How Long Does it Take to Plant and Harvest Your Crops?

This is definitely a question that I've heard before.  Growing up on a farm, I guess I never gave it much thought.  How long does it take to plant and harvest your crops?

There really isn't a definite answer to this question.  While I can say how long it typically lasts on our farm, it depends on location and how many acres one farms.  Planting usually starts the end of April/beginning of May here in southeastern Indiana.  Several things are taken in to factor when deciding when is the right time to begin planting.  I devoted a whole post to this topic actually, so if you are really interested in learning be sure to check it out here:).

Planting for us typically lasts 2-3 weeks depending on good ole Mother Nature.  Sometimes it takes longer.  Of course there is a lot of "prep" work that goes into planting too, like spraying the ground to help control weeds early.  We call this spraying burndown.  Also, we apply Anhydrous Ammonia to our fields that will be planted to corn.  We do this before the field is planted.  Some farmers do it after the corn is planted.  This is called side dressing.

Below, Brad is applying Anhydrous Ammonia to a field that will later be planted to corn.  This picture was taken mid-April of this year.

Harvest for us typically lasts A LOT longer.  Notice how I capitalized the A LOT part?  At least we hope it lasts long because that means yields are good....hopefully.  2012 didn't last very long, but it seemed like it lasted way too long.  That was the year of the drought and yields hit an all time low, but we don't like to talk about that!

Harvest for us will last about 5-7 weeks, again, depending on Mother Nature and everything working like it is supposed to.  All the grain that comes off the farm has to be hauled either to our farm for storage, or to a grain elevator to be sold.  All of this takes time that's why it is important to be efficient on the farm.

The grain cart, or auger cart as some people call it, in the picture above will be pulled along side the combine for the combine to unload the corn on to, so the combine only has to make minimal stops.  If the combine had to stop at the end of each round to dump on a wagon or semi, a lot of time is lost.

We started harvesting on September 20th.  Our goal...or my goal rather:)...is to be done by Halloween, so we will see.  In past years it has started much later and we don't finish until around Thanksgiving.

Planting seems to go by fairly quick, but sometimes harvest seems to drag on forever...I'm saying this from a farmwives perspective.:)

Our meals around the kitchen table are usually replaced by meals in the fields.  I am becoming a pro at tackling kids' activities and busy schedules by myself.  It definitely takes a village to raise kids, and I'm thankful for my village of family and friends who are willing to help out.  I've gotten used to asking for help.  Something I thought I'd never be able to do!  While this time of year can be a struggle, I'm thankful that the rest of the year allows my husband to attend a lot of their activities.  

While sometimes it's hard, I couldn't imagine living or raising my kids anywhere else!

And when Harvest is over,....

:) Wishing you all a safe harvest season!!!

How Do You Eat the Animals You Raise?

How do you eat the animals you raise?  This is a question I hear often, especially this time of year.  We just finished our county fair last week.  Our girls show pigs, dairy cows, and also do drawing, sewing, and woodworking.  While I love all aspects of the fair, the livestock portion is probably my favorite because it allows the general public to get an up close look at livestock from a farm.  A couple people asked me this question just last week, so I thought it would be the perfect time to write a post on the topic!

Below is a picture of our oldest, B showing one of her pigs at the fair.

The first thing our kids do when they get their 4H animals is name them.  These animals are washed regularly and also brushed daily for about a month leading up to fair.  They are also walked in preparation for the show ring.  Walking is a form of exercise for the pigs.  Our girls spend A LOT of time with their 4H animals, just like all the other 4Hers out there.

To say that they get attached to these animals is a HUGE understatement.  After the fair, when it's time to say goodbye to their pigs there are usually many tears shed, BUT our girls also know that is how the food cycle works and with watery eyes, they look forward to next year when they get new pigs.

We have always been up front with our girls about where their food comes from.  They live and breathe farm life every day and I feel it is important for them to know.  That being said, we do not "eat" our 4H animals per say.  Our girls know where they go from the fair, but they don't end up in our freezer.  Some people do this, but I just know it would be too hard on the girls.

We do have a beef processed from our farm yearly for our own personal freezer.  Our girls know that these beef cattle come from our farm, but like I said before, they know this is the circle of life.

The girls participated in the Summer Reading Program at our local library this summer.  The theme was Hoosier Quest and since Indiana is celebrating it's 200th birthday this year, it was all about the history of our state.  At the first program there was a magician that came and acted as if he was from the 1800s.  Somehow the subject was brought up about cattle and hamburgers and a little boy said something about not eating cows.  The magician said, "Well, do you like to eat hamburgers?" To which the little boy replied, "Yes."  The magician cleared that up rather quickly.  I understand that it can be difficult for some people to understand, but this is our livelihood and this is what we do.  The beef cattle on our farm are cared for daily and are fed the perfect ration of feed.  They are checked daily to make sure they aren't sick, and they always have clean water and bedding, but we try no to get too attached.

