Yesterday, Neil and I went to a luncheon/sales pitch in a nearby small town for organic farmers/gardeners. I have always had those "radical leanings" and I try to go as organic as I can but I am just not going to do the record keeping and hoop jumping that is required to be certified. I am also not a "purist". If the choice is to lose a crop/animal or use "conventional" non organic practices, I am using whatever I need to get the job done.
There have been several things that I have wanted to try or longed to use but they were not readily available to buy in our area. Ordering and having it shipped in has just been way more than I could afford to do. I am absolutely giddy with the possibilities now! I brought the catalogs home and I am hoping to carve out some time this weekend to form a plan. Neil and I plan to start with the garden/produce aspects of the farm and then begin working on the pasture/grazing part.
Since we are pretty much broke and need the income from our farm ground, our neighbor is going to keep farming it for at least another year. He has agreed to let me have a "strip" of the farm ground closest to the barn to use for my larger gardening projects. Unfortunately, I know that is a risky business. The co-op sprays his fields and they are....... careless. That is the most gracious word I can use when referring to this bunch. Other than paying my portion of the fertilizer bill, I refuse to do any business with them. I will drive out of my way and pay double the price for whatever it is I need, rather than spend a dime with them.
The risk is that what ever I plant stands a pretty darn good chance of getting zapped with Round Up or whatever else they may be spraying. They do not give a darn about drift or wind direction. Last year, I had planted a small pasture with a special grazing mix and the Round Up drift wiped out over half of it. When I confronted them about it, the manager just grinned at me and told me those things happen some time......
Would you please take a look at my old friend/enemy, Brindle?? Doesn't she look marvelous for a cow that is 10 plus years old? And nursing a big calf! When I last posted about her, you will remember that she was at the top of the cull list because of her cantankerous nature........ looks like she is going to get a reprieve. Another cow, Lou, had a beautiful white face heifer calf earlier this week. Unfortunately, Lou has made it to the top of the cull list. She has what is known as a "bad toe". It just stays a little swollen and occasionally she has a limp. We have checked it out when we had the cows up being wormed and re-tagged. I am pretty sure it is from the fungal endophyte in Fescue grass. She had it when I bought her and it is probably the reason she was sold at the stock yards. Not much that can be done about it and she will eventually go completely lame. She is still getting around and this is the second calf that she has had for us. Even so, we can't take a chance on her going down out in the pasture. As soon as this calf is raised, we will sell her as a "kill cow" at the stockyard. No sense in passing on this problem to somebody else.
All this means that Brindle gets to stay here a little longer. We have to keep our cows numbers up to generate calf sales and income.
The plotting and planning and re-arranging in my life never seems to end!
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