millet

On May 27, a second field of rye was chopped and bagged. The ryelage will be used for feeding cows.  Following the rye, we decided to plant a crop for cows to graze during the summer in addition to their pasture.

 

 

We chose to no-till drill pearl millet into the field. It seemed to be the best option for us to plant. Cows will graze the field after the millet grows to a height of at least 20 inches. The field of millet will be used as rotational grazing throughout the summer. The millet will be grazed to a height of 6 to 8 inches. Grazing to this height will allow for regrowth.

We set the drill and seeded the millet at the rate of 25 pounds per acre. It was seeded at a depth of 1 inch. The soil moisture was great for seeding. Hopefully the millet will germinate quickly.

I am very excited about using the field of millet as part of grazing! And, I am looking forward to seeing the millet grow!

conservation: rock chute

Conservation has always been at the heart of our farm. It is an ideal passed down through the generations. We truly believe in being conservationists and stewards of the land we love. My dad has practiced no-till farming for 35 years. Other conservation practices are implemented on the farm: contour farming, cover crops, grassed waterways, and filter strips. Permanent pasture is reserved for soil more sensitive to erosion from wind and water. And, hay is part of the crop rotation. Utilizing ground for growing hay also helps increase organic matter and soil fertility.   

When we were renovating part of a cattle pasture, conservation work was also completed. In 2009, tile was installed in a grassed waterway of a field  that borders the pasture. The tile outlet was in a creek that meanders through the pasture. A rock chute was installed at the edge of the creek to safely guide direct surface water off the field into the creek. The slope of the creek bank was slightly reduced and rock (rip rap) was placed along the creek bank as streambank stabilization. The rip rap was used to guard against erosion from water. After installation, we seeded brome along the rock.    



2009

It has been nine years since installation. And, the conservation practices used to protect the creek from water erosion have worked extremely well! It is quite impressive.

march 2018