From the Pastures: Sky-high prices

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. What nice weather we’re having. These are the days we dream about all winter! It’s been an almost uninterrupted planting season in our part of the state and locally, anyway, I would guess planting was 95% done by Mother’s Day. Not my beans, though. I’m counting on Tuesday, May 13, when my neighbor Richard’s 24-row shows up.

My concern now is having enough moisture. Two years ago when it got dry, I had him plant the beans 3 inches deep and we got a perfect stand. A good rain would be mighty welcome now but it’s not in the forecast this week. Scheduling a rain dance when it’s dry like this may work, but sometimes success is all about the timing.

The ewes and lambs have grazed the rye until it got as tall as they are and they were ready for a different diet. I’m thinking about trying some triticale next fall to extend the grazing longer since it’s supposed to stay palatable longer. We have two grass-finished steers going to the locker later this month. We will have a couple more this summer and most have found a home. I’m glad to see the taste for beef hasn’t diminished much yet. I hope it can keep up with these sky-high prices. We have some Charolais/Jersey yearlings I’ve decided to finish out but the calves might find a home sooner if the stocker prices keep climbing. It’s a fun game if you’re in it, but if you’re trying to jump in the game now, it could get scary. A better option is, of course, sheep. Have I said that before? Just saying.

This will be the first year we won’t have holiday lambs for the ethnic holiday June 7. Except for a dozen yearling ram lambs I held over for some long-time Chicago customers, it will be a less hectic time this year. I will miss the customers we’ve had for almost 20 years now but their lunar calendar changed things up. We started selling to them when it was right before Thanksgiving. We continue to get calls for breeding-age ewe lambs, so those will start leaving here starting in August.

Springtime brings a renewed appreciation for this life of farming. As I’m walking in the pasture or driving a tractor in the field and watching all the travelers passing by on Interstate 80, I used to wonder where these folks were heading and what adventures awaited those in campers and big, fancy motor homes. Then I realized they are the ones missing out on the adventures that are all around me as I see the deer or hear the meadow lark or watch the killdeer as she plays the crippled-wing act to draw me away from her nest. What better therapy can there be for life’s stresses? We are so blessed to have this life. Enjoy! Happy trails.