Christmas Time

Christmas time around the farm is keeping us busy.  This past Monday we had a nasty winter storm come through Kansas, luckily we didn't receive much snow but mostly rain. This put a major damper on things...literally. After the sun went down the rain turned to sleet/snow. Although it didn't turn out to be too much it still made things difficult for feeding the cattle. Most of the cows that were on winter wheat pasture or grazing stocks were let into a pasture so they could seek some refuge from the storm.  Now things have began to melt and are getting muddy. But here are some pictures that were of the beauty of the storm.

We are all looking forward to getting together with family and friends over this holiday.

And a warm wish for you and yours to keep safe, happy, and remember the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season. The birth of our Lord, Jesus, in the manger.

December 13th

See what Katelin has  in her Korner...it's some random thoughts for the day!

The Changing of Seasons

This fall has become a blur of events many of which are still keeping us busy. The farm is still much alive and running as we are finishing up harvesting the fall crops of sorghum (milo) and soybeans. As well as harvesting we are preparing for the next year's wheat crop, with sowing our winter wheat into the fields. While the farm keeps on rolling the cattle part of the operation is in full swing. We are getting ready for this upcoming winter season. This is the time where we are getting our cows off of the summer pastures on which some have calved on (fall cows). Our cows are usually very hungry for some candy when we go to bring them home or to just check on them (cubes or cake is what we call it). Soon the cows from our pastures will be filling our pens, winter pastures, and wheat pastures. Once the cows and calves are at home we will vaccinate them with boosters as well as working the calves giving them similar vaccinations and preparing them for the possible harsh winter that might be coming.

This weekend Mark and Warren also have been prepping some heifers for next years calving season. They will be artificially inseminating them with the semen finishing up this week. We do this so that we can select bulls who have a different genetic line than the ones that we have on our farms. There are many pros and cons to artificial insemination such as, selection of sire, breed, and birth type (new sexing semen) but as well as cons being more processing time, veterinarian costs, and lower conception rates.

            This past week the weather has been great…up until Saturday it was WINDY! The family gathered up to catch some cows and bring them home. It isn’t always fun and games though, the wind made choring a real pain…dust flying everywhere and there wasn’t a thing you could do about it. Although the weather changes around the farm we continue to work. Sometimes the weather is unpredictable such as today. We began the day with sunshine and a few clouds, and the day turned into a rainy and windy day. The rain came as a welcome sign as we have been dry throughout the entire summer; this makes us able to start to play catch up.

            Well hope all is well with you and yours. I will try and keep the blog up to date…more than I have been! We did feel the earthquake from Oklahoma, nothing really happened except some vibrations, glad we don’t have those more often.

Quick update!

There are new photos posted on our facebook page if you would like to see them go to:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Unruh-Farms/119686868052678

Feel free to follow us on facebook as well!

Things are going good the week is going by fairly fast and we have a lot going on at the moment here is a list of what is on our plate:
-Planting cover crops for grazing
-getting the ground ready for wheat to be planted
-chores as usual
-watering at the pastures
-Arts and Crafts Fair in Hillsboro on Saturday
-fixing fences
-mineral pastures
-checking other pastures for babies!
-more chores
-more chores.....yep that bout sums it up!

Send me a message if you want to help out!

Yeah can you come feed me?!

The Fall Season Begins

The summer season has seem to came and gone faster than I have ever remembered it going.  We have now moved onto a time where the fall calves come off their mothers and the hot summer heat is supposed to go down...but is it? This is also the time when school starts and well it's now a part of my life...not the college life, but I now have acquired a job at my old high school. 



One last meal before leaving momma!

   

Mark leading the cows and calves into the corral.



