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two.sparrows.farm

HOME SWEET HOME. ... Like the rest of this summer,

HOME SWEET HOME.
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Like the rest of this summer, the past week has been intense. 😅
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We had 4 kids in 3 different locations at day camp ⛺
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We loaded & hauled pigs into butcher 🐖
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Then, loaded, hauled and unloaded new heifers 🐄
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Dealt with an emergency vet call for one of our cows with a hoof injury & infection 😢
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Moved and tagged weaned calves on the farm 💪
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Wrangled our entire cow herd except 5 cows back onto our property after they escaped to the neighbor's 🙄 (a dead tree fell on the perimeter fence during the 24 hours they happened to be on that patch of pasture - plain bad luck)🌳
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Mowed 15 acres of hay 🚜
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Hosted a farm visit from the Farmer Training Program at MSU 👩‍🌾
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Plus - the daily grind of milking, chores, mowed the lawn, kept kids alive, etc. 🤷‍♀️
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This week we're just happy to be HOME together. 🥰
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A few appointments/meetings, raking and baling hay, normal deliveries and (finally!) a half day trip to Lake Michigan 🌊
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We also owe the kids their favorite campfire meal - chicken, baked beans, broccoli and s'mores all cooked over the 🔥
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Happy Summer!! 😁
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#farmlife #summeronthefarm #makinghay #droughtrecovery #cowsbackhome #kidsbackhome #familytime #partyof6 #whyimgonefordaysatatime

I'm about a month late to posting this but one of

I'm about a month late to posting this but one of our "fun" projects this summer has been our new farm store!! 🤗
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When we purchased the farm 3 years ago we had SO many priorities that were essential to our business - milk house & parlor, free stall barn, planting our perennial pastures, hay equipment, fixing broken water lines, running new electrical and fencing. Oh, the fencing. 😜
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Those were needs and upgrading our on-farm pickup room couldn't beat out those other projects that are less fun and less people appreciate. 🤷‍♀️
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This summer, I needed that to change!
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We talked about building a new store but with time at a premium and lumber costs still high, that just didn't make sense. 🌳
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We happened to drive through a Lowe's parking lot one evening and saw this 8x12 shed model on clearance- it was exactly what we needed! Side doors for loading appliances and milk, man door on tbr front, windows with screens, etc.🙌
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We had to arrange moving it but that ended up being really affordable and the shed was about half off the normal price. 💪
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If you've followed our account long enough, we love to save money!🤑
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Once the shed arrived, we started on exterior painting, then interior painting, wiring, decorating and moved the fridges in!😃
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We work between hay cuttings, birthdays, kid nap and play times, regular farm chores - basically whenever we could carve out a "free" 15 minutes, we poured some time & energy into this thing.👊
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Now, we have thr cutest spot for our herd share members to grab milk each week. 🥛
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Every now and again, it feels good to complete a beautification projects that other will also enjoy.☺
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No one seems to appreciate a straight fence or a new hydraulic line quite the way we do...🤔
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#dutch4life #summeronthefarm #farmlife #farmingonabudget #farmstore #herdshare #onfarmpickup #redshed #farmdream #familyproject

We are back from the fair and our mini-social medi

We are back from the fair and our mini-social media break. 😄
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7 days, over 20 classes (events), and a whole lot of favors pulled to keep the farm running smooth-ish. 😂
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The kids were living their best life and our daughter was able to experience all kinds of showing styles from speed events to bareback and horsemanship.🐎
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She placed anywhere from 1st in Ranch Riding to 6th in Costume (fun) class and took home Reserve Champ in Pleasure!! 💜
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It was one of the most exhausting weeks of our life - once we brought the horse home, it's been non-stop work to catch up. 😳
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Dan mowed, raked and baled hay Monday through Wednesday, wrapping is happening this morning before rain comes in 🌧
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Running milk deliveries, catching up on emails, TSC runs, fixing flat farm tires, etc. Just busy. 💪
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Sometimes summer feels like a marathon sprint - we have to work like crazy to capture every ounce of daylight and working time while also stopping to enjoy some summer fun with the kids. 🤗
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#farmlife #summeronthefarm #countyfair #familyfarming

