise, magenta, orange & lime ]

In three desk drawers...
drawer #1    paperclips, business cards, notepads, rubber stamps, and ink

drawer #2    3 hole punch, pens, scissors, washi tape, and string

drawer #3    printer paper, printer ink, file folders, and legal pads

Rustic...the style I have always loved. My favorite colors to use in decorating are black and brown. Then, I add pops of color throughout... purple, yellow, or turquoise. The wall of my office is painted black. And, I absolutely LOVE it! It coordinates well with the two barn board shelves above the desk! The black wall creates a warm and cozy space for my farm office.

A clear lamp with a burlap shade sits on my desk. It adds a warm light as I work. A desk calendar with ultra-fine Sharpies keep track of everything important on the farm. A sea grass basket and b&w print magazine holder are in close reach of working at my desk... while being organized and cute. The wall clock hangs just above the desk. It can easily be seen to help keep me on task.

Onto the backs of black buttons, I glued tacks. The tacks were then pressed into the baskets. So simple and cute! They add an adorable touch to the sea grass baskets. One of these sea grass baskets holds black binders of cattle records. This basket allows quick access to records off a barn board shelf while looking rustic chic.
 

 

I had two extra wood chairs and decided to paint them black. They were sanded for a rustic look. It is perfect for an extra seating at the side of my desk!

 

To add a little of my style to my office

. soy candle

. wax warmer [ linen scented ]

. edition of Feeds and Feeding textbook

. turquoise antique Ball jars - Grandma Stevens

. antique feed scale - Grandpa Stevens
. primitive sheep figurine

. farm photos
. rope knot [ purchased @ Bishop Hill ]
 

feeds and feeding - one of my favorites

 

rope knot from bishop hill

Hanging above my desk is this cute rope knot from Bishop Hill! I love it in my office!

 

 

 

My favorite farm photo is a b&w print of my dad as a little boy bottle feeding his lamb. It is so cute! I will always cherish it. The framed photo goes well with the antique scale of my grandpa Stevens.

capture life

capture life...perfect for this agriculture photographer! I found this adorable wood sign at Barn Owl Primitives! It is on a barn board shelf beside a antique turquoise Ball jar.

my favorite mug from magnolia market

 I adore this mug! It was a from my visit to Magnolia Market in Waco, TX! 

seeding rye

This afternoon, we finished seeding rye as forage for our cattle.

 

bags of rye

Dad sprayed a 7 acre field of hay field to be seeded. The hay field had been cut and baled as forage since 2010. Since we need high quality and quantity of forage, we decided to seed the field. We no-till drilled rye into the field this morning. The rye was seeded at a rate of 72 pounds per acre. Rain is in the forecast, so it should be great for germination.

 

no-till drill filled with rye

We are planning on planting red clover and spring peas into the rye next spring. The rye, clover, and peas will then be chopped and bagged as silage. It should be a quality forage high in nutritional value. I am pretty excited about this forage for our cows!

pumpkin dip

This pumpkin dip is a fall favorite. I love making it as a quick treat for friends!

 

8 ounces      fat free cream cheese

1 cup      powdered sugar

1 teaspoon      cinnamon

1 teaspoon      vanilla

 

Blend ingredients together well. Chill mixture in a covered bowl. Serve pumpkin dip with cinnamon graham crackers!

the feed shed

The converted corn crib has been so incredibly useful to us as a feed shed on the farm...

 

protein

We are able to store protein, vitamins, and mineral. Other feed such as cotton seed hulls, oats, linseed meal, soybean meal, and square bales of hay are also stored in the feed shed. It is great having so much storage for feed, mineral, and supplies all in one location. It is perfect!

cotton seed hulls

 

cotton seed hulls

linseed meal

I am able to formulate rations, weigh, and mix feed for calves in the feed shed. Since I work off the farm as a meat inspector, I can prepare feed ahead of use. This efficiently utilizes time.

 

 An antique feed scale that my Grandpa Stevens used was moved over to the 'new' feed shed. I love it! The protein pellets for the feeder calves is weighed on this antique scale. It works so well! I also have a small hanging scale to weigh feed additives or small feed rations for calves.

Vigortone products

 

In 2016, I became a Vigortone dealer. I am able to keep mineral and feeders in stock now that there is more feed storage on the farm! With a big, sliding door, it is easy to take delivery of feed and mineral. And, clients are able to pick up orders with ease.  

The feed shed is also a nice place to store feed related supplies such as...buckets, feed pans, pallets, brooms, and silage hooks.