Things seem to have progressed over the summer with working on the farm. We have just weaned this year's fall calves and boy are they looking good for as dry as we are.  The heat and humidity are a killer on them though. While still at the pasture,we do all the rounding up and loading. Once that is completed we bring them home to begin the process.  During their beginning days in the pens they are bunk broke and water tank broke as well. Since we have had to haul water to pastures due to the extreme heat, some are already water tank broke. We make sure there is water and free hay choice while they are in the first week of being away from their mothers.  Once they are set we begin to change their feed to granular feed consisting of coarse rolled milo. Eventually they will be become feeders and move up to our new pens which were just finished last year.  When they are brought home to be weaned they will get a set of booster shots to vaccinate for respiratory disease and to help them fight any pathogens that might come along.   



Eat up!



Time for supper!

 

Last batch of fall calves brought home.





Look at the uniformity!





Katelin's Fall Hiefer 181K





Sarah's Fall Heifer 172s

With all the new calves being home we seem to have a lot more to do. The chores are not bad at all...unless you don't want to get eaten by the calves. Although we still have the calves at home we still are having to haul lots of water to the pastures since our ponds have been depleted from the hot summer with little to no rain. This seems to complicate the day's activities at times since there have been fields to work, machinery to repair, and errands to run.  All of the things that it takes to run a farm always go together hand in hand.  While some call it work, others who enjoy it as a life and a love call it play. 

I should also bring you up to speed on things with the extended family. The family added a new member, Corina (Neufled) Enns is now married to Darren Enns (my cousin). The entire family took a vacation to the wedding which was in Colorado, except me. I went to New York to a best friends wedding which was on the same day, but got to see my cousin's wedding through pictures and a reception back in Kansas. Grandma and Grandpa did take another trip to Colorado, as they usually always do, to get peaches. Which I may say are delicious!! (As I am eating one for lunch Yummy) Sarah left for college once again for her sophomore year at Hesston College where she is a Resident Assistant of mod 3CN. And the other random things that happened between the last blog and now are: The silage has also been put up and packed as well as a little cutting of alfalfa. But more and more water is being hauled to the pastures. But thankfully the family is all together safe and sound, along with many fall heifer calves which were born right around the vacation time. Blessings to you and yours.

IT'S HOT!

July 22nd
It has been a while since I was last here and I apologize. I think the summer has run away with my sense of time. Either that or things are keeping me too busy to keep you all up to date. So since I am inside on this very hot Kansas day I better do what I need to, and write!
Over the past two weeks it has been a whirl wind of activities. We all have been busy at it; working in the fields, spraying fields, checking pastures, checking water in pastures, and haying.  Since the temperature has gotten to be a constant 100+ for the last week, this is what we call prairie hay weather. When doing our prairie hay, which is the native grass in Kansas, we can swath, rake, and bale all in the same day if we don't have any other fields to catch up from the day before.  If this hay is put up right  the cows love it during the winter months, but if it is a rougher and more coarse type of hay they tend to pick at it only eating what they want out of the round bale feeders.  Usually my Uncle Warren is in the swather, my father Mark in the baler, and cousin Nathan takes the raking along with sharing it with Grandpa at times, and me, well I get the privilege of moving the bales. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy it, but would you want to be outside in 100+ degree weather with no umbrella or cab on the tractor? Me neither, so most of the moving of the bales is stuck in the morning or the evening when it is a little cooler....a little. Prairie hay is one hay that we use to grind up for feed when the winter months come, we are hoping that this year we get just as much as last year but it isn't looking that way. With the summer rains not coming we are in a drought. This drought has also allowed those who have CRP, conservation reserve program, to cut some of that grass for feed since we are short on everything else.Side note for those who don't know what CRP is it is --The Conservation Reserve Program which reduces soil erosion, protects the Nation's ability to produce food and fiber, reduces sedimentation in streams and lakes, improves water quality, establishes wildlife habitat, and enhances forest and wetland resources. It encourages farmers to convert highly erodible cropland or other environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover, such as tame or native grasses, wildlife plantings, trees, filterstrips, or riparian buffers. Farmers receive an annual rental payment for the term of the multi-year contract. Cost sharing is provided to establish the vegetative cover practices. IF you want to learn more see this website http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/crp/ . After we are through with the prairie hay we look to move onto cutting some CRP ground although it is a much different ground and hay than what we are use to.
July 30,
Things are progressing with the hay and it was now time to take a little vacation. We are proud to have a wedding pass this weekend, our cousin Darren Enns  married Corina Neufeld in Colorado. So all of the family is all off to a little time of vacation. I myself am currently in Croghan, New York for a wedding as well. On my trip I have been privileged enough to go to the big city, New York, New York. It is a whole different world in the city. I do have to say that this country girl will stick to it. I do like the country A LOT better!! The city is a very fast pace place. I was able to see the sights of empire state building, time square, central park, and from a distance the statue of liberty thanks to some great friends who make great tour guides.  All of these were great sights and the girls who were on the trip of a two days had a great time of refreshment.  I was so happy to be at one of my good friend's wedding but sad to miss my cousin's as well.  All of the time and new experiences were well worth the trip.

