I need farming tips...

[Hessian]

Last year I purchased 12+ acres of former tilled field-up in NY. It is mostly flood plain (100 yr flood zone) and was probably farmed 4-5 years ago. It's been bush hogged since then...once a year.

I have made an offer to a neighboring farm: go ahead and put in straw/corn etc. in exchange for bush-hogging the non tilled area.--No cash changes hands.--I still pay the taxes.

I am wondering is there a better way to manage the land (from a distance).
Is one crop preferrable to another? I assume Straw gets a better price than hay--two cuttings a year?? or only one? How many bales would you expect per acre of rich flood plain?

If I move up there---should I have a movable pen--for goats?/Llama's?
Are there some weeds I should target as being too invasive?
Would it make more sense to start a tree Farm?
Is it worth it to put in ponds & stock them...or is that a pipe dream?

I just want to be wise in using the land...not have to fight overgrowth by neglecting it...nor wasting money on sensitive crops with minimal yield.

Although sympathetic to the needs of animal rescue...I don't have the funds to dedicate to vet care & special diets--however my daughter would love to tend abandoned/injured animals.The land would be well suited for that--but that can tear at the heart-strings too.

 

[HorseLady]

Wow - you need more than a few tips - sounds like you need a book! But I'm sure you'll start some good conversations here on small farm management! You need to find out what types of restrictions there are on the property from the local county gov't and plan from there. For such a small acreage it really would be more cost effective to barter for a good deal from a neighbor for use of tractors, equipment and such. You may start paying a good amount for equipment used rarely.

 

[Hessian]

All consider all possible answers...

(and likely prompt a few more questions...like):
How difficult is it to maintain Llamas?
I know a few people who spin their wool but...any other value?
Do they graze like goats?
Don't they have a bit of an attitude?
What kind of shelter is necessary for them ...in a cooler climate?

anyway...It is possible the answers offered here might help a number of people who have been tempted to buy..."a farmette."

 

[Pete]

Last year I purchased 12+ acres of former tilled field-up in NY. It is mostly flood plain (100 yr flood zone) and was probably farmed 4-5 years ago. It's been bush hogged since then...once a year.

I have made an offer to a neighboring farm: go ahead and put in straw/corn etc. in exchange for bush-hogging the non tilled area.--No cash changes hands.--I still pay the taxes.

I am wondering is there a better way to manage the land (from a distance).
Is one crop preferable to another? I assume Straw gets a better price than hay--two cuttings a year?? or only one? How many bales would you expect per acre of rich flood plain?

If I move up there---should I have a movable pen--for goats?/Llama's?
Are there some weeds I should target as being too invasive?
Would it make more sense to start a tree Farm?
Is it worth it to put in ponds & stock them...or is that a pipe dream?

I just want to be wise in using the land...not have to fight overgrowth by neglecting it...nor wasting money on sensitive crops with minimal yield.

Although sympathetic to the needs of animal rescue...I don't have the funds to dedicate to vet care & special diets--however my daughter would love to tend abandoned/injured animals.The land would be well suited for that--but that can tear at the heart-strings too.

Hess,

First of all you don't plant "straw". Straw is a byproduct of a grain, typically oats, rye, barley or wheat. The grain is harvested and the straw that is blown out of the back of the combine can be baled. How many bales you can expect per acre depends of course on which one of the grains you plant. Oats are typically have a much shorter stalk than rye; rye has the longest stalk and a more dense stalk; barley has a mid sized stalk and is less dense and wheat is about in the middle of them all but wheat tends to be dustier for some reason. With straw you could only expect 1 cutting per year unless they grow winter wheat up there which I doubt that far north. (I am from Georgia, not familiar with what/growing seasons, and it was a long time ago.) SO, you can expect the cash for the grain and cash from the straw. Yeild for any of the grass grains should be around 100 small square bales per acre, maybe a little more for rye.

Hay on the other hand is an perennial crop with the exception of alfalfa. Hay is planted once and it remains coming back every year. You can get several cuttings from a hay Field per year, depending of course the amount of rain and so on. Alfalfa if I remember right has to be planted every year but still gives several cuttings per year. Peanut hay is hay made form the peanut plant after the peanuts have been shaken off. You will not grow peanuts but I wanted to add it because peanut hay is #1 favorite of many species of livestock and people don't know that they feed peanut hay.