Below are some pictures of the girls (and your's truly:)) showing their dairy heifers/cows.  A heifer means they haven't had a calf yet.

B and her calf, April...

 After the fair, they will bring their dairy calves, heifers, and cows back home, unlike the pigs. The hiefers will remain on our farm until a few months before they calve, then they will go to a neighboring Amish farm who has a dairy, where he will take care of them and ensure they have the proper care.  There is a big difference in the equipment needs for dairy and beef cattle and we aren't set up to handle dairy cows, but luckily they are just down the road, so we visit them often.

B and Peyton.  Peyton is a 3 year old cow who just had her first calf in April....which is the April that B is showing in the picture above.

Mel with her calf, Judy, and B with April...

And here is a picture with me in it and it appears B is telling me what to do in the show ring:)  I am leading Mel's 3 year old heifer, Elsa.  She is expecting her first calf in December.

Some people may judge, but for us it is a way of life.  All of our animals are cared for and loved, it's just harder to say goodbye to some;)

Hay or Straw...What's the Difference?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between hay and straw, or what their different purposes on the farm are?  In the picture below, straw is on the left and hay is on the right.  What is one difference that you see?

 You might have first noticed that the straw (left) is yellow, while the hay (right) is green.  That is one of the biggest differences.  When you take a hay ride, it is actually probably a "straw ride."  The girls always ask me why it isn't just called a straw ride and I really don't have an answer for that other than hay ride just sounds better.;)

Another difference is how they are grown.  Straw comes from wheat.

photo credit: From My Front Porch

 If you've driven through the Midwest at all during the summer, then you've probably seen several fields of the gorgeous golden amber waves of grain.  Wheat harvest is my friend Jent's most favorite time of year.  You can read all about it on her blog.

The combine cuts the wheat and saves the seed which is then turned into cereal, bread, flour, and many more delicious foods.  The field is only harvested once.  Some farmers choose to plant double crop beans in the wheat stubble.  Double cropping means to harvest two crops from one field in one season.

Photo credit: From My Front Porch

The combine leaves all the other parts of the plant in the field.  It is then baled in to square bales (they are actually rectangle, but everyone calls them square;)), or round bales.

Photo credit: From My Front Porch

These bales are used for bedding to keep our cattle nice and comfy and warm when they lie down.

Hay comes from a grass, mainly alfalfa or clover.  It is also harvested in the summer months.  Just like the grass grows in your yard after you mow it, so does hay.  Unlike wheat, we usually get 3-4 cuttings (or mowing) of hay a season.  We don't use a combine to mow the hay, but instead use a hay bine.  It works the same way as a lawn mower.  After the hay is cut, we let it dry for a day or two depending on weather conditions, then it is raked into rows and then baled.

Like wheat, the hay is baled into square bales or round bales.  Here is a short video that shows the baling process.  The implement behind the tractor is called an accumulator.  It stacks the bales nice and neat to be picked up later.

The hay is used to feed our cattle.  To find out what we feed our cattle, check out this post.

So, there you have it!  Hopefully that clears up the question, "What's the difference between hay and straw?"

Why Aren't Soybeans Harvested When They Are Green?

 It's a question that I've heard many times.  Why aren't soybeans harvested when they are green?  We pick green beans in the garden when they are green, so why are soybeans harvested when they are brown and the plants appear to be dead?

In the following picture you can see green beans...

and in this picture, are soybeans...

Why Aren't Soybeans Harvested When They Are Green? 

If you or I waited to harvest the produce from our garden when the plants were dead, like we do with our field crops, there probably wouldn't be anything left to produce.  Sure, it would probably be there, but the quality wouldn't.  When you plant a garden, you aren't actually growing grain like we are.  While they appear to be dead, they are actually ripe!

Grain crops such as corn and soybeans are harvested when they are ripened which means their green tissue has turned brown, or dried down as we call it.  Crops have a long storage life, so they have to be dry so they don't get moldy.  No one likes moldy food, just like animals don't like moldy food if the crops are being used for animal feed.

Another reason that we let the plants dry down naturally is because if the grain is hauled into a grain elevator, to be shipped elsewhere and made into certain foods or other things, it needs to be at or below a certain moisture, so that it can be stored for long periods without going bad.  The moisture for soybeans needs to be at or below 13%.  If it is above that percentage we are docked in the price.

Here you can see the soybeans coming out of the grain cart auger. 

We are able to dry our grain, specifically our corn.  Most of the time we let Mother Nature handle the soybeans and they are able to be hauled straight to the elevator.  If they are too wet, we put them in a grain bin with a large fan to help dry them out before they are hauled to the elevator.  It's a little more difficult to get corn to dry down enough to haul straight to the elevator from the field, so we use our grain dryer most of the time for corn.

The grain dryer system is another post in itself, so I will have to fill you in on that at another time;)+