Hay Cutting Gambler

Although I love the May flowers brought to us by the April showers, dairy  farmers in Northwest Arkansas are more  excited to see the lush grass in fields and pastures!

We've been holding off getting started with our hay cutting due to the rainy days and cool temperatures.

Making the decision to cut hay isn't always "cut and dried" when you are uncertain of the rain prediction but it's a simple fact, if you're a farmer,you are also a gambler!

This hay field is a combination of rye and wheat which will be baled and wrapped  and will be enjoyed by our dairy cows.

                                  In fact, I think they've been hoping we would leave the gate open

                                    for them to graze in  this field  before we started cutting today!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

For the first time in forty-one years of dairy farming, every bit of feed for our dairy cows was being purchased due to last year's drought. We are more than a little bit excited as we start to harvest this spring crop of rye and wheat!

 

Making adjustments to the chopper is part of the preparation for harvest.

 

The rye is tall and thick and takes at least a day of drying in the field after being cut before it can be chopped.

 

 

The chopper pulls the rye into the knives,chops it into small pieces,

 

 

 

 

and blows it into the silage truck.

 

I'm thankful for this crop and for the smiles I've seen on the farmers faces this week!

Farmer in the Dell

When our dairy nutritionist was on the farm today, Ryan was showing him part of the spring crop that we will start harvesting this week. It's a variety of rye grass that is cold tolerant and as you can see, has grown very well in Northwest Arkansas.

 

 Doesn't this look like the perfect picture for that old childhood song--'The Farmer in the Dell'?

 

 

Hi-O the Dairy-O, the Farmer in the Dell!

 

It's true...a picture is worth a thousand words.  As I looked at this picture of Ryan standing in the middle of the green field of rye grass I saw  not only the crop  that will be chopped and fed to our dairy cows,but also  the hope that this crop gives to the 3rd generation dairy  farmer that has experienced a devastating season of drought.

Dairy Recycling Fights Drought

Even though winter isn't over yet in Arkansas,   it's easy to feel a touch of spring fever when I look across the lush green rye grass that our cows will be enjoying in a few weeks as part of their nutritious balanced diet. This crop is extremely important to our dairy farm's sustainability as we work to recover from last year's devastating drought.

 Dairy recycling is managed year round on our farm by a  plan designed specifically for the amount of cow manure produced on our farm. By utilizing the cow manure produced on our dairy farm to fertilize crop lands, the water holding capacity of the soil is increased,   the groundwater is protected  by   the crop absorbing  the manure  nutrients and  the amount of commercial fertilizer that would be needed is decreased.

    Our commitment to producing high-quality milk means taking good care of our cows and the land!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

A mild winter and an early spring has made a perfect growing season for this field of rye that was planted late last fall. Our dairy cows are going to love eating this crop!   I'm thankful for the fact that we have a beautiful,bountiful  crop to harvest!