how are things around the country
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gcreekrch
Well-known member
LazyWP said:
Ain'tcha ever heard of Polar Bear Corn? :lol:
gcreekrch said:
Nope, never heard of it. Corn has sure changed over the years. Around here, thay used to say it needed to be knee high by the 4th of July. Now days, there is some of it shoulder high by then. And they are trying to grow it in traditional wheat country. and in the arctic also :!:
burnt
Well-known member
LazyWP said:
We usually don't get frost after early May and then usually no frost until mid-September. So we get around 100+ days frost free. And the corn is constantly being developed to withstand lower temperatures, giving it "early hybrid vigor", it's called, giving us a longer season all the time it seems.
When we first started growing corn around here in the late '60's we could only grow "80 -85 day corn. Anything later than that would be considered silage corn.
And the yields went from an average of 100 bushels back then up to an average of around 150 -160 at the present.
We like it to be "knee high by the 4th of July, but this year it was over my shoulders. Last year it was higher than my head and we had a 185 bu. crop!!! :shock:
burnt
Well-known member
But it seems to just want to rain this summer. And rain. And rain...
Not huge amounts here, just showers every day. Lots of first cut laying in the field turning black. And what is still uncut is going very hard and is beginning to smell kinda bad cuz a lot of it is badly lodged now.
The triple mix (oats/peas/barley) is ready to cut but the weather is not cooperating. If it stands much longer, it will be like cutting and baling straw with the grain still in it.
It is to be cut at 65 days after seeding for maximum protein/yield factor to make the best backgrounding feed. We are now at 68.
After 70 days, the fiber and energy content go up, digestibility and protein drop fast. And it gets too rich to feed much of it to the cows.
The forecast is for better weather starting tomorrow . . .
Not huge amounts here, just showers every day. Lots of first cut laying in the field turning black. And what is still uncut is going very hard and is beginning to smell kinda bad cuz a lot of it is badly lodged now.
The triple mix (oats/peas/barley) is ready to cut but the weather is not cooperating. If it stands much longer, it will be like cutting and baling straw with the grain still in it.
It is to be cut at 65 days after seeding for maximum protein/yield factor to make the best backgrounding feed. We are now at 68.
After 70 days, the fiber and energy content go up, digestibility and protein drop fast. And it gets too rich to feed much of it to the cows.
The forecast is for better weather starting tomorrow . . .
burnt
Well-known member
LazyWP said:
Yes, we bale it. Might cut it today and if it doesn't rain, we will bale it on Friday then wrap it. Even with a couple days of drying a 4x5 bale is still heavy as lead. One at a time with our TN85A New Holland.
The cattle go nuts over it. They seem to be especially partial to the peas as I have watched them sort through it and pull the peas out first!
garn
Well-known member
Here in Central Iowa, it's shocking how fast the facuet has been turned off and yards are going dormant quick. Since the first of June, Des Moines is 3.35 inches below normal for rain and for the month of July, the defcit is 1.64 inches. YTD, the surplus is only 1.74 inches.
BRG
Well-known member
We got another 1.8 inches last night.
If my math is correct, at the house we have had 13 1/2 inches of rain since it started in May. Not to shabby since the annual precip average with snow included!
Things look about as good as they can around here. Our corn is chest high, and we have had 4 inches rain in the last week. It looks like it is reaching for the sky. Our oats is nearly waist tall and has a dark blue look to it. We hope to start cutting the oats we plan to bale this week. Looks like it should really pile up. Something we never get is a second cutting, and it looks like we will have some of that as well.
If my math is correct, at the house we have had 13 1/2 inches of rain since it started in May. Not to shabby since the annual precip average with snow included!
Things look about as good as they can around here. Our corn is chest high, and we have had 4 inches rain in the last week. It looks like it is reaching for the sky. Our oats is nearly waist tall and has a dark blue look to it. We hope to start cutting the oats we plan to bale this week. Looks like it should really pile up. Something we never get is a second cutting, and it looks like we will have some of that as well.
It's been raining here since 6 am We Ai'ed 22 cows last night and I bet there's another 40 today were gonna get wet. News said Brainerd had 3"s by noon and were straight west 18 miles. There's water standing all over we haven't had rain to speak of in 3 weeks.
gcreekrch
Well-known member
Been mostly dry here for 2 weeks. Better late than never but finally got our little oat patch seeded this week. Raining just right at the moment with between 1/2 and 1" forecast. Dry and warm for the rest of the week.
Debbie just looked at the thermometer. It is 0 celcius. :roll:
Debbie just looked at the thermometer. It is 0 celcius. :roll:
Got a good rain last night about 3 hours after the cutters pulled out and went home. Got .90" at one milo field rain gauge and 1 mile north at another rain gauge 1.5". Most of the pastures got something either a .50" to 1.50" which is better than nothing and helps gives the cows a wash. Looking good for some more rain later today.