It's fair week!!🐎 ... We definitely weren't pla

It's fair week!!🐎
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We definitely weren't planning on fair this year but a good group of kids organized at our daughter's stable so here we are.😳
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No, we aren't camping. Thankfully, that wasn't required this year. 🙌
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We loaded in the horse on Sunday and she won't be home until Friday. In addition to chores at home, Cecilia now has barn chores at the fair twice daily and events.💪
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We are busy balancing fair with running a farm business with no interruptions this week and keeping 4 humans alive - how do folks do this?!🤦‍♀️
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Everyone says the memories and experiences are worth it, but holy moly it's overwhelming to navigate for the first time.🤷‍♀️
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I'm hoping the carnival rides and fair food will be enough to keep the boys happy and content this week with the extra chaos. 🤣
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#familyfarming #summeronthefarm #countyfair #ruralamerica #merica #farmkid #farmlife #farmgirl #eatoncountyfair2021

Very happy to be in my rain gear for chores this e

Very happy to be in my rain gear for chores this evening!! 🌧
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Our ground is getting parched again and over an hour of rain will help our grasses keep growing for Fiona here 🌱
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#summeronthefarm #farmlife #dairylife #jerseycow #wahm #eatonrapids #lansingmi #midmichigan #smallfarms #eatlocal #livelocal

Saying Goodbye.❤ ... Today was a really hard day

Saying Goodbye.❤
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Today was a really hard day.
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This is a scene every farm kid will have to experience at some point. You'll see it at every county fair this summer. Every animal worked with, bonded with, provided for and loved. And it doesn't change the fate of that animal.
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Sending a cull cow to butcher is rare for us, and it seems that we only ever lose our very best, favorite cows. 🐄
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We raised Ruby from a bottle, milked her for 4 years, raised her babies and loved her.💚
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She last calved over a year ago and in that time we've re-bred her 8 times.
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Cows need to have a baby once a year to produce milk. 🥛
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She should have been freshening again this summer and, instead, she had another heat cycle last week after another failed attempt to breed her (and/or subsequent miscarriages).😔
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I know we'll receive all kinds of friendly suggestions, but we tried everything in our arsenal to get her to settle.
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We used our bull (several times), we AI'd her, we synced her cycle using hormonal shots, we used shots to clear her out and reset her cycle (and to treat potential cysts), we looked at our forage samples for a mineral deficiency, we consulted our vet.🩺
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And each to the same end - regular cycles but no settling, short cycling, irregular cycles, early miscarriage.
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We have no other problems with health and fertility in the herd so we knew this was specific to her.
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The reality is that it's very expensive to keep an unproductive animal. Especially when our 1st cutting hay yield was 50% of previous years. 💲
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While we received rain in June, our hay field just isn't rebounding how we hoped it would, due to the immense stress it suffered from heat & drought early in the season when the roots were trying to establish.🌱
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It just didn't make sense to keeping trying to breed a cow that is over a year out from calving, with 8 failed breeding attempts and would need to be carried through the duration of her pregnancy without producing an income.😭
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We finally found a butcher who could accommodate her this week - not Feb-April 2022 like other facilities. 😬
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There were many tears & mournful goodbyes today. This is farming.

It's been a wild 9 days of storms. ⛈ ... From Ap

It's been a wild 9 days of storms. ⛈
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From April 1 through June 19, we received less than 1" of rain total.
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Those 11 weeks are the most critical for growth for the entire year - grazing and hay making, which are the foundation of our farm. 🌱
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Then, the evening of Father's Day (June 20) through June 29 we received over 9" of rain.🤯
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Literally, months of rain packed into 9 days. 😳
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And violent storms that we hadn't seen in a long time - winds, a tornado formation, buckets of rain and the highest humidity you can experience in MI.🥵
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We aren't complaining one bit. It was the moisture we needed to reset the season. Our ground was so dry that we barely have puddles and little to no standing water. 🌧
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The subsoil and plants were absolutely parched.☀️
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The cows are grazing the last of the overripe grasses that were stressed by tbe drought and we should (finally!) have some lush, green, new growth for them soon. 🌿
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Good thing we love a good storm!💚
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#drought2021 #monsoonseason #climatechange #moredrought #moreflood #instability #extremes #grassfedcattle #grazinglife #farmlife #summeronthefarm #lifeonthefarm

