A Successful Hay Season

After the rain had passed this spring, The Farmer was able to get out into the hay field, and we ended with a very successful hay season!

Due to a cool, wet spell late this summer,
we were able to get a second cutting this fall!



Being Content from Life With A Farmer.com

Harvesting Cattle

Well, this year is quickly passing by, harvesting cattle is an annual event that happens right smack dab in the middle of the year, and we just had it. Last week our customers visited the farm to pick up their beef. Each year as the time approaches, I envision meeting our new customers and embracing our old friends (not "old" but, well-acquainted friends). Unfortunately, it never works out like I imagine.

In my mind, I see The Farmer and I greeting our customers and leading them over to their nicely packaged frozen beef. Telling them the history of their calf, showing them the grazing fields, and letting them enjoy the serenity of the farm.

But in reality, The Farmer and I get up early to make a mad dash to the processor's. Finding all of our orders, the workers bring the frozen meat outside (in 75 degree weather), and The Farmer and I frantically throw the beef (over 2,000 pounds this year) into all different sizes of boxes. As The Farmer quickly loads the boxes, I'm busy checking off all of the orders and making sure everyone has everything expected.

We jump into the truck, and rush back to the farm, taking all the shortcuts we can, over crooked, curvy back roads. Approaching the farm, we see everyone eagerly awaiting our (their beef's) arrival. 

I get out to greet everyone (and collect money), The Farmer begins to unload boxes, and in a whirlwind of activity, smiling faces, and joyous farewells, I find myself standing on the porch waving goodbye to a late-coming customer, and watching The Farmer take off to do another chore.

Not quite the "Rockwell" moment I had envisioned.

 Life With a Farmer

Rain, Rain...

Much of the nation has been experiencing drought conditions the last couple of years. In fact, two years ago, because things were so dry, hay production was very low. Due to the shortage of hay, it became a very “hot” commodity. We had to buy a lot of hay during the winter, and it was very expensive! (Supply and demand—capitalism at work!) The large, round bales of hay that historically cost $25-$35 a bale, were selling for $55-$65. We even heard of someone paying (well, charging) $90 a bale!

Last year was a little bit better, or we were a lot more prepared. We had enough hay to feed the cattle through the winter, and we still have a few bales leftover to feed cattle that are put in the lot for various reasons.

We are not out of the drought conditions, yet. In fact, our farm sits in an area that the old-timers used to call Dry Branch--possibly because the rains seem to keep going around us. At times, we see a storm moving in, and then it begins to clear up and looks like a completely different weather pattern.

During the last couple of months, we have been praying for rain…the situation was getting serious. The fields were thin, the grasses were not growing, and we were wondering what we would do for hay for the coming winter. But thankfully, this month we have been blessed and over-blessed with rains, here on the farm. Now The Farmer has another problem…the rain is keeping him from cutting the hay!

He only needs three straight days of good sunshine to cut a field, rake it, and bale it. Unfortunately, the weatherman keeps predicting “chances” for afternoon, morning, or evening showers. His latest prediction looked like this:

So understandably, The Farmer is a little hesitant about laying any grass on the ground. But like all ventures here on the farm, he’s going to eventually just take a chance and hope for the best.

Cold and Dry Hay Season

Traditionally, The Farmer begins cutting hay in May, when plants have the fewest seed heads and leaves contain the most nutrients. After the hay begins to seed, the nutrients leave the leaves and go up into the seed. The early cuttings in May produce quality hay.

Unfortunately, hay season is off to a slow start this year. The combination of late snowstorms into April, the cool (downright cold) days of spring, and then the drought conditions that are still lingering through this month have stalled the growth of spring grasses.

The Farmer was able to put up a few bales, but we are in need of a lot more before hay season ends.

“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.”

Proverbs 27:23 & 25

Spring Showers

Storms are so beautiful...

And scary...

The trees were even scared white...

We were captivated by the colorful contrast...

The beauty continued...

Then came the hail...

Fortunately for us, the storm blew over without much damage.

"The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power...the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet."

Nahum 1:3

Is Your Beef Organic

Although our beef is not certified organic, we do meet the standards for organic beef.

In order to be an organic certified farm, we would have to follow certain rules set up by certain watchdogs, and jump through certain loopholes set up by certain lobbyists. As a “mom and pop” operation, we have neither the desire nor resources to bow to these bureaucrats.