At an auction, I bought an old slate chalkboard. So cool! It will be useful for keeping track of mineral, feed rations, and feeding instructions. In the future... I plan on adding interior and exterior lighting to the feed shed to better see at night while working. Plus, I would like to add some shelving or a work bench. My hope is to add a refrigerator to store cattle vaccinations.

 

converting the corn crib

 

In 2012, my dad started renovating the corn crib on the farm where I live. The corn crib was sided, new sliding doors were built, and windows were installed in 2013. There are sliding doors for the alley on the north and south side of the corn crib. And, there is also a sliding door on the north west corner of the corn crib. Two walk-in doors are located for access into the east and west.

 

It is so nice to have the corn crib preserved. The corn crib was the first building project completed when my grandpa and grandma purchased the farm when they moved to rural Altona in 1957.  I have so many great farm memories in that corn crib...unloading barge wagons and filling the crib with ear corn, and sliding down the ears as we were grinding corn out of it for cattle feed.

 

cleaned corn crib

I finally made time to clean out the corn crib and organize the space. We repurposed it to be used for feed and fence. The west side of the corn crib holds feed supplies, and the east side of the crib stores fence supplies. It works very well! The converted corn crib has been such a blessing on the farm!

Vigortone

Mineral is important in the roles of health, nutrition, and reproduction. We need to meet the requirements for cattle and supplement their diets with mineral. A good mineral program should be developed for cow herds throughout the year.

 
We have been using Vigortone mineral on our farm since 2000. The mineral works well for us in meeting the requirements of our cows. So, we think very highly of the products from Vigortone. 
 

 
In April 2016, I became a farmer dealer of Vigortone. This is a pretty exciting opportunity! Now, I am able to provide quality mineral to others with livestock. As a dealer, I receive a discount on purchasing mineral and earn an additional income from mineral I sell. It works out very well!
 

 

 
Vigortone has a wide range of mineral to offer. I stock beef cattle mineral for the seasons and store it in our feed shed. Customers can then pick up product at my location. If a product contains CTC, it requires a VFD from a veterinarian. 

We use different mineral for our cows throughout the year. Our mineral program includes...
    3V5S    January - March 
    MC Cattle Breeder CTC-CG-IGR    April - August
    3V5S CTC-IGR    September
    3V5S    October- December
Vigortone MC Cattle  Breeder CTC-CG-IGR is a chelated mineral that we use during the breeding season. It also includes CinnaGar that is consists of garlic and cinnamon extracts. CinnaGar products have shown to improve rumen efficiency.  
 

 
Mineral feeders are also available to purchase! These feeders hold up to three bags ( 150 pounds ) of mineral. The Vigortone Dura-Bull mineral feeder protects the mineral and keeps it dry from rain or snow. Our cows are fed mineral free-choice using these feeders.

 

Cows, calves, and bulls are able to utilize the mineral feeder. The rubber top is pliable for ease of use. 

 
 I can be contacted at mjstevensfeed@gmail.com! And, I am on Twitter @ MJStevensFeed. Be sure to follow me!

renovated calving area

We renovated an area of a barn for calving. We were in need of extra room during the calving season...especially with cold and wet weather. This renovated area of the barn gives us a permanent space for calving assistance, as well as flexibility for additional space during calving. In the fall of 2015, concrete was poured as a floor for the For-Most calving tub and cow/calf pens.





wood chip base spread for the pens



Two 10 x 12 pens were set up in the back of the barn to use for cows and their newborn calves, or for monitoring a cow close to calving. And if we delivered a calf in the calving tub, we can easily move the pair into a pen next to it. We use wood chips as base  in the pens to keep calves clean and dry. The wood chips work very well for calving. With using them, we can keep the pens clean throughout the day. We use straw in the corners of the pens as warm bedding for calves.

In the renovated calving area, I am able to store our OB equipment near the For-Most calving tub. This is perfect for quick access when we are in need of assisting a cow in calving. There is also plenty of space to store square bales of hay, feed, extra gates, a pitch fork and broom, extra wood chips, straw for bedding, and even my 4-wheeler.

I decided to paint the back wall of the pens. My dad wondered why I would since the cows would paint it themselves. So, I painted a shade of brown to camouflage the cow manure.

Two sheets of steel were removed from the roof and clear panels were installed for additional lighting in the calving area. They worked amazingly! These clear panels let in so much natural light...especially so in the pens at the back of the barn. They also bring in some warmth from the sun.

 

New wiring and lights will be completed in this area of the barn for improved lighting to work at night. And, my plan is to install barn cameras in the near future.