Crazy experience of calm & quiet as we watched clo

Crazy experience of calm & quiet as we watched clouds pulled up into a funnel.🌪
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We had a tornado touch down and pass by our house less than a 1/4 mile away.😬
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We had intense wind & downpour but no damage.💨
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All the livestock are perfectly fine - they were grazing as if everything was fine. 😄
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Dan was out digging fence posts until a few minutes before because he said he'd "been waiting for the soil to soften for months."🙄
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Our farm had a tornado level a barn and rip trees out about 15 years ago so Dan said the chances of that happening again were pretty slim so he wasn't too worried. 🤦‍♀️
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We had little to no rain for over 2 months (.25") and are now at least at the 6" mark in less than a week with flood watches and a tornado in our area. 🤯
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I'm taking full credit because I scheduled an outdoor birthday party at the local SplashPad for our younger boys' birthday from 5-8 tonight. So, we basically guaranteed it would rain.🤷‍♀️
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But, we can probably pump tbe brakes on the prayers and rain dances for a while. 🤣
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#summeronthefarm #drought2021 #tornado #flooding #andyouthought2020waswild #farmlife #neveradullmoment

Rain Update 🌧 ... We FINALLY are getting the pa

Rain Update 🌧
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We FINALLY are getting the pattern change we need. 🙌
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Our farm has received just over 2" in the past week and the forecast models are showing an additional 2-3" through Tuesday. 💪
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That may not be enough to pull us out of drought status completely but we may be downgraded from severe to moderate or abnormally dry 👏
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Still, our first cutting yield was 50 percent of what it was. We're hoping the rain will help our second cutting rebound in quantity. 🤞
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The cows have plenty left to graze, although the grasses seeded out early due to heat stress and are now overripe. Their quality has diminished but it's food and we're not feeding hay. 😊
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This weekend, we're celebrating our youngest two boys' birthdays 🎂 - and planned an outdoor shindig so we KNEW it would rain 😉
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#raindance #happyrain #drought2021 #farmlife #summeronthefarm

My first cup of coffee today. ☕ ... It's decaf a

My first cup of coffee today. ☕
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It's decaf and it's 10:45 pm. But, it's still coffee.👐
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We are tired- it's been a long, hot and dry week. 😴
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Scrambling to fix equipment, making dry round bales on the airport field, keeping kids alive, keeping the farm running. 💪
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The last of our hay is off the field and in our barn. 🚜
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The chores are done - everyone is fed, hydrated, milked, bottles filled & ready for pickup. ✔
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The kids are in bed. 🛌
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There is rain on the radar heading our way, which is so desperately needed. We have received .25" in May and June combined. 😬
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And we were much too low before then (more than a 7" deficit for the year so far) 🌧
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So, I saved what may be the last of my peonies this evening, "just in case" we do see heavy rain. 🤞
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A quick shower with my cup of coffee and off to bed!! 🛁
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#farmlife #makinghay #familyfarming #summeronthefarm #onyourfeet #allday #everyday #raindance #makeitrain #peonyseason