The Busy Season...Harvest

Summer always seems to need to slow down, especially when we get to harvest time.  Harvesting on our farms is a family affair. We work as a large team to get the harvest finished safely and efficiently as possible.  During this past week we have been working from sun up to sun down, if not more at times.  I will describe a usual day: Wake up around 6:30am, fill jugs of water, get grease guns, fuel, and gloves. Mark might spray some beans or milo as well as Warren could be raking hay together or baling.  The list of jobs go on and on.  Around 10 o'clock we have the combines greased, fueled, and ready to go.  It is around this time that we women get in our grain trucks so that we can haul the grain to the elevator. The guys, Nathan, Warren, Ron, and Mark are the ones that are usually running the combines and grain cart.  Barb, Dora, Sarah, and I all drive the trucks, three in total.

Unloading on the go, saves time and makes us more efficient.

Mark unloading onto Grandpa Ron's grain cart.

When the combines are full the grain cart goes and drives along side the combine. This allows for the combine to unload on the go, saving us time and making us more efficient. When the grain cart is filled to a capacity of around 500 bushels, one wheat bushel is approximately 60 pounds, it is brought to the trucks which are usually parked along the drive of the field. Unloading the wheat is the next job to be done. Once the trucks are fully loaded they are off to the town's elevator.  Here the trucks may have to wait in line, since our town's elevator is  a small one. Then they are weighed with the grain on and the elevator takes a sample to test the grain.  The test of the grain is to see how much moisture is in the wheat along with the test weight.  Then once the truck has been weighed you drive into the elevator where the workers stop you over the correct pit. The pit is where the grain is dumped into a hole where there are little scoops that pick it up  and take it to the correct storage bins in the elevator. After we have raised the truck bed to get all of the grain out we lower it again and go back to the weigh scale.  Here they  calculate the difference in weight to figure out the amount of the grain. And then comes the ticket, stating how many bushels, the moisture, and the test weight.  If there were to be any docking, because of foreign material or high moisture, it would also be stated on the ticket. And then it is back to the field for another load.  When the trucks are one the road the time flies, since most of our fields are over 5 miles away from the elevator it takes a long time to get back to the field.

A harvest sunset.

 Once the trucks are back to the field it repeats itself all over again.  Sometime we get a break for lunch unless we eat before we head to the fields.  And usually the women in the field bring along coolers with afternoon snacks for the harvest crew.  After about 5 o'clock supper will be brought to the field.  Harvest meals are said to be some of the best meals in the field. Usually Anita or Sarah are the meal makers since everyone else is already busy in the field. Once everyone has been fed we resume the day's work.  Usually we end up harvesting until the elevator closes which can be anywhere from 8:30p.m. to 10 o'clock at night. This all depends upon how the dew comes down once the sun sets. When the dew sets down upon the ground it makes the straw of the wheat harder to cut with the combine, not letting us harvest the wheat as long during the evening hours.  We usually cut as long as possible once the sun is set, which is normally til about 11p.m. Though the elevator may be closed, we continue to cut until all trucks, grain cart, and combines are full.
 Our days were filled with lots of driving and long hours in the hot temperatures, but thankfully our harvest ended without any major break downs or injury. And we seem to try and keep some fun in the harvest as well...take a look...

