The Beginning Farmer

I just have time for a little mid-afternoon post today, but I heard something that caused me to think on the radio on the way to the hospital today (check the P.S. for an update). What I heard was Ken Root from WHO’s “The Big Show” comment that a couple of years ago people were telling him that they didn’t want to plant beans ever again. I’m sure this thought process had a lot to do with growing ethanol market (at the time) and the rising corn prices. But, it also has something to do with everything that is involved with the yields and the growing of corn.

Now for the but … If you plant corn on corn on corn on corn (you get the idea) you are going to have some serious soil nutrient problems. In order to fix the nutrient problem you are going to have to apply a lot of chemicals and what not (again you get the idea). This brings you into a vicious circle that can only be solved by rising grain prices because you can only assume that input costs are going to continue to rise, especially if you use them more and more.

Despite all of the potential problems there are still probably going to be farmers that plant corn on corn this year because there is a possibility for good prices in the future because of dry conditions, debt, and the somewhat stronger position of the dollar compared to a few countries. Ahh, the global market at work! It is an interesting position that we are in right now and even somewhat scary … what do you think?

Now for the P.S. Today is a good day for Jim (and Laura and the rest of us!). He had the vent removed and has been able to talk a few words and even kiss his wife!!! We have a long ways to go, but today is just a very happy day in the waiting room. In fact we are even talking about the possibility of moving to a different waiting room … something to look forward to!

If it is your thing I know we (my pastor’s wife and family) would appreciate your prayers. Our pastor (you can check out his picture at the link) suffered a few strokes and they were on both sides of his brain causing bleeding in both sides. He went through a 4 plus hour surgery yesterday and the doctor basically said that, “it went as well as they could have planned”. But, there is a long road ahead with concerns of brain swelling and so much more.

I’ve been around the hospital quite a bit, and have only gone home long enough to catch a few hours of sleep and do the chores. But, I do have some more thoughts after reading a bit more of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. Hopefully I can get this until later today.

Sorry, but today is going to be the first day in a long time that I won’t be able to throw up a post of any kind. Yesterday our pastor (I’m the associate pastor if you didn’t know) went to the emergency room and ended up in Des Moines with some complications. He seems to be improving slowly, but there still isn’t a lot that the doctors know yet about the how’s and the why’s.

I was up there until early this morning and then I came home for some sleep and to do chores. Now, I’m headed back up before the rush of Wednesday night activities takes over. If it is your thing I’m sure we would all appreciate some prayers for Jim.

Thanks!

I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about various jobs. In fact I can’t count the number of middle school or high school students that have asked me what exactly I do all week as a “youth pastor”. Farming seems to be one of those occupations where misconceptions exist, or even better, people just have a plain lack of knowledge about it. On one hand I could argue that this really isn’t that big of a deal because people probably have a lack of knowledge about what a lawyer, doctor, or teacher does. But, on the other hand our entire country used to have a pretty intimate connection to the agricultural world so a lack of connection is a departure for our country.

Let me give you an example of that detachment. My mom teachers 2nd grade in an Iowa “city” of about 60,000 people. This “city” (it is a city by my standards) is the home of “Cattle Congress” and multiple John Deere manufacturing plants. But, when she teaches the “farm” unit to her students and brings in all of my toys it is like she is showing them a foreign world. Not that they should be intimately acquainted with all things agricultural, but these kids in a “city” surrounded by agricultural don’t have any connection with the farm.

So, since I’m in the midst of reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and am in the middle of the section where Mr. Pollan spends a week at Polyface Farm I have had one question that keeps running through my mind. If there were just a couple of things that I could let the average food consumer know about farming and where their food comes from what would it be?

Would I want them to know about the care and work that goes into producing high quality food … would I want to share with them about the difference in production practices that various farms are using across the country … would I want them understand some of the food/farm policy that drives much of food prices … what exactly would I want to share with them?

So, I pose the question to you. What are a couple of your main things about our agricultural world that you would like everyone to know?

