My Farm Journal
November 29, 2009 - Another beautiful fall morning. The cattle have finally given up  on the pasture and are consuming hay morning and evening. This is the first time in ten years that I’ve been able to wait until late November to feed hay. I put out three 60 pound bales this morning and will put out at least three this evening. A full grown pregnant cow needs about 25 pounds of hay a day in this nice weather. The pregnant heifers need at least 20 pounds and the bulls need 30 pounds. The spring calves maybe 10 pounds. When the temperatures start dropping below freezing each night I’ll add another bale. The hay is mostly carbohydrates. The cow’s wonderful digestive system uses the hay to make body heat to keep her warm. After the heifers calve (starting in January) I’ll put out 4 or 5 pounds of a grain mix for each heifer along with the hay. The high protein grain mix will insure that the new Moms produce plenty of milk to keep those calves warm and thriving. The hay will insure that they digest the grain efficiently and will also keep them warm.
November 28, 2009 -. I said good bye to BTAP Veronica and BTAP Sweet Baby Ray this afternoon. They’ve gone to live with a nice farm family near Walton, Kentucky.  I’ve been advertising my bred heifers and the bull, Dr. Bling for sale. The gentleman who bought BTAP Veronica was looking for fall calving cows and heifers. I’ve moved away from fall calving and Veronica was the only fall calving cow on the place. I hadn’t planned to sell her (she is a truly beautiful example of a black Limousin cow) but it’s a rule of the cattle business that if you have someone who wants to buy now and you can get near or close to the price you want – sell! So, Veronica and Ray have gone to join a herd of 30 other cows on a nice farm in Kentucky.
November 26, 2009 - Thanksgiving morning I was up early as usual and enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning. We’ve had such a mild November that the ground is still easy to work. Last weekend I spent a few hours pulling up weeds in the garden and burning a big pile of them. This morning I got a chance to plant some fruit trees.
I’d ordered some fruit trees from Stark Brothers a month or so ago and they arrived yesterday! I now have two Northblue Blueberry and two North Country blueberry bushes, a Moonglow Dwarf Pear tree and an Ozark Premier Dwarf Plum. I planted a plum tree six or seven years ago but never had a pollinator for it. I thought the wild plums would do the trick but they bloom much earlier than the cultivated one. So, I am hopeful of a crop of plums next summer – and finding out what type of plum my first plum might be since I lost its tag.
Last year I planted an ornamental pear and noticed that a wild pear that grows along the lane, had fruit this year. It’s never had fruit before so I am thinking that the ornamental pear pollinated the wild one. I’m not sure I want that to happen with my Moonglow Pear so have ordered a Starkling Delicious Dwarf Pear to pair (no pun intended) with the Moonglow. I hope it arrives soon. I’ve been given a ship date of Dec 4.
My brother, George and his wife Debbie, have quite a little fruit orchard at their place. He lives on the other side of the farm that my brother, sister and I share with our parents. George decided that he would not spray his fruit trees this year because his property has so many birds and bats and he felt the spraying would hurt the birds, and the birds would act as natural bug control. He was right. He harvested a bushel and a half of pears and several bushels of apples – they were lovely – and organic! I plan to follow his lead.
George also raises red raspberries. This is one of his most productive fruits. It takes a little weeding at the beginning of the season and he does dust them a couple of times to control Japanses beetles. Otherwise, they are a carefree crop.
November 16, 2009 - It’s been pretty quite with the farm this month. The pastures have held up well and the herd is just starting to eat a little hay. The heifers due to calve in January are getting very big and round. I’m looking forward to seeing their calves. Of course there is always a lot of stress calving heifers. We will spend most of January watching them carefully and providing every assistance possible.
The steers are fattening well and are on course for their Feb 5th slaughter date. They are beautiful animals and I wish we’d had a market for them as bulls. Their lives will be short but happy as they are getting a lot of good grain, grass and hay. Good eats!
The calf born in September is growing very well, just like you’d expect from a Limousin calf. I like him so much I registered him. His official name is BTAP Sweet Baby Ray. By spring of 2011 he will be ready to sell for a herd bull.
October 5, 2009 - Well the Lebanon Antiques, Art & Artisan Show is finally over and I can get back to concentrating on the cattle. I’ve had a few phone calls with interest in the heifers I have for sale. But at this writing they are all still available. Check out their pictures by clicking on the Breeding Stock button.
I’ve included a picture in the breeding stock section of BTAP Veronica with her September 17, 2009 bull calf, BTAP Sweet Baby Ray (named for the barbecue sauce of the same name). The calf initially suffered from a selenium deficiency, but a little Albion Beef and Dairy mineral supplement for momma cow did the trick. He’s growing fast and filling out great. He will be a super breeding bull for 2011!
BTAP Veronica and BTAP Sweet Baby Ray. A low birth weight, small head, big ears, smooth shoulders, good rib development, good top and thick behind make him a super breeding bull prospect. Mom’s a beautiful girl as well.
I checked my other fall calving cow mid last week. She looks like she will calve a little later this week. She had a very nice bull calf last year. He sold easily last spring to a freezer beef operation. Speaking of freezer beef, the two steers we are raising to slaughter are coming along great. We have several interested buyers and need to make sure we don’t sell it all – my freezer is almost empty. I’d hate like heck to have to buy beef at the grocery!!!
I’ve just stocked up on bales of straw that I will use as bedding in the calving stalls this winter. It’s very important to calve on clean straw, not wood shavings, and to change the straw as soon as you can after the cow calves to keep disease at bay. I’ll be spending the next couple of weeks of good weather getting the barn ready for the winter. I need to repair and add a lot more barrier boards to the inside walls. Cows are big heavy animals that like to push each other around and last year they pushed through a couple of our metal barn walls. Facing the interior of the barn with at least ½ thick boards helps reduce the strain on the barn walls. I’ll also be installing the calf gate to form a calf stall so the calves can have a place to hang out in the barn where the cows can’t get in and step on them.
Bred Heifers. Kayla is very sweet and likes attention. Marla and Tommy Girl were former show heifers, but they aren’t anxious to be anything except momma cows now.
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