Sarah supervising but also having a bit of fun.

Kyle, Jenna, and Sarah passing the time by having a photo shoot.

We are always ready to have harvest arrive but happy to see it leave once it has begun. And we say thank you to all of the Kansas wheat farmers who make this state the bread basket and help feed the world.

The hands that planted, sprayed, and harvested the wheat.

Beating The Rain

Living on a farm we have many tasks that are sent our way. I will explain what I mean. In a diversified crop farm we have many different seasons each tailored to a certain time of year, and this time of year is wheat harvest.  Kansas and mid-west plain states are considered the bread basket which is where most of the cereal grains are produced.  Kansas is the leading wheat producer in the United States with 8.8 million acres planted to hard red winter wheat this year.
Our wheat harvest started yesterday around 3p.m., the reason harvest didn't start at say eight o'clock in the morning is because we have dew on the wheat. The dew that is on the wheat causes the wheat to gain moisture which makes the elevators (grain storage) not able to store the grain without problems. The increase in grain moisture gives us a dockage,a penalty, and can cause the elevator to have hot wheat and can cause an explosion if not handled correctly when brought in. The high moisture also causes the combines to have a hard time cutting the straw to collect the grain.

Grandpa in grain cart and Warren unloading.

The harvest crew consists of Mark and Warren in the combines, Grandpa (Ron) in the grain cart, Barb, Grandma (Dora), and I in the grain trucks, along with Anita and Sarah helping with meals and other errands. And we can't forget Nathan he is the lucky one who gets to run around doing errands, fueling the tractors and combines, along with being sent to help out with the hay.  We take most of our grain into the elevator, but we also store some for the next year's crop in grain wagons. The wheat harvest was off to a fairly good start and all was going well but in Kansas you expect the unexpected.

After we had stopped harvesting for the day dad and I took off to see if our hay was baled, in large square bales.  We got to the field where the alfalfa was down and found out it was still too dry to bale.  When baling alfalfa we have to be careful that we don't get the hay baled when it is either too wet or too dry. If the hay was too wet the bales could heat up from all of the moisture and start on fire or do what we call 'cook' inside the bale and over heat.  This causes problems when you try to sell the hay because the buyers are very particular in what they buy to feed to their animals. So we try our best to make sure that the hay is correctly put up for us and the customer.  Since our fields weren't going to be baled until later during the night we decided to go back home and try and get some shut eye and rest from the busy day.