Alright, folks. ... I hate to beat a dead horse. B

Alright, folks.
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I hate to beat a dead horse. But, our farm is a few miles north of Eaton Rapids on this map.
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If you look closely you'll see the thin air strip across the street from us. 🛫
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When we look at the radar, we thought it was impossible that this rain would miss us.
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And yet, the entire storm system passed without a single drop of rain. 😱
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We watched clouds part around our farm in the sky and on the radar 🌧️
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But the wind was strong enough to blow a tree on our neighbor's power line so we lost power.🤦
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With high temps and slow restoration time, we could now lose the milk in our bulk tank, our cooler and our fridges. Plus, meat in the freezers. 😟
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Our farm isn't installed with a 220 generator hookup to run our power for extended periods of time.
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We can run our well, however, to keep animals watered.🐄
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We are now officially in severe drought conditions.
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Our pastures aren't stressed - they are dying. Brown. Crisp. Wilted. Seeded out. Done.
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We have enough stored up to graze through the end of June.
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Then, we'd be looking at feeding from our hay stores, selling all our non-lactating stock and buying in hay for the winter. 🚜
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Total transparency - we invested $30K into hay equipment this year and would need to purchase an additional $15K to keep animals alive through this coming winter.
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We hope it turns around. We are trying to be optimists. But we are also realists.
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Patterns changes happen but not often when we're running a 7"+ deficit in precipitation for the year.
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The Western US has been in a drought for 20+ years.
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The moisture just isn't there.
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And we have to plan for the worst, hoping for the best.
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This is farming, folks.
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Be kind to your farmers this year and every year. 💚
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Update - no power as of 1 am. We did borrow a generator to run the bulk tank & main cooler (yay!) But after dinner out with the kids, our 3 year old puked in the car. No water to clean him. 🤦 It's been a day.

It's Wednesday.
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Our busiest day of the week.💪
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The help we had lined up today fell through. So did the childcare.🤦
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The weather this morning said we are experiencing the highest humidity possible in Michigan.😟
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We haven't seen one drop of rain in over 12 days.💧
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Dan's on deliveries in our box truck with no AC for 8 hours.😥
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We treated a pig for heat stress earlier this week (he's doing OK now) and a neighbor lost a pig this week to the same thing. 😰
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We have two cows showing signs of heat stress even though we have 3 water options available 24/7, shady and cool barns and shade from the woods.😕
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With the current combination of heat + humidity, they are at "severe risk" for heat stress/stroke😬
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The only obvious solution was homemade chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream for lunch. And probably dinner.🍨
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Another solution? Maybe some flippin' rain...because we're already going a little batty over here. 😂
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#drought2021 #drivingusbonkers #summeronthefarm #farmlife #workfromhome #familyfarming #smallbusinesslife

We are crawling into the weekend, ready for some r

We are crawling into the weekend, ready for some rest & relaxation!! 👏
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Two weeks to finish our 1st cutting of hay, plus our normal routine of milking cows, deliveries, chores, etc. and now some heat. ☀️
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We. Are. Pooped. 😂
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Throw in new chicks arriving, a new farm store project, kid's activities and we have been slammed.
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The reward - a HOT weekend with parties & play dates 🎉
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Our 1st cutting of hay this season was exactly 57% of last year's yield at the exact same time. 😱
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That's been most farmers' experience who we've talked to.😬
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With little to no rain in the two week forecast, we have no idea IF or WHEN we'll have a 2nd cutting of hay.🙁
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We cut the airport across the street just once every year and we expect yields to be 50-60% of last season's, but this year every bale counts.🤞
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We are staring down a serious drought - it's not just hay that will be affected.
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Our pastures suffered frost damage in May from late freezes. And, they're showing signs of heat stress, seeding out early and not regrowing after being harvested.🌱
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Fruit farmers and crop farmers will see quality and quantity affected. Hay & grain prices continue to increase, meaning items like beef, pork and chicken will rise in cost of production.💰
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Farmers have to be optimistic. You wouldn't survive the industry if you're not.
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But, looking at the 20+ year drought in the Western US doesn't bode well for us. 😟
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Most of our summer rains sweep across the Western US, picking up moisture in the Rockies and even more from the Great Lakes.💧
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But those storms aren't there this year. Moisture from the Gulf comes up and seems to dissipate at the state line.
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Some years you thrive. Others you simply survive.
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For now, we are grateful for the hay we saved from last year's harvest. We will likely reduce our herd so we have less mouths to feed this winter. We will likely end up grazing our hayfield to feed the cows through the long stretches of dry heat. 🌡️
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We need to be flexible and responsive to survive. 💪
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#drought2021 #summeronthefarm #1stcuttinghay #farmlife #grassfed #beef #realmilk #freshmilk #pleasesendrain #wewillsurvive