Sure whish we could have had some of this a month ago, one wheat field went 12 bushel(but after a bad hail) and one went 25 bushel. Just needed some more timely rains but we are better off than some. At least this weeks sounds like it will be in the mid to lower 80's.
Sure whish we could have had some of this a month ago, one wheat field went 12 bushel(but after a bad hail) and one went 25 bushel. Just needed some more timely rains but we are better off than some. At least this weeks sounds like it will be in the mid to lower 80's.
burnt
Well-known member
Cut, baled and wrapped the triple mix end of the past week. Took in 99 4x5's from 11 acres. About as good as we've ever done with it. It was 2 or 3 bales/ac. better than last year - what a difference a bit more rain makes. Got a bit of dry hay to bale tomorrow.
Clarencen
Well-known member
Don't know if anyone is interested, but I will report in anyway. It is overcast here today. We receive nearly 2 inches of rain yesterday and last night. Valentine reported .70, but that may not have included what they got yesterday. Rain was really welcome and appreciated as rainfall in June was way below normal. Mays precip. was way above normal so it did wonders for our cool season and introduced grasses. Now if we continue to get some rain the next two weeks, July might be near normal for this month.
Today most of the hay put up in my area is introduced grasses and alfalfa. Most are finished haying now. Our native grass pastures are a combination of cool season and warm season grasses, The cool season grass made an amazing comeback after our rains in May. Maybe now this rain will keep the warm season grass going and provide good pasture the rest of the summer.
Today most of the hay put up in my area is introduced grasses and alfalfa. Most are finished haying now. Our native grass pastures are a combination of cool season and warm season grasses, The cool season grass made an amazing comeback after our rains in May. Maybe now this rain will keep the warm season grass going and provide good pasture the rest of the summer.
garn
Well-known member
More inside the link:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130715/NEWS/307150032/1001/
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130715/NEWS/307150032/1001/
We had a few little showers on the south end of the ranch, maybe not much more than enough to prevent baling some grass that had been cut along a trail, though. Stopped haying on Monday morning, so some cattle were moved, and back to the hay in the PM.
We got slight sprinkle here at the house.
Went on a drive around the summer pastures putting out some feed/mineral barrels. It was amazing to see how good the grass looks as we have had a little less than six inches for the entire year to date. Even the trees are looking very healthy this year, in contrast with looking 'drouthy' last year.
The wild flowers are really abundant this year, too. The yucca were amazing. Not sure we have ever had them flower like they did this year. Lots of seed pods on, too. But that is only in the winter pastures. None in summer pastures, tho the terrain there is generally more rough, but the cattle are probably the main difference, as they are crazy for the yucca blooms.
It's sad the market for Echinacea seed crashed. The pastures are full of them, as well as Indian Turnip and many other 'good' flowers, with lots of Leadplant in the winter pastures, and even some in the summer pastures on the areas those plants favor.
Bluestem is keeping the hills looking green while earlier grasses have gone to seed, coloring the land tan. Green Needle grass has done really well this year.
mrj
We got slight sprinkle here at the house.
Went on a drive around the summer pastures putting out some feed/mineral barrels. It was amazing to see how good the grass looks as we have had a little less than six inches for the entire year to date. Even the trees are looking very healthy this year, in contrast with looking 'drouthy' last year.
The wild flowers are really abundant this year, too. The yucca were amazing. Not sure we have ever had them flower like they did this year. Lots of seed pods on, too. But that is only in the winter pastures. None in summer pastures, tho the terrain there is generally more rough, but the cattle are probably the main difference, as they are crazy for the yucca blooms.
It's sad the market for Echinacea seed crashed. The pastures are full of them, as well as Indian Turnip and many other 'good' flowers, with lots of Leadplant in the winter pastures, and even some in the summer pastures on the areas those plants favor.
Bluestem is keeping the hills looking green while earlier grasses have gone to seed, coloring the land tan. Green Needle grass has done really well this year.
mrj
Faster horses
Well-known member
mrj said:
Our yucca is full of blossoms too. I don't know what Echinacea in the pasture looks like or Indian Turnip. What is Leadplant? Would you mind taking some pictures to show me?
I'm planning on digging up some Yarrow and transplanting it by the house as I've always loved that plant and also I'm going to see about some Purple Prairie Clover. I guess that is another nice one to have in the yard, but I
don't know what it is, so I'm off to see. There is some blooming now in the calving pasture. I really like knowing what different plants are and I've
enjoyed Clarence's knowledge of them.
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Faster horses said:
Purple cone flower
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Echinacea&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US
fficial&client=firefox-a&gws_rd=crburnt
Well-known member
Clarencen said:
Rest assured, this is one of the most interesting threads going here!
I love reading about what is happening across the continent!