Rock Block

Getting one of these installed on my cutter.Actually won it in a drawing!

https://therockblock.net

Rock Block

Crabgrass, soybeans or other options?

I have about 13 acres that was reseeded last fall, came up but got dry and lost most of the stand. Maybe 10% stand, but lots of buttercup. Ground was prepared with a disc. Would like to seed something to get a hay crop this year. I just have  disc mower and tedder so no conditioning can be done.

 

Would like to follow it up with a permanent seeding this fall. What is one of the most fool proof options out there?

 

I here of people talking about multiple cuttings of the crabgrass, have one friend trying it this year so no knowledge of it personally.  People talk beans of beans and millet. Hear it is hard to dry down. Kentucky area.

Crabgrass, soybeans or other options?

So, what are you seeing as hay season begins?

Just curious what the rest of you are seeing as you scout fields to prepare for hay season.  We have been behind the moisture curve since at least October and were behind then.  Got within about an inch of normal for April but were way short for Jan and Feb and had the worst wind this year that I can remember.  Had March winds in November, then December, Jan, Feb and of course March and they continued into April.  Dry as a bone right now in the top inch or two so newly planted OG is suffering.  Supposed to land about 1/2" tonight but we will see, then wind on Monday again.

 

The real deal is that established hay fields are thin and short due to lack of water and the cold spring.  Many are still feeding hay and I am still getting horse hay calls but sold out long ago.  This does not bode well for hay volume this season at least here.  The one anomaly is the field I planted in september-it is thick which I suspect is due to the fertilizer I put on 60-60-60 on the first of September.  Making me rethink the fall fertilizer thing again.  What do things look like in  NY, PA, NC and VA?

So, what are you seeing as hay season begins?

Hello from North Caroline

Just joined and already found a thread that I think will help me. I have a Kubota RTV 900 that is stuck in a forward gear. Thanks for the site and looks like a great resource.

Hello from North Caroline

How to control Foxtail Barley in Timothy/Brome Grass Fields?

I have some Foxtail Barley that has blown into my Timothy/Brome/Orchard Grass/Clover  grass hay fields.  Every year it spreads a bit more.  I used to just cut around the patches, but now it has expanded to the point where I need to kill it ......without killing the Timothy/Brome grass hay.

 

So far, I've tried Plateau ...............with great success on killing the Foxtail Barley...............but it also kills the Timothy.  

 

Other discussions in this forum suggest using Prowl H2O as a pre-emergent for controlling Giant Foxtail, Yellow Foxtail, Bristly Foxtail, and Green Foxtail................but all of these varieties of Foxtail are Annual weeds. 

 

Foxtail Barley is a Perennial ...................and Foxtail Barley is not listed on the Prowl H2O label.

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

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How to control Foxtail Barley in Timothy/Brome Grass Fields?

Batteries for JD 4230 diesel.

I getting some new batteries for my JD 4230 and was looking for a little help as far as getting the correct size and cranking amps.  The tractor has already been converted from two 6 volt batteries in series to two 12 volts batteries in parallel, but I can't find the size or amps listed on the batteries I pulled out.  I think the battery size I need is 30H based on what the JD parts website says for the gasoline batteries.  Anyone able to confirm that?  I'm going to stop in at the local parts store during lunch, but want to know as much as possible in case I get the parts guy that doesn't know anything (I'm sure we've all had that fun    ).

Batteries for JD 4230 diesel.

Selling Our Flock of Sheep Today

Sad day...the cattle dealer is coming today to get our remaining flock of sheep.

 

We owe money for property taxes, and while we had 70 acres of our wood lot clear cut to make more grazing acres, and use the money from the wood to pay our taxes, the logger cut the wood and never paid us for it. His equipment is littered throughout the county, all waiting for the bank to take it back. I even have a Cat 525 skidder sitting on my land, the logger checking it every day to see if it has been repossessed yet. He is in essence, out of business.

 

Under Maine law he has 45 days to pay me, but that has since passed and no money, and honestly I doubt he has the $15,000 or so I am owed. We will ultimately get our money as it is outright theft and our attorneys, the Maine Forest Service and District Attorney's Office all said I will get my money, but it will take a few years for it to go through court (1 year), then a few years for the restitution payments to be made.

 

....

 

Selling the flock is sad, we have had sheep here since 1746, and actually go back to the Mayflower Days, and while the Mayflower did not have sheep on it, 3 years later a deed showed a barter for land they listed a flock of sheep as collateral. A tailor by trade, it only makes sense that we had sheep in those days, and records show we had the first sheep shearing shed in New England. Considering how cold it is here, and the need for woolen items, it makes sense.

 

...

 

But all is not bad, Katie went back to work and loves her new job. She is a banker and gets commissions, but serves high end clients. Some days she is moving $200k, so her quarterly bonuses will ultimately be nice. We are hoping to use one of those this fall to buy a new flock of sheep; maybe whole new genetics will be a good thing. My cattle dealer will go anywhere in the country so we can bring in some sheep, and buying them in the fall is the time to buy sheep.

 

We can also use her bonuses to pay our property taxes, not to mention investing in the farm so we can actually make money on some house rentals and stuff. So we know this will probably be the low point of farming, but thankfully the bible gives us direction on everything, even selling sheep.

 

Habakkuk 3:17-18

 

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 

 

Selling Our Flock of Sheep Today