The view from our (Dan's 😜) Memorial Day 🇺🇲
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It's been a long weekend, starting with a wind & rain storm Friday morning that knocked a tree onto our fence line where the cows were grazing. 🌱
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The sneaky buggers all escaped their pasture over the broken tree - some broke into our grain barn (which was locked but the wind had opened it a crack), some hid out in the woods, others just wandered around barns they were allowed in 🤦
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We spent 2 hours in the 39 F wind and rain tracking down every last cow in the herd until all were accounted for. 😱
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One cow we found in the grain barn need an IV later in the day to balance the pH in her blood to prevent acidosis. That was an adventure 😝
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Second round of 1st cutting hay is underway with baling and wrapping on the schedule for tomorrow. 💪
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After this, we have 20 acres to cut across the street and then we don't know when or if we'll get a 2nd cutting. 😬
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Recent rain has been nice but we're heading into a normally dry season so our deficit will continue to grow without consistent soaking rain. 🌧️
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For now, we're counting our blessings that we had a great hay year last year that we didn't sell any hay over the winter. 👏
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#farmlife #wakeupgrateful

New Pasture!!. Fresh grass daily 🌱

New Pasture!!. Fresh grass daily 🌱

Chicks & Keets!!. It’s starting to feel like spr

Chicks & Keets!!. It’s starting to feel like spring! 🌱🐣

Releasing Goldfish into the Pond. Instagram post 1

Releasing Goldfish into the Pond. Instagram post 17933372488557344

It's been a weekend for the books!! 😂 ... We of

It's been a weekend for the books!! 😂
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We officially kicked off hay season - mowing & raking went 💯 so we knew that we were likely to run into issues baling. 😜
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It's highly unlikely to NOT have an issue with something. 🤷
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Dan was up early Sunday to beat the forecasted rain which seemed to be moving in earlier in the day.🤞
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Instead, he found the herd broken into a 20 acre pasture (not the hayfield, thankfully!!) and a newborn calf up and nursing off mom. 🐄
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Then, the baler that we just paid $2K to have inspected and overhauled had a sensor broken, wasn't wrapping bales properly and then not at all. 🤦
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An emergency call to our incredible neighbor @murrayfarm and the hay was baled, brought off the field and wrapping started just as the rain arrived. 🌧️
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No one complained about wrapping in the rain since this was the first rain we'd seen in the month of May 😱
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The hay ended up being just beautiful in quality but half of our yield at this time last season. Which, was expected but also nerve-wracking.😬
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During hay weeks, the kids and I are on regular chores while Dan does fieldwork, which is normally not a problem. 💪
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Except, baby started a 101.5F fever on Friday night and was still super cranky. 😢
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Milking and calf chores were done with him in his backpack carrier and hay was brought up with him nursing on my lap. Not my ideal, but he did not feel good, poor thing. 🌡️
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Then, the rain arrived this afternoon. 🙌 And Blaine's fever broke. 💪
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We celebrated surviving the weekend with buttermilk sourdough pancakes, breakfast sausage and hot coffee for dinner since the cooler weather rolled in. ☕
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#farmlife #springonthefarm #1stcutting #hayseason #familyfarming #familieswhoworktogether #pancakesfordinner #grassfed

We took a chance and mowed hay yesterday!! 🤞 ..

We took a chance and mowed hay yesterday!! 🤞
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We have 11/20 acres down - it should be baled and off the field by Sunday with our next *chance* of rain that evening
🌧️
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We picked up new equipment this winter so Dan felt better cutting half while we work out any quirks, instead of dropping the entire 20. 👍
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We're hoping to have the other 9 acres done by Memorial Day.💪
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Tentatively, we are planning to cut the airport across the street the 2nd or 3rd weekend in June since we only cut that once per season. 🛫
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After, our 1st cutting is done we're keeping our options open to wait and see how the season develops. 😬
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Rain may pick up and we could get a solid 2nd cutting. Or, we may have no regrowth and have to graze the hayfield. Or we could survive summer and have a lovely fall. Who knows?!🤷
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For now, we will be happy with a very high quality but light 1st cutting. 🌱
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#springonthefarm #farmlife #grazingcows #makinghay #weneedrain #drought2021 #makehaywhilethesunshines

