The corn sprouts

Now this may not seem like it's a momentous event, but this is the first crop that I'm raising on the new farm, and it's one of my favorite parts of farming -- watching nature at work.  Seeds are pretty amazing. 

This is a sweet corn seedling; there's about 43,000 of those planted over 1.7 acres; on another 55 acres there's 1.6 million "cow corn" sprouts.    Cow corn is designed to be harvested before the kernels are ripe; the entire corn plant and ears are chopped up and packed into air-tight piles.  You'll see them at most dairies in this area.   Huge piles with a tarp over the top of them, weighted down with old tires. 

Corn silage (which is what the chopped corn is called) is commonly fed to dairy cows as part of a TMR (Total Mixed Ration), along with hay, grain and other feed stocks. 

Last year this ground produced around 25 tons of corn silage per acre; if the yield is similar this year, that should be around 1,375 tons of silage, which sells locally for around $40/ton, giving a gross crop value of $55,000, or roughly $1,000/acre

From that gross amount you subtract the cost of the seed, tillage, fertilizer, labor and trucking.  Part of the value of leasing out the land is being able to watch them work the land; how much labor, which implements, timing.  It'll help me plan what I want to do next year. 

The bumblebee tree

One of the trees on this property is a horse chestnut tree.  I don't think that they are edible chestnuts, but I've noticed that this tree is the absolute favorit of the local native bumblebee population.  It is constantly humming with bumblebees and with hummingbirds.  No other tree gets the attention that this one does. 

It provides an interesting contrast to my domestic bee colonies; the native bumblebees will fly at much lower temperatures, and much closer to dusk than the domestic bees. 

Around the farm this week

I've been out of touch for the last week; moving things out of my old house and preparing it for sale, moving stuff into my new new house, and moving and caring for animals.  It's been busy. 

One of my tractors snapped a connecting rod...  $343 parts cost, plus an hour or so to put it back together.  My tractor mechanic skills are increasing. 

 The cows are enjoying the deep, lush grass.  They're out there chest deep in it. 

 The sheep prefer the shorter grass, but will sometimes eat the longer grass.  I'm moving them around on the areas that have been maintained as lawns to keep them trimmed down.  It's an interesting contrast with the neighboring property, who uses one of the loudest riding lawnmowers i've ever heard.  The sheep are pretty much silent, with the occasional BAAAH!