From the Barns: No lull in the feedyard

The same dry weather that has made our corn harvest go so smoothly has also wrecked our pastures. Only one herd of cows remains that is not needing some supplemental feed. There’s still a little picking for the cows to do, but it’s under bushes and outside of the fences and not very palatable at that.

Wheat planting for both seed and pasture is stalled out pending manure application. Maybe the manure will provide enough moisture for germination, but that’s a gamble. We flew on considerable wheat into standing beans and that usually works well, but only time will tell how well that worked also. We have our soybeans left to cut and then we will know if our aerial seeding will yield any fall pasture.

Corn harvest has been done for weeks except for the corn planted after wheat that needs a frost to end the growing season — it’s coming, but the longer we remain frost-free, the higher the yield on those fields.

The early feeding of cows does have an added benefit. The calves are already eating when we get them weaned. I expect weaning will take place earlier than usual to ease pressure on the cows and to get the bulls off. They really go out of condition when the groceries get short.

I am happy to report that LJ and I just got back from our annual “heart checkup” — an elk hunt — and we both survived. A little time in the mountains is a good chance to reflect on all the blessings we have and take stock in what the future holds. The only drawback to elk season is it coincides with the fall sports seasons, so I am torn when it comes to setting priorities.

Linda and I spend most evenings attending football, cross country, jujitsu or basketball contests somewhere followed by supper at any one of many area eateries — it doesn’t get much better than that. If my waistline wasn’t already in trouble, it is now. We got to take off on a beautiful Saturday afternoon recently to attend another granddaughter’s wedding. Allyson and Koty tied the knot and we add another member to our family.

All the markets remain elevated and marketings of fat cattle have been constant enough that I finally feel we are current. Placements have kept up all summer and fall, so we haven’t experienced any real lull in the feedyard.

Cooler temperatures set the table for manure application, so we will step up those efforts until freeze-up. I’m not saying we are out looking for work to do, but there’s certainly no real pressure to rush through anything — kinda nice for a change!