Planting Time

What a wonderful week! We got most of the corn in the ground. All we could anyway; the rest of the ground was too wet. Now it's raining! Always a blessing. We really like when it rains and then the sun pops out the next day. We're calving the Herefords we just bought right now and my mom is calving so the rain is much appreciated for the crops, pastures and ponds, but it's very nice to get sun soon after the rain for the baby calves so they don't get pneumonia or get sick. I thought I would focus on planting for the blog topic this week.

As I've said before, the price of inputs for farming are very expensive. Making sure that we use them effectively and efficiently is very important. The GPS and Auto Steer we bought last fall is important in making sure that happens. Each kernel is put where it's supposed to go and covered with just the right amount of soil to make it grow the best.

Each white box on the following picture has seed in it. Each one has a system below it with rollers to drop the seed in the ground and then covers the seed up. If one of those rollers aren't working probably, seeds aren't being planted and there is a skip in the field. This means that we're not using the land efficiently to make food for the growing population. Every amount of land that producers have should be used as efficiently as possible to grow the most food we can to feed the world. This is why producers buy such expensive equipment to make everything as efficient as possible. We want to use the resources we have to the best of our ability.

No-till is becoming very popular among producers. This leaves organic matter on the ground. Cattle can be turned in to eat some of the remaining material; however, they don't eat near all of it so there is still not soil erosion into the creeks, streams or ponds. We use the ground as much as we can to be as efficient as possible, but not harm it. Using it too much and not taking care of it would hurt us; therefore, we take care of the land to the best of our ability.

Side picture of the tractor and planter. 

I love rain pictures. One of my favorite pictures I have ever taken is when I was riding on a horse. We had just gotten cows in and the storm was rolling in. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I was focusing so much on the picture that I fell off the horse as soon as I got done taking the picture and Matt started laughing at me, but the picture was totally worth it. 

One of the prettiest sights, I think, is a line of feedbunks with healthy calves eating. The sound they make is about the most comforting sounds in the world. These are my parents calves. 

Just another phto of a storm rolling in. This was actually taken at my parents as well. 

We had a set of twins this week. The mom decided she only wanted one of them.  He took a ride with us in the pickup home so we could take care of him. 

My recipe this week is from my mom again. It's easy to make an a great side. 

Pea Salad

2 cans of peas

Mayo

2 dill pickles

2 cups cheese

2 eggs

Hard boil the eggs and dice up. Dice the pickles up as well. Mix everything together. Refrigerate until serving. 

Hope you are enjoying your significant others or families on this rainy day. Matt and I are resting up for  a busy week. Hope you have a good rest of the day.