Like Flies on a Cow

Driving through the cows the other night, while searching for that hole in the fence that needed to be fixed, I was noticing how bad the flies are on the cows and calves. It got me to wondering, is there really anything that works for keeping the flies under control in your cattle herd? Let's face it; flies are a nuisance.  Nuisance to me and to livestock of all kind.  Even my four year old runs around the house with a fly swatter in hand attempting to kill the buggers!

Producers can put fly tags in their calves during spring working or branding.  How effect is that?  How long does it really last?

Do you use the mineral feeders that have the fly dust back built over top them like a canopy?  Every time a cow comes to get mineral, they rub up under the fly dust bag?

How about the cattle mineral that has fly control in it?  Help control flies from the inside out?

Do you have cattle oilers set up in your pasture for you herd to use?

 
 
Do you spray your cattle periodically as you are rotating pastures?

Have you discovered some biological control that works in your herd?

I am really curious as to what works for you and your herd?  I am always up for learning something new and maybe it's a technique that we haven't tried and may work for us.  Or

Flower Girl

Last week Little Miss T was a flower girl in a friends wedding.  After the wedding, there was a few free moments so we headed over to the John Deere lot and Angela took some pictures of her in her flower girl dress, and her Purple John Deere boots.  That's right!  Purple John Deere boots!! The bride and groom gave them to her to wear with her flower girl dress.

You can check out a few of the pictures over at Angela's blog:

Cali Girl Out On The Prarie

Where Do You Go?

Where do you go when you want to catch up on Agriculture news?

What Ag paper do you read from front to back?

What's your go to website for up to date information pertaining to your operation?

What Ag blogs do you keep tabs on?

I have my favorites, but am always curious to what other producers are reading and where they are gathering their information.  You just never know when you will find that next best information!

Missouri River Flooding 2011

The flooding this year is just unbelievable.  To the person who didn't understand the damage the river is causing due to new channels being made, crops being lost and houses floating away, it would be a magnificent sight.  

To me, it's amazing, sad, and devastating.

There should be no water to the right of Tally.  The river cut a new channel through that field.

Landslides.

The river is so wide.

Water is so wide it won't fit in a picture.

There should be no water in those trees!

Or in these trees.

See that water!  Under that water is a lentil field. 

More lentils; gone.

It's hard to tell, but the bank was starting to sluff off.  

More crops under water.

That water channel should not be there.  That channel showed up in a matter of hours. 

Another view of the new channel.  The water was just rushing through that field.

A lot of our crops are gone.  A lot of hay ground is gone.  The river will never be the same.  And no one really knows how long its going to take for the river to recede bank into its banks.  I am guessing when the river does decide to recede, we will be spending a lot of time moving debris and garbage from the fields we will still be able to farm in the future.

Branding 2011 Part 2

We finally got our calves at home branded.  It's been a long spring.  We had a nice night and great friends helping.

Jakob helping his mom vaccinate

The roping crew:  Travis and Jordan

Tally helping Papa Loren

Hard Working Crew!

Jordan.  Fishing??

Tally and Jakob were busy decorating the corral fence.

Getting the work done.

Roping calves.

Branding is a favorite time of year for me.  I love the work.  I love the weather.  I love getting to help neighbors.  I love getting caught up of friends.  It gives you quite the feeling of accomplishment.  But I always sigh a sign of relief when our branding is done.  

Branding 2011

Branding has been a long drawn out process this spring/summer due to rain, farming and everything else Mother Nature has thrown at us.  We finally got Schledewitzs' done the other week, and the day after we got ours done.  

The old wooden post, woven fence round pen is not the easiest to rope out of, but its tradition

A shot of the branding stove and irons

The Boss

Getting the job done

Ragtag Crew.  Jakob, Tally and Tenley.  Tenley was a trooper all day long.