seeding rye

Today we no-till drilled rye into a corn field that was chopped and bagged for silage. Chopping corn for silage uses the entire corn plant. It therefore removes the plant material that would be residue. The lack of residue can leave soil vulnerable. The rye will protect the soil from possible erosion caused by wind or water.

Six acres chopped for silage were planted to rye. Dad used the rate of 63 pounds of rye per acre. The conditions were perfect to seed this afternoon. Weather should be ideal for germination.  

I look forward to seeing the rye grow!

a day at the ballpark with dad

Eek! I got to check something off my 'greener pastures' list... go to a Chicago Cubs baseball game with my dad! And, I got to take him to his first Cubs game! I was beyond excited to do this!

 

Since this was my dad's first baseball game, I bought him a shirt to wear. One morning after cattle chores, I walked into my parents' house to find my dad searching for his Cubs baseball cap to wear with his shirt. Pretty cute! It made me smile knowing he was excited about the baseball game.

 

After morning cattle chores, we boarded the train for Chicago on September 23. Once we arrived at Union Station, dad and I took The L to Wrigley Field. I loved watching dad see Wrigley Field as we approached.   

 

the friendly confines

We arrived at The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field! Dad and I enjoyed lunch and a beer outdoors at a restaurant in Wrigleyville before the game. Then, we walked back to the ballpark before the start of the game for a few photos.

 

dad with ernie banks... mr cub

 

clark the cub :)

Dad and I had a little fun taking a photo with Clark the Cub outside Wrigley! It is one of my favorite photos from our day at Wrigley.

 

  

We had perfect seats. I am so grateful I had the chance to buy the tickets. Dad was elated. He loved the view of the ballpark from our seats. And, I think he soaked up every second at Wrigley Field. It made me smile.
  

 

Wrigley was all Cubbie blue. And, the energy in the ballpark was absolutely incredible. I have never experienced a game like it. It was amazing!
 

 

 

 

Being at a baseball game at Wrigley Field, gives me chills! So much history in this beautiful brick and ivy covered ballpark at Clark and Addison. I am so glad my dad experienced a game at The Friendly Confines...the oldest ballpark in the National League.

I have been a Cubs fan since the 80s. Andre Dawson, Shawon Dunston, Mark Grace, and Ryne Sandburg were players I admired as I grew playing tee-ball and softball...especially Dunston since I played shortstop. 

 

 

It was such an amazing day! I LoVe baseball...I am a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs...a day at Wrigley Field with my dad...the priceless expression on my dad's face when we walked into the ballpark...singing Take Me out to the Ball Game...the Cubbies won 5-0! PERFECT. 

 

Cubs win! Cubs win! The Chicago Cubs beat the Saint Louis Cardinals 5-0! What a game! I did not have much of a voice after the game. LOL!

 

 

 

We had a wonderful time! I will always remember the day at Wrigley Field with my dad!

 

#GoCubsGo    #FlyTheW

fall forage for grazing: week 3

It is week 3! I walked into one of the seeded fields this morning. The turnips, rye, and oats are continuing to grow quickly. 

 

The turnips have been really fun watching grow. They change so much so quickly!  

I am looking forward to checking the seed at week 4!

corn silage

We chopped corn and bagged it as silage for feed this winter. The silage is additional feed to hay baled this season.

 

 

I caught silage in the field and hauled it into the site to be bagged. On my cabless tractor, I got a little silage in my hair. Ha! It is an interesting process to me. I love seeing how quickly the bag fills.

 

 

 

Really nice looking silage to feed! And, it smells wonderful! Our cattle will very much enjoy chowing on it.

 

 

 

We bagged 150' of corn silage. When we feed the silage, we will use the loader tractor to scoop and fill the SI Feeder wagon. 

fall forage for grazing: week 2

It is week two for the seeding! The turnips, rye, and oats are growing very well. I love seeing the change each week. It is pretty exciting!

 

 

It is still amazing to me how quickly the fall forage is growing. Rain fell today, so it will keep growing rapidly. I look forward to checking in next week!

 

 

fall forage for grazing: week 1

We had two fields of turnips, rye, and oats aerial seeded in standing corn on September 7. It rained in the evening. So, it was perfect for seed germination.

 

turnips, rye, and oats

These fields will be future cow chow! Eek! Our cows will be grazing these fields during the fall and winter.

 

 

 

 

After cattle chores this morning, I decided to check fields since it has been one week since they were seeded. I was absolutely amazed by what I found when walking into a field! I was so excited to have my dad look.

 

 

 

 

It was very impressive to see the growth of the turnips, rye, and oats seeding in one week! It was incredible! The turnips measured 2-3" in height. And, the rye and oats measured 3-5". So surprising.

 

 

 

 

I very much look forward to checking the fields next week! It will be interesting to see the growth of the turnips, rye, and oats.

 

 

fall forage for grazing

aerial application

 

In August, I decided to have two fields aerial applied with seeding...one field at each farm. This seeding will produce forage for our cows to graze through this fall and winter. After much thought, I decided to seed the fields with turnips, rye, and oats. Speaking with the agronomist at River Valley Cooperative, I arranged to have the fields seeded when the corn was at the perfect stage for the seeds to make contact with the soil. Driving home after cattle chores this morning, I pleasantly surprised to find a plane flying over our farms. I turned around and drove to a field to watch the seeding applied. It was so neat hearing the seeds fall onto the corn field!   

 

turnip, rye, and oat seeds rest on top of the soil

 

This afternoon, my dad and I went to the field to check out the seeding. The turnip, rye, and oat seeds were resting on top of the soil. It was amazing seeing the new crop among the standing corn to be harvested. Perfect timing...it rained this afternoon and is raining this evening! The rain will be extremely beneficial for the seeds to germinate well.

 

I have been wanting to seed fields as fall forage for a few years, so I am pretty excited to actually get this done. This is our future cow chow! I am looking forward to seeing the turnips, rye, and oats grow through this coming fall! And, I am hoping our cows enjoy their fall forage!

purchasing a tedder

 

The past two summers have been difficult for forage and harvesting hay...especially 2016. We are experiencing record rainfall for July and August. And, it has been extremely frustrating when wanting to make quality hay to feed cows through this coming winter. The amount of hay we still need to bale has me worried.

So in order to get hay to dry faster to be baled, we decided to use a tedder a day after cutting hay. In July, I bought a two basket Kuhn tedder from AC McCartney in Wataga. Tedding hay lifts it off the ground and allows air movement through it. It has been so beneficial. Purchasing a tedder will be one the best investments I have made for hay.