Corn is another grain but it is grown much differently than the other grass type grains. Rye, oats, barley and wheat are "drilled" or planted in very tight rows only about 3-4 inches apart and rely on sheer numbers of crop plants to choke out weeds. Harvesting drilled grains is easier too because the grain is relatively easy to remove from the stalk and the stalk is not very formidable. As far as cost, with grass type grains you have to plant, harvest, that is about it. Corn is planted in rows, typically 30 inches apart. It has to be cultivated sometimes twice (which means more diesel fuel) and fertilized (typically with nitrogen, more diesel fuel, $$ for nitrogen) and then harvested with the same combine BUT it requires a different header. The corn stalks blown out the back of the combine are basically useless except to plow under to aerate and decompose.

As far as managing the land keeping it in use and keeping it from washing out or growing up to weeds is a good thing. Crop rotation is a minor deal but not as big a deal with fertilizers in use today. I am sure the farm you allow to use the land will probably plant/harvest 2 crops per year, a grain in the early spring, then corn or soy beans or other row crop in the end of summer fall.

All in all I am thinking that the farmer is getting a good deal. He uses your 12 acres does the cost of bush hogging weeds in a small area. I am sure he will jump at it. You might want to look into the going rate for renting farm land in that area. When I was a kid we farmed 1200 acres but only owned 400, the rest we rented. If you can find out the going rate for rental per acre and drop it down the guy still might make the deal and you can make a little cash.

 

[Hessian]

NOW That is what I am talking about!

Pete...a lot of good insight there.
I Know the difference between straw and hay...simply from sleeping on it at reenactments! (Planting it is another matter!)
Knowing that farmers up there charge75.00/hr to bushhog...I figured he'd need to put in 2-3 hours a year to clear the area where I plan on building & making grade improvements.
Appy is right too...I do not want to be paying for used machinery to sit around and try to maintain...better to connect with a reliable neighbor who can profit from its use. I'll be happy with a medium Ford back-hoe with a bush-hog.

The biggest distraction is that I have 1100 feet of river front...and the bass are waiting.-I'll never get anything done!

Now that I have Pete's planting guide (I'll post it in the barn!)...what about livestock????

 

[Pete]

Pete...a lot of good insight there.
I Know the difference between straw and hay...simply from sleeping on it at reenactments! (Planting it is another matter!)
Knowing that farmers up there charge75.00/hr to bushhog...I figured he'd need to put in 2-3 hours a year to clear the area where I plan on building & making grade improvements.
Appy is right too...I do not want to be paying for used machinery to sit around and try to maintain...better to connect with a reliable neighbor who can profit from its use. I'll be happy with a medium Ford back-hoe with a bush-hog.

The biggest distraction is that I have 1100 feet of river front...and the bass are waiting.-I'll never get anything done!

Now that I have Pete's planting guide (I'll post it in the barn!)...what about livestock????

I doubt you want to deal with equipment to actually "farm" 12 acres. You can pick up a small tractor like a 1970's Ford 2000 or so for about $3K a used bush hog for $500 or so just to keep the place cleaned up. Farm sales used to be a good place to pick up nice stuff. Alas most small farmers went out in the 80's. To effectively cash crop the land you would need a planter, cultivator, sprayer, hay bine, baler and a tractor to run all of the stuff.

We had a bunch of what we called "patch farmers". They have 12-25 acres and maybe a few impliments, not enough to warrant having equipment but too much to sit idle. They paid someone to plant and harvest.

:memory lane:

I remember when I was 12 or 13 and my dad trades off his old John Deere 40B combine for a brand spankin new 815 International WITH A CAB! All shiney and red. To help pay for it after we combined our 1200 acres he hired me out to cut "patch farmers" stuff. I would go to the shop and get maps drawn on notebook paper. I would go to a place and cut 15 acres, then dump it and drive the combine down the road to the next patch and cut 20 acres, dump it and drive down the road to the next place. I used to drive that big ass combine through town down the highways, all over the place going from patch to patch.

