A need for speed

I’m sure many dairy farmers have had a tremendously busy spring. We have to prepare our fields for future cropping, and that starts early in the winter. Which fields are going to be rotated to corn from alfalfa? How many acres of hay are we keeping? Those decisions all change after our agronomist analyzes our alfalfa fields for winter kill. Our hills are an advantage because we rarely have winter kill. With only a couple that are flat, our drainage is usually good, but with an open winter and no snow on the ground in December and January and super cold temperatures, we were worried. The frost penetrated many feet deep and we didn’t know what the consequences would be. It seems Mother Nature rarely has a play book for farmers to follow.

April came with consistently wet weather in our area. We had a few 70 degree days but many cold nights — even the oak trees didn’t bud out until the first week of May. My old farmer clients always told me that when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear it is time to plant corn.

We were delayed planting because of the wet weather and our manure applicators were delayed at other farms before getting to us. With our structures getting full and all our cornfields available, we wanted to apply as much manure as allowed before planting. The applicators use semi trucks to haul manure to a frac tank. Then they use a pump and a hose hooked to a tractor with a tool bar to inject the manure with little field compaction. We tried a low disturbance toolbar this year and even used it on an alfalfa field. I think we’re going to pleased with the results. It only goes about two inches deep, but allows the manure to sit in that small furrow and soak in without disturbing the soil. After drying a few days, we no-till planted corn into those fields. I’m sure we educated the local townsfolk on another way to handle manure as one 60 acre field is adjacent to the city. No complaints; just questions. What is that big tank sitting along the road used for? How big is the hose? If you want unhappy manure applicators just drive over their hose when it is empty. Farm people know better but on rented farms I think that warning signs need to be placed along the hoses. It takes a lot of trucks hauling 6,000 gallons to move four to six million gallons five to seven miles away. Eventually our fields closer to home dried enough to allow the small trucks to help.

All the while we were applying manure, we were watching the alfalfa grow. Which brings us to the Sunday before Memorial Day. With my youngest son, who served two tours of duty as a Marine in Afghanistan, and uncles who served in the military, we do honor those young people who did not come back home. I would like those families to know that a farmer working on Memorial Day is doing his part to support our country’s values. A farmer’s work ethic and trust in Mother Nature are as American as backyard barbecues.

I know some regard Memorial Day as the beginning of summer, but ours starts when the spring work load eases. We cut hay and finished planting corn (we thought) on Memorial Day. Oh my goodness, what an alfalfa crop! It was truly one of our best. The plants were 32 to 36 inches tall and standing except where the plants collapsed due to their own height. We only plant pure alfalfa because we don’t keep any young cattle (except for calves up to six months old) on our farm. Early test results from our haylage have come in at 159 -178 RFV. We have two corn planters and a misunderstanding between the operators caused us to not plant about 20 acres. With over 130 corn fields to plant, we have missed one before, but not that big.

The heavy crop and the forest fires in Canada did delay the maturity we feel, but also the drying of the first crop. We usually can start chopping alfalfa about 24 hours after it is cut, but this year we had to wait up to three days to get to the proper moisture level. Without the sun, the new plants didn’t regrow as quickly either; this allowed us to apply waste water to many of our hay fields. With no chopping happening because of the delay in drying, we had extra drivers who could drive manure trucks and haul this waste water. These young guys are good drivers, but they sure have a need for speed. Needing to use a jake brake to slow down before leaving the farm is too fast. I talked to them and tried to explain that accidents happen because you’re going too fast. It didn’t seem to sink in. How do you get them to slow down? But when a fuel truck driver came to me and explained what he saw, I relayed the message to others. He had watched one of the boys almost roll his truck over. Uncle Peter had an experience in which he locked the air brakes on a truck on a slippery road and rode it on its side down a hill. Perhaps he can relate his experience to these boys. Ironically both were given CDL scholarships by our farm at their graduation last week. This may be their first experience with continuing education on a farm.