Harvest Moon

Busy was the least of it.  I was then told, once home, to set my alarm for 5am so that we could go pick up the bales and put them away before things get hectic for harvest.  Five o'clock came and I got up went down to see if dad was up and ready to go, but I didn't find him anywhere, along with not finding mom either. So what do you do when you find out both your parents are not home...call them. Dad answered his cell, and he told me that they were out picking up the bales which I was supposed to be helping with. That is when I noticed the lightening. It was all around us. The thunder was booming like crazy and so I knew what that meant. Dad then instructed me to go over to Grandpa's and help him pick up his square bales with our 4020 John Deere loader tractor.  So I jumped in the pickup and high tailed it over the two and half miles to grandpa's house. They were already done loading one trailer load and getting ready to unload it when I pulled up. So I jumped on our tractor and started to help unload. In past years I have been the bale mover, not usually the square bale mover but mostly the round bales.  But moving bales is moving bales and you use the same concept. You try not to get the weight of the bale too far forward on the forks and you have to try to get it in the center of the bale. Square bales are extremely touchy because unlike a round they are only held together by six to eight strings as where a round bale is completely wrapped with mesh.  And instead of being wrapped up in a continuous roll, kinda like a swiss roll, the square bales are more like a layered jello salad, where you can define each layer and flake it off piece by piece.  The square bales are also heavier than the round ones. Ok, let's get back to the story.  I was on the tractor helping grandpa unload the first load of bales. While I remind you it is still lightening and starting to sprinkle. We finished the first load and went out to load the last load. Grandpa and I were both out there in full force with grandma driving the truck and trailer that way we don't have to get off the tractors and move it every time we are finished with a set of bales. The bales were easily loaded and we took off for the shed.  There were three leftover bales that wouldn't fit onto the trailer so I brought them home one by one, being very careful to not go to fast since they were so heavy.  The lightening was beginning to get closer and I was getting worried that it was going to hit close to us, but we kept pushing. We finished unloading the last bale, put the tractors and grain cart into the shed, and headed into the house. Just as grandma and I got into the house it started to down pour and I mean to tell you it let loose! Grandpa got caught in the shed when it started to rain. I then gave mom and dad a call and asked if they got everything put away and mom said they just did right before it started to rain.  It makes a difference when you have family that is willing to get up at any time of day and go help out. It is thanks to the family that everyone got the hay put away. Grandma asked if I would stay for breakfast and wait out the rain, knowing that everything was finished I did. By this time it was only 6:30 a.m. So I was sitting there talking and having breakfast with grandma and grandpa and I began to think of all the times we have made and had cookies, pies, donuts, crawlers, and syrup dippers at grandma's house. Those are some of the best times at grandma's.
So, we beat the rain with the hay, but now it is time to wait once again for harvest to come. We had a taste of it and now are geared  up and ready to roll. Since we got rain we need to wait til the grain is dry once again. We should be up and cutting wheat, or threshing, which ever you like to call it in about two days or at least try it on this Saturday or Sunday. Hopefully all goes well and we have a smooth harvest with little or no break downs and no other problems. As always God Bless in your endeavors.

Summer time

Once again time has flown by and it is now time for the summer work to begin if it hasn't already.  Here on our farm it is  time to make sure that all the cattle are doing well on the pastures. So there is the constant job of checking the pastures for thistles, fencing problems, and putting out mineral for the cattle.  The reason we check our pastures is to ensure that the cattle are not having any health problems along with making sure that we are not spreading any noxious weeds. One of the biggest around these parts is the musk thistle which is pictured below.  This is one weed that us kids have started to hate.  We are the ones who are usually sent to the pastures to check out everything along with combing the pastures for this stubborn and noxious weed. There may be some who think this is a beautiful and pretty flower, but looks can be deceiving and such they are. This weed can grow anywhere from a couple of inches to many feet tall.  The plant flowers and then once it is done flowering it will spread many hundreds of seeds which are very light weight and kind of look like a large dandelion seed. Once the plant hits this stage we hope to have them already sprayed and killed so that it does not spread  further into our pastures or any neighboring pastures.  This control of the weed takes lots of time on the four wheelers with the sprayers on back and a mineral bag to collect the flowered heads in, so we can burn them later so they will not spread. Many others also use a shovel which is another good tool to take out this nuisance.

 

We also are trying to get all of  the fall crops into the ground which isn't possible right  now since we had about an inch and three quarters of rain two nights ago.  We were glad  to see the rain come but not so happy to see some hail.  The hail we received was anywhere from pea to quarter size in diameter.  This now gives us time to catch up on the small projects around the farm such as getting all the winter equipment greased and put away for the summer.

As the summer comes we are looking forward to a busy and hard working time.  Summer brings many tasks along with it some of which are made for the men and some are made for us 'kids' to do.  Although we all chip in where needed there is always something to do whether it be the dishes or checking the pastures there is never a dull moment on our farm. I hope you all enjoy your summer if it is a break from school or just that time of year once again, have a safe and fun summer.

Weather Change

Many of you that are from Kansas know the meaning, the weather can change in a minute.  It is true especially here in Kansas, and yes other states as well.  This spring has been a continous change of weather.  The cold stuck around and now it is up in the 90 degree range! Sometimes it is hard to believe that summer is soon here!