A good way to start any day!! ✨ ... Fresh heifer

A good way to start any day!! ✨
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Fresh heifer born Tuesday morning - a 2nd lactation mama (Zelda) had a quick & uncomplicated birth. 👏
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This unnamed girl needs a Z name 💚
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She is the 17th calf born from our current bull, Ivan. He's had 14 heifers and just 3 bulls 😎
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As dairy farmers, we like those stats 😂
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No rain-relates news other than some gorgeous summer weather. ☀️ Still waiting for some good rain chances as we are 4-6" below average rainfall for the year (depending on exact location). 🌧️
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#namethatcalf #freshheifer #freshmilk #grassmilk #grassfed #polled #springonthefarm #springcalving #farmlife #lifeonthefarm #neveradullmoment

12 years ago we woke up & walked down the aisle. ⛪
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This morning I took this video, which basically summarizes our life since then. ✨
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Coffee, kids & cows. 🐄
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I wouldn't have it any other way and wouldn't want to do life with anyone else. 💚
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#happyanniversary #12yearsaslave #12yearsinAzkaban #allthejokes #marriedlife #farmlife #milkingtime #babies #coffee #springonthefarm

This photo was taken a week ago and here we are, s

This photo was taken a week ago and here we are, still hoping for rain. 🤞
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We spent time on Mother's Day clearing limbs that had fallen on fence lines and into the hay field and sawing them into campfire wood for the season. 🔥
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Now, the equipment *shouldn't* hit anything unexpected while making hay. 🚜
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Whenever hay cutting happens to be this year 😬🤷
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Our county has received only 25% of normal precipitation in 2021, putting us in moderate drought status. 💧
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During April & May, we average 8" of rainfall, giving our grasses and plants a wet root system to tap into during the heat of July & August. ☀️
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To date, we've received 1.60" since April 1st and none has been in the month of May. 😱
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There always seems to be a storm system 7-10 days out on the forecast models which then fall apart by the time that day arrives. 😬
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Dry begets dry so the longer we go without rain, the more difficult it is for any moisture aloft to actually make it to the ground before evaporating. 🌧️
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So, we wait. And hope. And enjoy the warm and sunny spring weather we have at the moment. 🤗
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#springonthefarm #farmlife #weliveanddiebytheweather #moderatedrought #inMay #raindance #thoseblueskies #gratefulforwarmth #grassfarming

Just had to share my Mother's Day gifts from my Ma

Just had to share my Mother's Day gifts from my Madre 🤗
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What's not to love a paint-by-numbers cow!? 🐄
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And some organic local decaf from @rustbeltroastery at @oldtowngeneralstore ☕
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One of my favorite things about my mom is that whenever and wherever she can, she buys local. 💛
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Growing up, her dad owned a local business and she understands the power of supporting the local community. 🌟
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Every holiday & birthday, she hunts down gifts from businesses we love including this paint set!!🖌️
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For my birthday, she grabbed me a gift card to @vanattas_greenhouse for my spring garden 🌷
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It's a value that I share and cherish - local economies are the hub of our our community. ✨
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#whatmomsteachus #paintbynumbers #cow #farmlife #localcoffee #freshcream #mothersday #momswhoknowyou

Blue Skies + Green Grass 💙🌱 ... We're still

Blue Skies + Green Grass 💙🌱
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We're still in the middle of a chilly stretch of weather and still doing our rain dance 💃
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We've been missed by several rounds of rain that moved through the state and the soil is DRY. 😬
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No rebound of growth is happening, grass leaves are starting to curl and plants are stressed. 😭
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There's a chance of some Mother's Day rain tomorrow so we're hoping for the best - 1"+ of rain would be ideal!! 🌧️
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#springonthefarm #farmlife #prayingforrain #moderatedrought #Mayshowers #weneedrain #midmichigan #mothersday

It's a Cinco de Mayo baby!! 🌮 ... Our heifer, L

It's a Cinco de Mayo baby!! 🌮
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Our heifer, Lacy, gave birth to a beautiful heifer around 1 AM 🌙
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We named her Luna & Lacy's 1st milking went perfectly this morning. 🙌
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She's mostly Holstein with Jersey and 1/4 Angus. All black with the cutest patch of white on her belly. 🤗
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And - we're off to a busy delivery day! 💪
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#freshheifer #freshmilk #grassfed #grassmilk #holstein #jersey #angus #freshcalf #springcalving #springonthefarm #farmlife

A good way to wrap up April & start May!! 🐄 ...