Since our Dexter’s were the first piece of the puzzle that we began putting together a few years ago I just wanted to take a second today and let you admire them! This whole thing, which is now Stoneyfield Farm, began because I had high cholesterol and we heard that grassfed beef was a good option. From there I began researching and came across Dexters (good forage converters) and we decided to take the plunge.

At that time taking the plunge included buying one bred heifer and a steer calf. It is also important to point out that at that exact moment we were living in town (a town that doesn’t allow chickens) with no real prospect to move to the country, but we knew that it was the direction that we felt like we were being led so we jumped out on the limb. Now, as you can see from the picture above we have gone a little deeper into the Dexter world … and that is only about 1/3rd of our herd!

Below is a picture of RAD’s Victoria. She is the little heifer that started it all for us and I must admit that she is still one of my favorite cows (there is a dun heifer that is my favorite, you can check out a picture of her at my Epi-Log. Victoria also happens to be one of our most photogenic cows, thus the picture of her. I hope to get up some better pictures of Hershey this week, but you have to sneak up on him or he will be right beside you mooing!

I thought I would just take a few moments to give an outbuilding update. If you have been following this blog any over the last couple of weeks you may have seen that we are considering building shed/outbuilding yet this year. We have looked at everything from carports, to carport like barns, to hoop buildings (I just checked on those a couple days ago), and of course a post building. Each one of the options had their upsides and their downsides, but I think we have come to the conclusion that if we are going to build that it is going to be a post frame.

So, I called the same guy that built our house to get a quote. He had one of the best prices when we were searching around for the house and I certainly loved his work. This is what we had him give a quote for:

• Option #1: 32x24x12 post frame building with trusses and steel on the roof and three sides. The building will have two 16 foot wide bays on the front.
• Option #2: 32x24x12 post frame building, but with steel only on the roof. It would be framed as if it was going to have steel on the three sides like the first option, but we would put the steel on at a later time.

He came up with the numbers and it appears there is a little more than a $1,500 difference for a building without wall steel. If we are able to swing it that is what we are going to go with, and here are my reasons:

• First of all, putting the steel on the sides is something I feel comfortable doing and even though it will only be saving a few hundred dollars it will still be money saved.
• By not having him put steel on the sides, and the back especially, it will be very convenient to add a lean-to off the back next year. Since we went with a 12 foot side wall we can add a nice sized lean-to and still have a 7 or 8 foot sidewall in the lean-to. This would be nice for implements, wagons, or livestock.
• Even though the building would be wide open to the wind it does give us something under roof for the rest of the winter and we could throw up some wood in one corner or something to keep the snow out.
• And finally, by going through the same builder that did our house we have the option and choice to match the colors of our building if we want to. I’m not sure if we will, but the option is there.

Now, all we have to do is make sure we have the money to do it! I’ll report back to you on that…

“It looks like I’m playing farm again, just like when I was a kid … except this time everything is way more expensive!”

That (or something like that) was my quote to my dad today as we gazed out across seven of our Dexter cows and our herd bull … on our farm for the first time. What started out as, “We are just going to get a bred heifer and a steer and do a one year experiment”, has in a short time (about a year and a half) become a herd that will take three trips to bring here and another trip to bring the equipment. Sometimes I sit back and think it is cool, other times I’m a bit amazed, and sometimes I think about admitting myself to the crazy house… But, all in all I’m very excited that we are beginning the big move and bringing our herd home.

Thanks to a lot of help from my dad we were able to put up the fence we needed (in used cattle panels and old posts that we got from Becca’s uncle) earlier this week and then finish up a little today. On Tuesday we pounded posts into wet and mushy snow. Today we pounded a few more posts into dry and blowing snow, but thankfully the snow has acted as insulation and the ground was still very soft underneath.

It was nice watching them all come out of the trailer and check out their new digs … even though they are a little small. It will be a good area to feed them over the winter and a nice sacrificial area that we can allow to get torn up a bit in all of the freezing and thawing of a Southern Iowa winter.

