Eden Shale Farm Update - August 2019

​In my opinion there are two months that the farm looks worse than any other time of the year. Those months are March and August. In March everything is muddy and the entire farm seems to be a different shade of brown. Likewise, August can produce some brown showing in our heat stressed pastures, and everything is grownup and just looks a mess. 

As I write we are getting our first rain in two weeks and it is desperately needed relief from the hot 90 F weather we have been experiencing. I am reminded of how fragile our farms are, and the fact that our entire business model relies on a few inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains regularly. 

Fortunately these summer rains have allowed us to bale another 23 rolls of alfalfa. We will easily get a third cutting from this field before the fall, giving us more than enough hay for the winter. 

At the end of July we spent a week cleaning out barns and hauling manure onto some hay ground. In all we hauled 41 loads of manure and got all the winter feeding areas scraped and ready to feed hay again. 

​The bull barn renovations have continued. The flooring is complete, and the pens, feed bunks, and water trough has been delivered. The flooring is comprised of two different products. We used both the geo-grid (which we have used in other barns and around some hay feeders) and concrete blocks. These applications will be discussed further at our Open House Field Day. 

​Another project that was competed this month was building a roof over the new working facility in the paddock area. This working facility had been sitting outside for over a year and we wanted to be able to protect it to increase its longevity. The construction turned out really well and it made the system even more enjoyable to use on a sunny, hot day. 

​Mark your calendars for the Open House Field Day on October 12th. Registration will begin at 9:30 am with the tour starting promptly at 10:00 am. Lunch will be provided at the end of the tour so please RSVP if you plan to come. You can RSVP by calling the KCA office at 859-278-0899, or email kbn@kycattle.org.