Gentlemen…start your engines

 

 

Yep. It’s that time of year again.

Silage harvest. It. Has. Begun.

For those who are uninitiated, this is THE harvest of the year.

Oh yeah. We harvest wheat. No biggie. Well, not as big as it used to be. I’m told it was the most exciting time of the year, years ago. I listen to the stories and I get it.

But. Corn silage rules now. Why?

Well, it drags on and on for weeks.

Mainly, it’s the crop that the entire feedlot depends on. In other words, without it, no cattle. Pretty simple.  Silage makes up…ok, wild guess time here…around 85% of Big Boss’es grower ration and has for years and years 65% of his starter ration. Starters are new calves. Little calves.  And then he adds distilled corn, molasses, grain corn, minerals. Yum.

And then there is the time window to deal with, not to mention weather.  The corn stalks have to be at a certain stage with the moisture “just right”.  Too wet and it’s a mess. Too dry and it’s a mess.

Yeah, this an “all hands on deck” season and BB walks a tightrope, along with sons, to keep everything running…with a mighty,  mighty effort from our mechanic, who has to keep trucks, silage cutters and tractors running. Day 2 is down on the books with 5 breakdowns already. Oy vey!

And of course, all of this means food for the crowds. Which means grocery shopping to the max. And trying to stay ahead of the game. While picking and processing a mountain of apples, harvesting cucumbers, okra, tomatoes and green beans…oh, and jalepeno peppers…and either freezing, cooking or canning all of the above. Or give it away.

Anyone up for a boatload of all of the above? I think I’m drowning.

But the up side of all of this is….rain. We’ve had rains this summer like we haven’t seen in years.  Blessings from above for SURE!!

So all is good.  Lots of corn! Lots of veggies! Lots of grass mowing and weed pulling! And…I’m drowning!!