On the farm we do not like the quick weather changes it means more work or no work, along with stress on the animals. If the weather breaks into this heat wave, which we have now, it puts more stress on the animals.  We try our hardest to get them out into the pastures and open range, so they can find a cool watering hole or a nice shade tree with a breeze.

While the guys and my little sister try and get the last of the cattle worked and out to the pastures I am still up at KSU.  I just finished my last final of my college career for now...I guess.  I am so happy to be done and accomplished a goal that I have been striving for!  Although I love being up here at state with my friends and others I still have times where I wish I was at home helping out on the farm.  I know things are busy when I call my dad to talk and he can't be understood because of the wind and cattle in the background.  There are times like these that I wish i wasn't so far away.  I do find refuge in the comforts of 'home' when I get to go east and watch them drop off the cattle at the summer pasture by Paxico.  We always will see a difference in the cattle when they come home from this pasture compared to ours who are on our pastures at home.  Although it isn't a bad difference it just shows how the different grasses and enviroments can change the animals performance. I am going to be posting pictures so keep an eye out for the new arrivals to the pasture. Hope all is well with you and yours. ~ God Bless~ (AND STAY COOL)

Easter Weekend

As I look back on the Easter weekend that we have just been through, I thank God for all that He has given for us. I was able to leave Manhattan and go back to the farm for the weekend. Before I was at home I stopped and helped my boyfriend's family work their calves. Working the calves means we were giving them vaccinations so that they will not contract any diseases during their life. We also mark them with a brand so that way each owner knows how many cattle are where and whose they are, in case of a mix up. They do things very different than we do, since they are a different operation. After we had finished with the 93 head it was time for me to go home.

While at home dad was spraying alfalfa for aphids which are bugs who eat and destroy our crops. Thankfully he got almost all of the fields sprayed before the rains came on Sunday night. I got home just in time to go to one of our family gatherings. Here many talked about farming (guys) and other caught up on where people are and what they are doing now a days. It had been a long time since I had seen that side of the family so I was glad to catch them up on what I am doing here at KSU.

 

Easter morning, I was woke up by my mother and the traditional saying, " HE is risen!" and I answered " HE is risen indeed!!" After a wake up call such as that my day was off to a great start. I was asked to go out to our pasture to feed the spring calved cows, and yes their calves. So, I gladly hopped on the tractor and headed out to the pasture where the cows were anxiously waiting for breakfast. Our family didn't all attend sunrise service, but I was glad I got to while I was on the tractor. The beauty of the sun peaking through the clouds and waking all others was truly a wonderful sight. After chores were finished, we headed to church. Many families had extended members and of course I got to see one of my favorite elderly church member, Bernice Bartel. Our family was also extended because we had a couple cousins out for lunch, and mom even made us hunt Easter baskets like always. It was a great day of fellowship and remembrance of what the Lord did for us.

Moose and Murphy

Once evening hit it was time for Sarah, my sister, and I to hit the road and go back to school although we never like leaving. Sarah wanted to take her dog Murphy back to school with her but she isn't allowed, and Moose well he wanted to come with me :). All in all we are thankful for the time we get to spend with family friends, and others, and thank the Lord for the day when it is at its close. ~ God Bless~

Welcome!

Welcome to all who are interested in the life of a Kansas family farm. I am a fifth generation farmer/rancher in central Kansas. I am the daughter of a very hard working family who keep the day to day processes going. My father, uncle and grandfather are all at home working on the farm/ranch while I am finishing my education at Kansas State University in Animal Science and Industries, with a certificate in Beef Cattle Ranch Management. I am wanting to keep anyone who is interested in the farm and ranch style of life in contact with those who continue the dedication on a daily basis. So I am going to try my best to keep things up to date as the summer is approaching and continues on. Please feel free to ask questions as I start this new challenge!