Therefore, we hold ourselves accountable to keep our beef product equal to, or above, the standards set by the National Organic Program found in the Code of Federal Regulations. (Code of Federal Regulations of Certified Livestock)

Herein stated:

(a)    We provide livestock with a total feed ration composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced and handled

(b)   We do not:

a.       Use animal drugs, including hormones, to promote growth

b.      Provide feed supplements or additives in amounts above those needed for adequate nutrition and health maintenance

c.       Feed plastic pellets for roughage

d.      Feed formulas containing urea or manure

e.       Feed mammalian slaughter by-products

f.       Use feed, feed additives, and feed supplements in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

g.      Provide feed or forage to which any antibiotic has been added

h.      Prevent, withhold, restrain, or otherwise restrict our animals from actively obtaining feed grazed from pasture during the grazing season

(c)    During the grazing season we:

a.       Do not feed our cattle more than 30% dry matter, and then only in dire situations

b.      Our beef cattle graze on lush, green pastures for more than the 120 days required by certification

So, Yes…our cattle are Organic, just not Certified.

For information on buying our beef, click >>HERE<<, or go to the Buying Beef tab at the top of this page. 

Ready For Summer

Anyone ready for summer? I certainly am. I'm not only tired of the cold weather, but I'm also ready to refill my freezer.

I always get a little testy this time of year, because all I have left in my freezer is one-pound packages of ground beef.

Our steaks are usually eaten up before winter comes along, because we use them through the BBQ season, along with a lot of our hamburger patties (which we I gladly pay extra for). Then we go through the roasts and stew meats. And now we only have ground beef. I've often joked about writing a cookbook on 1,001 ways to cook ground beef, since we use it so often.

I really should be more thankful, since there have been times (when all the kids were home) when the freezer was completely bare before the next harvest. Fortunately, it won't be long until I'm giving away all the extra liver, heart, and tongue we have left over from last year to make room for the beef for this year. 

In fact, we are taking orders now for an expected delivery in June.

If you are interested in ordering any beef, all the information you need is on the "Buying Beef" tab at the top of this page.

Or request a beef by filling out our Contact Form. 

Spring Calving Season is in Full Swing

March is the start of our spring calving season, and we have had six baby girls so far. Last year we had all bull calves, but this year looks like it's going to be a heifer haven!

The Farmer has been wanting to get some new heifers to replace some of our old cows (we have a couple that are almost 14 years old). The problem of replacing old cows with new cows is that the ones we are wanting are twice as much as the ones we are selling.

But since it looks like we are going to have a bumper crop of heifers this year, we have decided to keep several heifer calves and replace one bull. Otis (our bull) has been a great addition to the farm. He throws some mighty nice calves, and he's so gentle that the kids can walk up to him and pet him.

The other advantage of keeping calves from a bull that we have had on the farm for years is that we know the heritage of our breeding cows. Background tracibility in cattle is very important when selling processed beef.

Sounds like a plan...we'll see.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Wintertime has been very hard on the cattle this year. Missouri weather is very unpredictable. No matter how hard the weathermen try to figure it out, it often eludes their best predictions. The most constant thing about our weather is that if you hang around long enough you will definitely see it change.

The fall started out very nice and colorful, but quickly faded into 50 shades of brown as the grasses and leaves began to die. Although we did have some nice weather through the fall, when winter decided to hit, it hit hard! When the high for the day is a negative, that’s too cold for anybody, and this past week we had about 8 inches of snow on top of the coldness.

As you can imagine, this weather begins to take a toll on the animals, if they are not properly cared for. When the weather gets this bad, The Farmer feeds the cows a little grain with their hay. This especially helps the lactating cows, because a nursing mama’s body is working especially hard when it’s nourishing herself and her baby. Sometimes hay alone often lacks the necessary nutrition.

I took some pictures of the snow from the warmth of the house. With my new camera The Farmer bought me for Christmas, I’ll be able to stay in the house this year and take all the pictures of the farm. Well, maybe not when the weather gets nice, but as you can see there was no way I was going to stomp through this storm to take a few pics for our blog.

In case it’s not clear, those black things under the snow are our cattle waiting to be fed.

I hope it’s warmer where you are.

Have a Blessed New Year for 2014!