I remember I was the first one to bust the thing too. We were renting a farm that had power lines that ran through the middle of it. There were 2 or 3 poles in a line right through the center. I was cutting wheat and was cruising right along being mindfull of the telephone poles. Well on big combines the unloading auger sticks out the left side of the machine far enough out that you can pull up beside a big grain truck and unload, in other words it sticks WAY out.

Well I expertly missed the telephone pole and guide wire with the header but totally forgot the auger was sticking way out there. The first sounds I heard was the motor lugging followed by a sound that was quite similar to the sound the Million Dollar Man Steve Austin made when he was bending steel followed by a loud bang. I caught the guide wire with the auger and it bent it back. Luckily it broke the latch (they fold back for moving down roads and storage) and didn't really break anything expensive. I thought my ass was grass, brand new combine, less than 20 hours in operation, still smelled new in the cab and I effing broke it. I found the broken part and took it to my dads shop and he welded it back together.

I found a pic. This is the one!

I am getting a woody

 

[Pete]

Funny thing, in 1976 that combine cost about $45K and I remember my dad sweating out making the payments. I wonder if he imagined that pickup trucks would cost that much now days.

 

[RoseRed]

Funny thing, in 1976 that combine cost about $45K and I remember my dad sweating out making the payments. I wonder if he imagined that pickup trucks would cost that much now days.

You need to share some of your dead cow stories.

 

[Hessian]

Hold on a minute Rose...

i'm getting images in my mind from Napolean Dynamite!

 

[Pete]

You need to share some of your dead cow stories.

Nothing like a rousing game of "Touch the dead cow"

 

[RoseRed]

Nothing like a rousing game of "Touch the dead cow"

Please tell it again...

 

[RoseRed]

i'm getting images in my mind from Napolean Dynamite!

Haven't seen it. I am sure that Pete's story is much better and it is a true story.

 

[Pete]

Please tell it again...

I have posted it here before. Maybe you can find it. Too much to type

 

[RoseRed]

I have posted it here before. Maybe you can find it. Too much to type

I thought maybe you had it copied somewhere.

 

[Pete]

I thought maybe you had it copied somewhere.

I can't find it, and I feel like a goober searching for "touch the dead cow"

 

[Pete]

Found it

 

[RoseRed]

Found it

My cousin and I were playing when we were young with a fake bow and arrow set my folks brought us form a trip to N.C. when were both about 8. We got dressed up like indians complete with chicken feather head bands. Well my cousin and I snuck up on some buzzards feasting on a dead cow. Once close enough my cousin and I let out war screams and loosed the arrows. Cousin leaped to his feet and charged just as one of the arrows struck a buzzard. The buzzard, certainly annoyed and startled hopped twice, launched itself into the air and promptly straffed my poor cousin with the most putrid vomit. My grandma spend the better part of the next hour in tha yard with her best Watkins cleaner, a stiff bristle brush and a garden hose cleaning my cousin. To add insult to injury he has to stand neekid in the yard while grandma scrubbed in full veiw of whoever came by. She was not pleased.

Unrelated to buzzards the same cousin (we has unlucky and clumsy) and I were playing a rousing game of "Touch the dead cow" This game is played on really hot days in Ga aprox 1 week after bovine mortality has struck. You see a cow carcass in 100 degree weather gets pretty stinky in a couple days. The object ofthe game is to approach the bloated carcass to where you begin to smell the odor. Next you take a deep breath and run to the carcass where you touch it then return before running out of air. This particular game was going well when my cousin upon appraoching the dead cow at a full run inadvertantly tripped on a root and fell foreward. Feeling himself falling forward he instinctivly thrust both hands would in front of him to break the fall. Now the dead cow in this case had been there long enough that it had begun to lose "structural integrity". You guessed it, both hands right through the hide. Although it wasn't as bad as buzzard puke it was bad enogh for him to puke. Now covered with dead cow funk and his own vomit we both made haste to the house. Yet again he got the stiff brisle brush and Watkins cleaner treatment.

 

[RoseRed]

More...

