Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

A year in the life of a farm

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Saw my first set of fawns today. Pair of twins running like crazy. Had to be at least a couple of weeks old to run as they did. Came out of an arrowleaf clover and elbon rye field where it's certainly possible they were born.

    Comment


      Keep up all the good work!

      Comment


        Bucks are grouping up. Saw 12 together by my house yesterday at 5:00 pm. All ages with some obviously mature. Farm mgr. saw 15 bucks in bean field last week. Antler growth varied but starting to see G-2's . Too early to tell much about quality but it will be happening fast now.

        Comment


          Great thread. Need more pics/info. Love it. Thanks

          Comment


            My food plot experiment this year was to mow a thick stand of elbon rye, crimson, winter peas and radishes and plant the summer cultivars directly in to the thatch. My goal was to use the thatch to suppress weeds, the legumes to add nitrogen and the overall mix to improve organic matter. After abundant rain for germination my impressions are mixed. THe biggest problem is that I mowed the fields with a bat wing bush hog that tended to 'row' the thatch to thickly between the blades and to thinly beneath the blades.

            THe effect of all this was weed suppression was essentially a failure. Crops tended to come up in the thinner thatch and lessor to nonexistent in the thickest areas. So I called Jay Brandt, a professional farmer in Ohio utilizing organic no till farming for advise. I learned he drills directly in to the standing crops then rolls afterwards if necessary. Simple!

            So, I had a 5 acre field of standing rye I left for the birds and cover for fawning etc. that I decided to experiment with. Today I drilled soy beans directly in to the standing and dead rye, as you can see in the picture. I will come back now with a culti packer and roll again to get a better thatch mat. We had nearly 3" of rain over the past week so moisture should be excellent for germination.Results to follow.

            One thing I'm fairly sure of is that the rye left to go to seed in this field will come back strong { for better or worse } this fall.
            Attached Files

            Comment


              Awesome.....I bet it will be an outstanding soybean crop!

              I know a guy that rolls the rye and then plant in it. The coulters will cut through it if you plant in the direction that its rolled. Will be watching to see how yours does.

              Comment


                Joint vetch and Alyce clover coming up. The vetch has the mimosa looking leaf and the Alyce the round leaf. They should get shoulder high by early fall. Managed right they become reseeding annuals lasting many years. And the deer love it especially the vetch.

                The only thing I dont like about fields with this in them is they become very weedy. Bothers my farmer sensibility but I'm sure the deer dont mind . Of course they eat some of the weeds as well.

                I will mow the dead plants early spring then disc lightly. Watching closely I then will spray first weed blush with gly before they sprout. It's the only way I know to somewhat control the weeds. Typically the vetch and alyce germinate a little later as temps warm and get some rain.

                While they are only a few inches high now I am already seeing deer starting in on them
                Attached Files

                Comment


                  good info to know, I did the vetch and alyce last spring and summer and I had problems getting the vetch up and going, yep needed to be in moist soil,but the alyce did great. I had some left over vetch seed so I replanted closer to the bottom land this yr. and with your mowing recommendations next spring I hope to keep and alyce field going this time. Thanks for your posting.

                  Comment


                    Does the Alyce and the Vetch get shoulder height or is it just the vetch?

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by jkelbe View Post
                      Does the Alyce and the Vetch get shoulder height or is it just the vetch?
                      The Alyce will get 3-5' high as well. I didnt fertilize this year but instead planted in to disked crimson fields. Next yr when I go to lightly disc I will probably add a couple hundred lbs./acre 0-20-20.

                      As has been said before the Alyce will do better in drier soils where the vetch prefers more moisture.

                      Comment


                        This is blowing my mind. I have been spending a fortune on supplemental feed for the last 6 years and have had good luck with it but I would love to start putting in plots bigger than a few acres. We have planted Lab Lab mixed with Chicory for the last 2 years and the deer mow it down before it gets mature. I guess I need to start planting bigger plots. Love the info and the pix. I am tuned in for sure.

                        Comment


                          Gato you are a BLESSED man... I hope that I can figure out how to earn a place and be able to spend the time and resources you do on it. You've got my dream gig as far as I'm concerned.

                          Comment


                            catslayer.....el gato......may not be good combo

                            I hope the same for you

                            Comment


                              Just keep it up, I think we are all appreciating the info and time you take to give to this community

                              Comment


                                Here is a 4 acre kidney shaped field primarily in arrow leaf clover with some red ace red clover, crimson,and a little durano mixed in. THe small grain you see is rye. Great combo not only for nutrition but also for fawning and general cover. Whats cool about this combo is that the crimson and small grains grow great thru fall, winter and obviously hunting season. The arrow leaf comes on strong spring thru mid summer and will start dieing mid June laying down flat. I will mow the field late summer, replant the small grains Sept.ish and the process repeats.

                                This field is in the middle of an 11 acre pine plantation that is about 12 yrs. old. Surrounding that is an oak forest. There is a 15 acre soy bean field about 1/2 mile away. Laying between this field and the soybeans is a 3 acre rectangular vetch field nearly connecting the 2 fields .I would argue that the blind on this field is as good as about any blind anywhere in North America for seeing large homegrown native bucks.
                                Attached Files

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X