Here's the Dirt
March and April were a whirlwind.
Our Annual Bull Sale was the first week of April and we had a great sale. March was a hard month for me. The countless hours of getting bulls ready, gathering all the information for the sale catalog, advertising, and so on takes a lot of my time . It always takes more time than I estimate, I should know better by now....but every year I forget. Maybe I forget for a reason! Ha!
Calving season winded down in April and spring dirt work started ramping up. We have been seeding new alfalfa on a field where we planted a cover crop. At D&D Beef we utilize regenerative agricultural practices and one of the ways we do so is by planting rye. Cover crops like rye hold soil in place in against harsh weather like wind and water - preventing soil erosion. With a deep root system, it helps with compaction and has a positive effective on soil health. The field we planted rye in last fall is now planted with alfalfa, the forage we will harvest this summer to feed to our cattle this winter.
While Dan and Jared did a lot of the field work, I was busy with maintenance around the home place. I spent a lot of time box scraping, which means smoothing out the dirt in high cattle traffic areas. Since the cows and calves are still in the calving pastures, the dirt around the hay feeders, waterers, windbreaks, etc. becomes very rough due to mud. When the mud dries, the ground is very uneven and hard to walk on. I use a box scraper that is hooked up to a tractor to level off the dirt by knocking down the tall rough areas. Making it easier on everyone to get around!
May isn't slowing down much either. I am attending the Village Pointe Farmers Market again this summer, every Saturday from 8:30-12:30 I will be in Omaha selling our beef. Stop by and say hi if you are in the area!
We (Dan) have been artificially inseminating cows and will be for the next couple weeks. I unfortunately have not helped him much this year but am hoping to the next couple weeks! I will share more information on that later.
Things will be crazy around here until the cows and calves get kicked out to pasture, we are all counting down the days until then.
If you have any questions about what we have been up to, let me know in the comments!
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