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!