What happens if the Wind doesn't blow???

In the Nebraska there rarely is a day that the wind doesn't blow, so many ranchers depend on the wind to power a windmill to pump water for their cattle. Cattle without water for even a short amount of time can be extremely devastating to the herd. Well this weekend in Sidney the wind hadn't blown for a few days and the boys found their cattle thirsty and the cattle tanks destroyed by the cattle searching for water. They instantly had to fix the tanks and bring up water for the cattle.  When ranchers choose to raise cattle, they choose to dedicate their lives to providing proper food, water and home for them. Whether it's during the middle of a hot summer afternoon or a late winter night, ranchers must always do what is needed to raise their cattle.

Tyson and his favorite heifer. She loves to get back rubs and to be spoiled!

Thirsty cows and calves.

Pumping water for the cows while the windmill hadn't been running for a few days.

A mouth full of mineral and salt makes a happy cow!

Weekend on the Farm

While I was home this past weekend, my parents had to pick up a semi in Denver and a live-bottom trailer, so I came home from college to take care of chores while they were gone. Mom has calves that have been weaned and are being fed to be sold at the sale barn.

Calves eating grain.

Alfalfa hay fed to calves as well.

 Feeding the chores was a simply task, but the next day once Mom and Dad had gotten back from Denver, Mom and I decided to square bale my brother-in-laws hay for him while he was as work. When baling hay, you must be very careful not to bale the hay too wet, or too dry. Hay that is bales too wet can become molding, making it unsafe for cattle to eat, and if the hay is too dry the leaves can fall off and making the hay mere sticks and no nutritional value. Here are a few pictures from square-baling hay:

Mom started dropping the square bales out the back of the baler so my sister and I could go pick up the bales and stack them in the shed. Since it was a small patch of alfalfa we were able to use the four-wheeler with a small trailer to haul bales up to the barn.

Trying to juggle a 3 year old and 7 month old while trying to haul bales proved to be quite challenging. But since we used the four-wheeler to pick-up bales, one of us would drive and hold on to the kids, while the other would throw bales and stack them on the trailer. Trust me it was interesting! But we accomplished the task and surprised my brother-in-law when he arrived home from work.

Corn Silage

While I was home this previous weekend, I was able to head over to my sister Rachel's to check out how corn silage harvest was coming along for her in-laws family feedlot. Take a look at a few of the pictures.

Chopping.

Silage Inoculant is put on the silage to help it ferment effectively and to get better feed usage.

Silage chopping has just begun, so the pile is small but will soon be taller than the tractor and fill up the entire feed bunker.

Rachel is checking out a few ears.

The trail cut by the chopper.

My niece McKenzie and I hanging out in the ranger before heading back up to the feedlot.