Rain, Corn, Rain Again

What a difference a year makes. Last June we were enduring hot, dry weather and I was even on the news talking about how bad it was for farmers. This year has been the opposite: rain, rain, rain. We had a terrible time getting our wheat and rye up for spring silage to feed our cows because the fields stayed too wet for us to get in and then it seemed that what we mowed was too wet to go through our chopper. 

When we did have a few dry days when we were not chopping we did manage to get a few bales of hay rolled and our corn out. More rain came this week, but it was dry enough yesterday for the sprayer to come through and take out the weeds in one field of corn. 

Our Round-Up Ready corn was definitely ready to be sprayed. I took the photo on the right this morning. You can see how the weeds between the rows of corn our already turning yellow and sagging.
The weeds, if left unattended, would soon take over the field and ruin our corn crop.

This corn is designed so that we can have a sprayer come in and spray the field and only the weeds are affected. I have a hard enough time keeping the weeds out of our little garden, and I can't imagine having to take the hoe out to tend acres and acres of corn.

We're expecting 2-5 inches of rain this week according to the weather folk on TV. That's more than our share. Too bad we couldn't have had at least some of it this time last year...

First Hay Bales

The weather has definitely been different this year. There is only so much you can do on the farm until the conditions are right. Case in point: chopping. Normally we are chopping our wheat, rye, and ryegrass for the cows to eat sometime after the middle of April. So far it has been too wet to do anything. 

We had about eight inches of rain in less than two weeks plus all the extra rain we'd gotten before that. The weather has also been mild here. I know this because the kids and I have had discussions that went on too long about wearing shorts to school.

In the meantime the silage we have in our silos is getting low. We have been able to chop a little without getting stuck, just enough to put on a wagon to feed as green chop, that is immediate feeding without letting it go through a fermentation process in the silo. The wheat and such is holding on to the water so much that our mower and chopper can hardly cut it.

First Round Bale of Hay

To solve that problem I actually ran the tedder and rake over it trying to get it dry enough, but not too dry, that we could get it to go through the chopper. Some of it that got too dry made the first hay bales of the year.

Many jokes around here have been made about how the preachers can stop praying for rain for the drought we endured last year. Things are looking up. Yesterday was the nicest day we've had with sunshine all day long and the ground is finally drying up. Hopefully chopping will begin in earnest very soon!

Mother Nature's Mercy

The weather can be a curious thing in how it affects people. For many the weather has little influence on their lives outside of do-I-need-to-wear-a-coat or is-it-going-to-rain. This is best exemplified in my area by the weathermen forecasting on Monday morning's in the fall what it will be like for Saturday afternoon's game.

For farmers the weather plays a much bigger role. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature everyday. We had one of the driest June's on record followed by one of the wettest July's. August and September seemed to have three days of heavy rain every week. This has put us on a roller coaster ride of our crops drying up so much that we didn't think we would have any to having it be too wet to be able to harvest them.

I imagine more than one farmer has wished for a weather making/controlling machine at one time or another to get away from Mother Nature's mercy. And I promise if I ever get one.......

Lower Temps and Rain Make a Difference

It is amazing the difference that ten degrees and a little rain can make. With 105 degree temps and no rain for around two weeks, things were getting dry. The corn was twisting and we didn't know if it would be able to last. The cows had lost some milk production as well, from the heat.

Hot, Dry Weather On the Farm

Many people notice heat and lack of rain by how green or brown the grass is in their yard, but this has a more dramatic affect on dairy farms. When it is hot cows can slow down in milk production which directly influences the farmer's income. To help offset the heat we make sure our animals have access to shade and plenty of fresh water.

Hot, dry weather also can put a strain on crops. We have some mid summer crops we'd love to plant, but until there is rain we can't put the seed in the ground. Likewise with our corn, when there is little moisture the plants will twist in the heat while patiently waiting for the rain. The dry weather has been good for putting up hay as it can be quickly mowed and baled, however 2cd and 3rd cuttings will not come if there's no rain.

One of our local television stations and my extension agent came to my farm this week to highlight how the weather is affecting farmers.

Sky Blue Sky

After a very dreary and soggy week, the sun came out and dried everything up.  The rain did a lot of good and the grass is finally growing again much to the calves delight.  

Because of the dry weather we had begun to feed more hay to our cows and calves in the fields.  Thanks to
the abundant rain we can save more of the hay for this winter.









The good news is we're back to chopping.  We are over half finished with our corn and still have some sudan sorghum to go after that.  More silage for me to blow up the silos!

   

Rainy Days and Mondays (Always Get Me Soaked)

You know it has been a rainy day when you've gone through three pairs of jeans and two caps and your keys, wallet, and cellphone are still wet.  The rain gauge topped out at 6" this afternoon for one day's worth of rain before I dumped it.  The majority of it was during the day today.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad that tropical depression Lee is bringing us rain because it has been dry and dusty here.

Needless to say, we won't be able to do any field work this week.  We had planned to continue chopping corn silage, but I suppose that will have to wait for a while.

Still, these muddy days will be put to good use.  We have plenty of chores around the farm that we have been putting off.  We have a couple groups of calves to move and vaccinate.  There's also maintenance to do on tractors and other machinery.  No one that ever looked can say there's nothing to do on a farm.

Good Things Come in Time

The first thing I noticed this morning when I entered the calf barn was that one of the new calves had eaten all of her grain last night for the first time. Yesterday she had eaten her hay that I had put in her manger for the first time as well.  Seeing progress like that is one of the things that makes being a dairy farmer rewarding.

After 15 straight days of 95 degree temps and blazing sunshine we've finally had a cold front move in bringing our highs down to 85.  It has made a big difference to me and I know it has to the cows.  These long hot days are stressful on them and we had seen some reduction in milk production.  The last two days the cows have all come in to be milked on their own from out of the fields for the morning milking.  They have also begun eating more hay and silage.  When the cows are comfortable and happy you can bet on better milk production.

We also finally got rain today.  While it has been easy to put up hay when it never rains it has been hard to look at our corn in the afternoons.  In the morning the corn looks nice and green but by the time the sun burns down on it later you can see the leaves twist and stretch to the sky aching for a few drops.  Already we've got an inch over the course of several hours which has to be good.