A good way to wrap up April & start May!! 🐄
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A fresh bull calf named Petey 🤗
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We've been awaiting his arrival and we watched mom drop him no problem in the pasture during the evening hours. 😊
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We have one heifer and one cow left to calve in the next month or so - new babies are always exciting. 😍
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We're hoping for a month of RAIN, SUN & WARM temperatures 🤞
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Cheers to May!! 🥂
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#freshcow #freshcalf #bullcalf #angus #jersey #holstein #cross #grassfed #beef #onpasture #freshmilk #grassmilk #grassfinished #springcalf #springonthefarm #farmlife

It's over a year into the pandemic and this month

It's over a year into the pandemic and this month I finally had my first Zoom presentation 💻
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I know everyone is basically an expert now but there's a lot to navigate that I haven't had to think about before - lighting, sound, sharing your screen, etc. 😱
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Overall, I think it went well and we had fun leading a discussion on organic livestock production with an undergraduate class at Michigan State. 🎒
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We talked USDA Organic, "organic," sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. And grass, soil, moving animals, fencing animals, erosion, etc. 🌱
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Sometimes it's hard to stay positive when so much research at the university level is funded by large agri-corporations.😒
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But, we are really lucky that MSU has shifted a large chunk of their research to a different paradigm. 🙌
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Their Kellogg Bio Station is a rotational grazed dairy with robotic milkers, focused on how much forage can be produced in a square foot - including how much organic matter can be built into the top soil and how this affects the animal, local environment, etc.
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In Lake City, their research focuses on beef. Instead of asking the question, "Can we grow beef bigger, faster, fatter and cheaper?" they're asking "Can we produce not just carbon-neutral beef but carbon-negative beef?"🌎
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Can we produce beef that actually sequesters carbon back into the soil, helping to reverse climate change? 🎉
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MSU is a top 5 agriculture university in the world - when they are asking these questions, it means that things are shifting.👏
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People are realizing that "conventional" agriculture isn't working for anyone - the farmers, the consumers, the animals nor the planet. It only works for the middle man processors making huge profits. And the seed companies selling GMOs and synthetic fertilizers.😕
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We're finishing out Earth Month feeling hopeful - it helps that were finally get some rain!! 🌧️
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#zoomclass #spartanswill #msuag #sustainableagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #allaboutgrass #movinganimals #sunshine #healthysoil

Welp. Spring has already been a roller coaster rid

Welp. Spring has already been a roller coaster ride this season. 🎢
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Thankfully, we had warm weather at the end of March to jumpstart some grass growth because the last 3 weeks of April have been 10+ degrees colder than average with zero precipitation. 😬
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So, we've had no re-growth since beginning our grazing season 2 weeks ago. 🌱
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We've thought about feeding hay again but we are also feeling strongly that we may need it later this summer because it's shaping up to look like a drought year.🤦
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Currently, 60% of Michigan is already in a moderate drought.
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IN APRIL. 😱
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It's dusty and dry and the ground is cracking. 😢
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Again. It's April, folks.
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Some of our rainiest months of the year. 🌧️
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Two years ago, we had one of the wettest springs on record, receiving double the normal rainfall, flooding crops and causing damage. 🤷
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This season, it's a drought.
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Even controlling for all other factors, farming always forces you to adjust your game plan because Nature has all the wrenches to throw at you. 🚜
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We've been keeping busy fixing equipment and prepping for hay season. 💪
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Also, this cutie is officially 10 months old. 🤗
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I would not, however, recommend a teething baby to cheer your perspective on life. 😂
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10 days ago, he had one singular tooth.
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Today, he has 8 that have broken through his gums.
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7 TEETH in 10 DAYS. 😱
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If we drank, this would be an opportune time. 😜
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#farmlife #springonthefarm #prayforrain #moderatedrought #weneedrain #warmtemps #readyforrealspring #teethingbaby #tiredmama #sendwine #farmbaby