In early summer every year the china berry trees would begin to shed their berries onto the ground. These berries would lay on the ground and ferment in the sun where migrating robins would stop by and fill up on them. Well the robins with a craw full of fermented china berries would become drunk and hop around the ground lazily unable to fly. The drunk robins then became easy prey to the farm cats.

Well, the afore mentioned cousin and I thought that the cats had an unfair advantage. As protectors of the universe we decided to protect the robins from the cats by collecting them up. But what to store them in? We certainly did not want to put them in a box where they could suffocate inthe heat. Problem solved, we retrieved grandmas wicker dirty clothes basket from the porch. We were like Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler form our beloved Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. We must have caught 8 robins and safely deposited in the wicker laundry hamper. We then went off to goof elseware convinced we had done a great service.

While we were gone grandpa had come back to the house and on his way in he saw grandmas laundry hamper outside. Helping out he took it in the house where he sat it in the kitchen since grandma was taking a nap as she did every afternoon she was not scrubbing one of us kids in the yard with a hose and a brush.

Well my cousin and I were out burning fire ants with a magnefying glass when we heard a blood curdling scream from the house. It seems that grandma still groggy from her nap got up and went into the kitchen. Puzzled that her laundry hamper was sitting there in the kitchen she opened the top and was greeted by 8 fully sober robbins who escaped to roam the house at will.

Now anyone who has ever had a bird get into their house will testify they can be quite a pain. Multiply this by 8. there were 8 full grown robins looking for anyway to escape. Grandma was cowering in the corner, hair a mess with a serious case of the vapors from being scared nearly to death. It took us about an hour to get all those birds out of the house and another hour to clean up the runny drunk robin poop from everywhere.

 

[RoseRed]

Memory lane...

You probably did. Growing up out in the boonies with a family that was very self supporting was a trip. I know how cottage cheese is made, what part of the cow a ribeye comes from, how to make butter using a converted tub clothes washer, how to can and freeze,

how to fix what you broke, never admit willingly to breaking a plate glass window with a rock, never mix used motor oil, gas and diesel fuel to make your own lighter fluid, the difference between a end wrench and a cresent wrench, how to change my own oil, that "crack" is what the ground does when it is really hot with no rain,

crack is also what the skin on your feet does when you go barefoot all summer, never write a dirty word on your chest with sunblock then drive a tractor all day without a shirt on, always check the height on your trailer before driving under something, only idiots really eat pickled pigs feet, vienna sausage is not a food group, microwaves were created by the bad food fairy, the average 8 foot pickup bed holds about 45 busshells of corn, the average worn out pickup tire will pop at about 44 bushells of corn,

lug nuts go on with the bevel pointed in towards the tire, real men drive John Deer tractors-career mechanics drive International, when pulling a 22 foot disc down a 20 foot road always take out mailboxes instead of telephone poles, chainsaws never forgive, when it doesn't fit a bigger hammer is not always the best option, it is cheaper to feed yourself than it is to feed others, catfish might not technically be "seafood" but it is good,

grits is singular and plural, buzzards will puke on you so stay away from them, the only good snake is a dead one, you can fix anything with the right tools, only pusses actually call a plumber or an electrician,turnips taste bad but pigs like them and pigs taste good especially when smoked, "The Dukes of Hazzard" was pure fiction, if you track cow poop into the house grandma will hit you, no warnings,

when in a dairy barn full of cows whan one pees they all pee, the saying about a cow pizzing on a flat rock is true, baling twine and wire are true tools, if you flip the breather cap over on a 1976 Monte Carlo you can convince stupid people you have a 4 barrel when you really don't, never tip over your cricket bucket in grandmas house on your way to the fishing hole, rattlesnake does not taste like chicken, if you shoot a 30-30 into a red clay bank, the bullet will travel about 18 inches into the dirt,

it makes cops nervous if you follow "them" around, green beans are never supposed to be "crisp" when prepared correctly corn is, chickens are cannibals and will eat their own eggs-once a chicken learns to eat eggs the ony way to "unteach" them involves a pot of boiling water and an ax, a cow has strong nostrils, and finally city folks are not very smart but they are cunning and should be watched carefully.

 

[happyappygirl]

I'm getting images of Me, Myself & Irene, where he tries to kill the cow they ran over in the road