Building the Best Team on the Farm

Brackets have been filled out and March Madness starts today.  Now I have to admit, that even though I filled out a bracket for my local radio station's contest, I don't really have that much of a vested interest in this year's NCAA Basketball Tournament.  My beloved Cyclones didn't make it this year as the team suffered several injuries and the team in general was young.  But just as Coach Prohm is building his team for next year so they can reach their goal of making it to next year's conference, on the farm we are constantly building our team so we can be successful.

Now, while you probably think of farming as a pretty independent job, we actually work with a team of others to make everything possible.  On our farm, my husband and I take care of daily tasks and make all of the decisions, but we rely on our team for insight, expertise and resources to make sure we're using the best practices on our farm.  Meet our team:

Agronomists

We have a few agronomists on our team.  They come from the seed companies we work with, extension and our local farmer cooperatives. We turn to them to keep us up to date on corn and soybean genetics, they help us analyze our soils, and they assist us with scouting during the plant season so we can identify weed and insect problems, as well as find solutions for those issues.

Veterinarians

One of my husband's tasks on our farm is daily animal care for our pigs.  He works hard to keep them healthy by keeping them in a comfortable environment and giving them proper nutrition.  And even though animal care is one of his top priorities, the pigs still sometimes get sick.  When this happens, we work closely with our local veterinarian.  We talk with our vet over the phone and they will come and walk through the barns if necessary to make a diagnosis and suggest treatment as needed.

Nutritionists

To ensure a proper diet, we work with nutritionists at one of our local farmer cooperatives to make sure our pigs are getting balanced feed rations for their specific stage of growth and age.  They combine corn, soybean meal, DDGS (dried distiller's grains - a byproduct from ethanol), vitamins and minerals to make a specific feed best suited for our pigs.

Financial Professionals

Our banker, accountant, and market adviser would be the point guards on our team.  We count on all of these individuals for advice, insight and protection for the financial and marketing decisions we make.  Farming takes a lot of capital, so we have entrusted relationships with these individuals to help us make farming a reality.

Other Farmers

The farming community is very close-knit and My Farmer and I love and value networking with other farmers.  Last month we met farmers from all across the United States through the Outstanding Farmers of America organization.  We were able to learn from each other and benefit from each other's experiences and practices.  Even though all of our farms looked different, we could relate with each other and provide help and understanding.

My Farmer and I with the other members of the
Outstanding Young Farmers of America Class of 2018

Farming takes a team and we're fortunate to have such great players on ours.  No matter if you're a farmer, a Mom, a teacher, etc. building relationships with others can be a benefit for you and help you succeed.  Who is on your team?   Remember to Comment for a Cause.

March Madness Farm Edition

It is the start of March Madness and while I'm getting excited to watch some basketball tonight and hope to see a few ISU Cyclone victories, we're also gearing up for spring planting which will start in just a month.

Getting the Planter Ready

We've been working on the planter in the shop

Even though there is snow on the ground, we've been working hard in the shop giving our planter its spring-time inspection, maintenance and adjustment done.

Just like your car or truck, farm equipment has many parts that wear down and this is the time of year that we take time to lubricate and get replacements for those parts.  This hopefully will help us to not have any breakdowns after we get into the fields this spring.

Planter Clinics

Getting our planter meters checked ensures
accuracy placing the seed in the ground

Yesterday, My Farmer went to our local tractor dealership for a Planter Clinic, where they learned how to calibrate and set up our planter.  This is essential for making sure our GPS and precision planting equipment are working properly.

Next week we will be getting our planter meters checked, as seen in the photo above.  Seed meters are part of our precision planting system that controls the seeding rate and population of individual rows on our planter.  Each row has its own meter.  This system allows us to start and stop seeding on individual rows, all on the go.  Our seed meters are checked for their efficiency by checking how many skips or double plants the meter gave through a test on the meter machine.  Making sure our meters are working properly is one way for us to make sure that our planter is putting seed into the ground accurately.

Corn and Soybean Seed is Here and Arriving

Our corn and soybean seed is stored in seed tender boxes

Most of our corn seed has arrived and is being stored in the shop (in fact if you look at the top photo of the planter in the shop, you can see the seed tender boxes along the back wall), and most of our soybean seed will be arriving by the end of the month.

We use tender boxes to store our seed because it allows us to easily switch between different varieties while filling the planter out in the field, plus the tender boxes hold a lot more seed.  Tender boxes hold an average of 2,500 pounds of grain, where traditional bags hold 50 pounds.

So, as you can see, we are having our own version of March Madness here on the farm.  If you are interested in getting a sneak peak at spring planting, check out some of these posts:

• Planting a Seed
• Signs That Spring Has Arrived
• Rules of a Farm Wife (Spring Edition)

What do you look forward to with Spring's arrival?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!