It's EARTH DAY!! 🌎 ... We started with about an

It's EARTH DAY!! 🌎
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We started with about an hour of snow flurries 😒 but the sun is finally breaking through the clouds!! ☀️
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A few more days of cooler and wet weather (🙌) and then it looks like next week will kick of the blaze of spring grass growth we've been waiting for. ☺️
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Highs towards 70 F and lots of sun. The soil and grass will love it! 🌱
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Unfortunately, we've lost our magnolia tree buds to a hard frost (2nd year in a row) and the grass growth has slowed a bit due to colder temps. 😬
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But, spring will win out. We know it. 🌷
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#lovetheearth #earthday2021 #grassfed #stillgrazing #springonthefarm #farmlife

Monday, Monday ☁️ ... We had a great weekend w

Monday, Monday ☁️
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We had a great weekend working on calf fencing, loading up compost and mowing the grass 🌱
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Now, the cold is rolling in for the week, so are the clouds and the baby is cutting 4 teeth simultaneously. 🤦
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It's a good day to plan some warm meals and tackle the house. 😬
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And our new-to-us baler made it home after it's spring tune-up. 👏
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You can see how excited our Baylor was for it's homecoming 😂 This kid was made for the farm 🚜
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#springonthefarm #roundbaler #silagespecial #baleage #dryhay #allthehay #3yearoldsarethebest #farmlife #baylormerton #monday #catchupday #laundry #cleaning #homeschool #allthethings

COMPOST PICKUP DAY!!! 💩 ... Stop by on Saturday

COMPOST PICKUP DAY!!! 💩
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Stop by on Saturday April 17 between 12 and 7 PM and help yourself to some amazing black gold. 🚜
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Smaller quantities (buckets & totes) is DIY. We will have a few shovels available.💪
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Truck beds & trailers, we will have the loader available to fill ya up. 👍
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It looks like the weather will cooperate and be perfect to work in. 🤗
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No need to call ahead of schedule anything - we'll be around working on the farm. 🐄
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Here's some of the "treasures" we found while digging through the trash heap that previous generations of farmers have used on our farm. 🙌
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A lot of actual junk but some gems too - my annuals will be all jazzed up in their vintage planters this year. 🌟😂
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#farmlife #freecompostday #comegetyourpoop #blackgold #compost #midmichigan #springgardens #greenthumb #springonthefarm

This point in the year is all about FENCES. 🔨 .

This point in the year is all about FENCES. 🔨
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They make good neighbors, right?! Well, they're pretty important in keeping livestock contained, too.😜
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We've been repairing fences where trees have fallen, replacing broken clips and insulators, purchasing new supplies and recycling old supplies. 💪
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We have a 1/2 mile of t-posts that are unused and overgrown in our woods that we're pulling and re-purposing on the farm. 👏
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And, this year we're expanding our permanent calf pasture space to accommodate the larger crop of calves were keeping. 🐄
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In years past, we've sold most of our calves since we didn't have the land, pasture or hay to finish all of them. 🌱
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Now, as we have grown to the point of making 100% of our own winter forage, we can afford to finish out all of the calves born on the farm. 🙌
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Thus, the need for fencing better suited to smaller stock v. finishing beef and dairy cows. 💚
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It's a good thing that we (generally) enjoy fences. 😂
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#fixingfences #springonthefarm #farmlife #cowbabies #grassfed #grassfinishedbeef #anguscrosscalves #freshmilk #herdshare #midmichigan

It's happening!! 🙌🌱💚 ... This paddock has

It's happening!! 🙌🌱💚
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This paddock has a lot of bunch grasses that are ready to go so we're beginning to graze for half days while we continue to supplement with hay. 🌟
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The transition should only take a week to 10 days but we are all EXCITED for that grass milk!! 🥛😋
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Happy Sunday!!
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#grazingseason #itbegins #regenerativeagriculture #buildorganicmatter #sequestercarbon #stoperosion #waterrunoff #grassfedbeef #grassfeddairy #apriltodecember

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