Now my son and I will have a few more chores to do in the morning, but I think he is just as excited as I am!

It is time again for me to appeal to all those great minds that read this little ol’ blog. In the past whenever I have been thinking about getting something or doing something the input and feedback I have received has been tremendous, so I thought I would just throw it out there again. This time I’m looking to upgrade my chainsaw. Since we heat our house almost completely with wood this is a very important farm tool and I would like something that will get the job done, last, and of course it has to be something that I can afford.

Currently I have a Stihl 009L, like the one pictured above, that I picked up at an auction. The price was right and I knew I needed one so I jumped on it. This particular saw has a 40.8 cc engine with a 14 inch bar and seems to get pretty good reviews by the tree trimming guys. In fact it has worked alright for me cutting up firewood so far, but I know this is a saw that is meant for limbing and not felling trees or cutting lots of firewood.

Here are what I believe are some of my needs:

• Mostly I am cutting dead wood that is still standing with the ocassional downed tree depending on its state of rot. I would say the biggest tree I have cut so far was about a 10 inch diameter, but I know there are bigger ones to be had.
• I’m going to keep my 009L around, but I wouldn’t be opposed to trading it in if I could find a place to do that. With that in mind I would like a saw that I can use in lots of different applications
• I want a saw that is easy enough to handle with good balance.
• I want a quality saw that can take some serious use in the fall and winter.

Those are just a few of the things that I thought would matter in my search. As far as brands go, I have researched Stihl (that is what my dad has had for 20 years … one saw), Husqvarna, and Echo. The only dealer that we have in our town is Stihl, but I do know of a Husqvarna dealer close by and an Echo dealer that isn’t too far when it comes to service issues.

I have to admit that I’m very impressed with my little 009L. It starts up in two or three pulls and now that I have a new bar it cuts nicely. As I mentioned my dad has been using the same Stihl for over twenty years now and it is still going strong. His saw has been dropped, left in the rain, and run over by a truck. But, it has only been in the repair shop a couple of times and has cut a lot of firewood for the house.

What do you guys think? Are the Stihls of today as long lasting and tough as my dad’s old 02-something and my 009L? Are there any other particular brands or models to check out? Any other great chainsaw shopping advice?

Thanks a ton for any help.

Some times I write my posts the night before so that I can get them up early. Sometimes I write the in the morning because I don’t have time the night before. But, today is one of those situations where I didn’t have time last night (because we were putting up fence) and I don’t have a ton of time today (because I need to go cut firewood). But, I will say that it is a perfect day to cut firewood … it is a bit windy, but the snow is falling and that is my favorite time to be in the woods.

Before I head out though, I wanted to take a few seconds and follow-up on yesterdays post regarding Allan Nation’s wheat cost/price blog post. If you haven’t had a chance yet I encourage you to check out the comments because there was a lot of good discussion in there. Including some evidence that the numbers might be off a bit from the real world … or at least some peoples real world.

The most interesting thing I gleaned from the comments though was a great realization of how much the system has changed. It was mentioned a few times in the comments about different crop/livestock rotations that farmers use or have used in the past, but I know in Iowa those have mostly left. What I’m not sure of is the system of corn and bean buying only lead to them leaving or if it was the other way around.

For example, many farmers here in Iowa (even in the best black dirt central Iowa land) used to have a good rotation of alfalfa, beans, corn, and maybe even some wheat or oats. Many of those same farms had cattle also and they would graze their corn fields after harvest or rotate to a pasture now and then. Things have changed now. Most farms rotate every other year between corn and soybeans (and nothing else). They have moved the cattle off the farm so they no longer winter graze their corn fields (plus, they have taken down a lot of the fences so they could plant a few more rows).

We have gotten to the place that if a farmer wanted to raise and alternative crop (anything besides corn and beans) they might have to drive a ways to sell their crop. This makes crop diversification very difficult, and I’m not sure how this sort of system would even be fixed…

Anyways, just a few thoughts from yesterdays post. Thanks so much for the great discussion! Now, I’m off to the woods…