Much like all the farmers across the state, June was spent making hay. As soon as the last cow was bred on May 31st we hooked up the hay equipment and headed to the hay fields.
Despite not having put any fertilizer on our hay ground this year it turned off more hay than it ever has, which has been a common theme from all parts of the state. So why was this such a good grass growing year? After analyzing the climate data from our Mesonet station on the farm, I did notice two distinct differences in this year’s measurements. I compared the data for April and May 2024 to the historical data for April and May for the past three years. In general, this year was warmer and wetter than the past three years have been. April 2024 was 4.2°F warmer and had 1.8” more rain than the previous three year average. May 2024 was similar, being 3.6°F warmer and having 3.9” more rainfall the three year average. I am not a forage specialist, but I would assume the additional moisture had the greatest effect on causing the grass to grow so much more than in the previous growing seasons. Either way, it was a phenomenal first cutting of hay season. At Eden Shale we cut hay on about 42 acres and got a total 175 5x5 bales (4.2 bales per acres). This was 0.75 bales per acre more than we normally produce on the same ground. We also purchased hay from two of our neighbors who sold their cow herds recently. We purchased a total of 242 bales giving us a total of 417 bales from first cutting. We also had 96 bales left over from last year, so we currently have 513 bales all stored inside for the season. This should be enough hay to get us through the winter. We still have enough room to get the second cutting stored in the barn as well, but every barn will be full! I just hope we get some rain soon so we don’t have to start feeding hay this summer (knock on wood).
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May continued to be busy managing the cow herd through the synchronization process to get everything ready to AI. We had 18 replacement heifers, and 88 cows that were AI’ed this year.
The replacement heifers were pelvic measured the end of April, then CIDR’s went in on May 16th. The heifers follow a 5 day synchronization protocol, and the CIDR’s came out on May 21st. Dr. Les Anderson bred the heifers on the morning of May 24th. The heifers were sorted into two groups, one getting bred to Angus (MVP) and the other to Hereford (Small Town Kid). The heifers will get cleaned up with an Angus bull. The cows follow the 7 day synchronization protocol. Their CIDR’s went in on May 21st and were pulled on May 28th. The 88 cows were bred on May 31st by David McGlothlin with Genetics Plus. The cows were also sorted into two groups, one getting bred to Angus (Plus One) and the other to Hereford (Kingdom). The cows will also get cleaned up with Angus bulls. The cleanup bulls got turned in on June 6th. May 21st, the day we pulled the heifers CIDR’s and inserted the cows CIDR’s, we also collected genetic tissue samples on all of the cows and heifers. We are doing this as a trial to see what information we get back and if it is helpful for a commercial operation. We collected samples for both the Zoetis and Neogen test so that we can see if either is more beneficial than the other, and how the results compare. It will be July before we have the results and I will provide updates as we learn more about our herd. I did have lots of help lined up that day to assists with all the work. Greg of course kept the cattle flowing to us, and my kids were out of school that day keeping the tub and alley full of cows ready to enter the chute. From the office we had Dave putting CIDR’s in, Jake collecting the Zoetis tissue samples, Becky collecting the Neogen tissue samples, Alex keeping the records, I ran the chute and gave the pinkeye vaccine and put in fly tags, and Danny recorded all the action from various locations. It was a big day and everything went smoothly. I want to say thank you to my coworkers for all the help. I am thankful to work with people who share my passion and knowledge of animal agriculture. |
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