How do you farm?

[sim.-ang.king]

We don't think about it much, but operations are ran different from state to state, and even from county to county. So I always love seeing and reading how the people raise livestock, and crops in different area of the country or world for that fact. So if you would please give us a layout of how farms are run in your area, and pictures might help too.

I'll start.

In my county most raise grain, and hardly any raise just livestock, in fact probably only 1 or 2 that do. Most farms are set up by going and finding the worst ground on a hill, and place your house there and put your cattle around your house, or go and find some more cheap ground and put them there. Then go out and find the better ground for your grain which maybe a mile from your home, or 10 miles.
In the winter time we bring our cattle home from other pastures when the grass runs out, and start feeding them in a sort of feed lot set up on a few acres of grass and feed mostly hay there.
Our weaned calves go to a small dirt(mud most the time)lot, and most the time have a small shed, or old converted hog brooder house for them to stay in. We raise them to 400-500 pounds then send them off to the sale barn. The replacement heifers stay in the lot till they are either old nuff to go back to pasture, or we keep them in longer, depending on the amount of grass.
And we do raise show calves, but most just raise a steer to show at the fair in my county.
We plant mostly corn, and soybeans, and maybe wheat if we get a good fall. Our land is usely old prairie land, or thin timber that was cleared many years ago. We don't get the higher numbers like they get in Northern IL, but in a really good year we can get 180 bushels to the acre on corn, and 45 bushels to the acre avg on beans with some making 70. Only one year in the past 10 we made 210 bushels to the acre on corn, that was a wonderful year even with $2 corn!
So that kind of gives you a over site of how our farms are ran, now lets hear from you!

[I luv herfrds]

Well sim a little history on our place.
Hubby's grandfather bought this place back in the 1920's. HIs brother and grandfather had sold out the original homestead and were heading for Washington State. No idea why he stayed but he did real well here. Raised wheat and at the time sheep. He got out of the sheep and into cattle back in the 1940's. Bought proved up home steads around here for taxes owed during the dirty 30's.
Some of these old places are now planted into a tame grass and we graze our cattle on them. Also during the summer if it has grown good we hay them.
Raise winter wheat, malt barley, alfalfa and our own hay barley.

We have changed our way of operation in the cattle but we still culivate and summer fallow our crops.
What we have changed with our cattle is the calves are weaned in October, period. First weekend. They are put in our corral for around 2 months then they are turned out into a the first half of 2 pastures. If it starts snowing they are brought in and locked in the corral. Had them snowed out of the corral one year. Been pretty open this year. We used to run our fisrt year heifers in that pasture and feed them in the corral. Now we just kick them out to the winter pasture with the main herd.
We open up the second pasture for the breeding season for the yearlings. Put the bulls out with the main herd right after we move them to the summer pasture. Keeps the problems with our northern neighbor to a lower level.

[hypo-chrisy]

In the winter time we bring our cattle home from other pastures when the grass runs out, and start feeding them in a sort of feed lot set up on a few acres of grass and feed mostly hay there.
Our weaned calves go to a small dirt(mud most the time)lot, and most the time have a small shed, or old converted hog brooder house for them to stay in. We raise them to 400-500 pounds then send them off to the sale barn. The replacement heifers stay in the lot till they are either old nuff to go back to pasture, or we keep them in longer, depending on the amount of grass.
And we do raise show calves, but most just raise a steer to show at the fair in my county.

You must have impressive cows with those weanin weights.

[sim.-ang.king]

In the winter time we bring our cattle home from other pastures when the grass runs out, and start feeding them in a sort of feed lot set up on a few acres of grass and feed mostly hay there.
Our weaned calves go to a small dirt(mud most the time)lot, and most the time have a small shed, or old converted hog brooder house for them to stay in. We raise them to 400-500 pounds then send them off to the sale barn. The replacement heifers stay in the lot till they are either old nuff to go back to pasture, or we keep them in longer, depending on the amount of grass.
And we do raise show calves, but most just raise a steer to show at the fair in my county.

You must have impressive cows with those weanin weights.

I didn't say i wean 400-500 lbs calves, they are about 150-300 lbs at 4-6months weaning depending on weather and grass

[sim.-ang.king]

Well sim a little history on our place.
Hubby's grandfather bought this place back in the 1920's. HIs brother and grandfather had sold out the original homestead and were heading for Washington State. No idea why he stayed but he did real well here. Raised wheat and at the time sheep. He got out of the sheep and into cattle back in the 1940's. Bought proved up home steads around here for taxes owed during the dirty 30's.
Some of these old places are now planted into a tame grass and we graze our cattle on them. Also during the summer if it has grown good we hay them.
Raise winter wheat, malt barley, alfalfa and our own hay barley.

We have changed our way of operation in the cattle but we still culivate and summer fallow our crops.
What we have changed with our cattle is the calves are weaned in October, period. First weekend. They are put in our corral for around 2 months then they are turned out into a the first half of 2 pastures. If it starts snowing they are brought in and locked in the corral. Had them snowed out of the corral one year. Been pretty open this year. We used to run our fisrt year heifers in that pasture and feed them in the corral. Now we just kick them out to the winter pasture with the main herd.
We open up the second pasture for the breeding season for the yearlings. Put the bulls out with the main herd right after we move them to the summer pasture. Keeps the problems with our northern neighbor to a lower level.

Like the history part you added. makes a nice addition.

[hypo-chrisy]

In the winter time we bring our cattle home from other pastures when the grass runs out, and start feeding them in a sort of feed lot set up on a few acres of grass and feed mostly hay there.
Our weaned calves go to a small dirt(mud most the time)lot, and most the time have a small shed, or old converted hog brooder house for them to stay in. We raise them to 400-500 pounds then send them off to the sale barn. The replacement heifers stay in the lot till they are either old nuff to go back to pasture, or we keep them in longer, depending on the amount of grass.
And we do raise show calves, but most just raise a steer to show at the fair in my county.

You must have impressive cows with those weanin weights.

I didn't say i wean 400-500 lbs calves, they are about 150-300 lbs at 4-6months weaning depending on weather and grass

Like I said impressive cows, feedlottin to reach 500 pounds

[sim.-ang.king]

Well then I guess I have impressive cows...I thought as them as just avg joes compared to what great numbers I hear of on here

[regolith]

Like I said impressive cows, feedlottin to reach 500 pounds

I guess you have the type that take their calves to 700?
My cows take them to about 90 lb if they're lucky... often less. Then I sell their milk and raise the calves myself.

[JSCATTLE]

I don't have any crop land . I have 25 acres at my house that I cut my hay off of . I have 200 acres of perchased land . 100 acres in pasture that I rotational graze and 100 acres that I'm clearing and planting . Until last year I leased a additional 700 acres that I ran cows on . I would bring them all home to hay in the winter . Mainly to improve my place . Also to keep from hauling hay all over . Now I'm down to 60 cows and I'm in pay off mode . Trying to pay everything off I have a note on in the next 2 years then I'll expand again. I doubt I'll lease anymore unless it's a really nice place . I'm tired of fixing up other peoples places for them to see or give to their friends .

[cow pollinater]

We have lots of five and ten acre parcels here on the valley floor that are intersperced with bigger parcels of farmground. All of it is wall to wall farmground of some sort. In my area it's trees. I live on a five acre block of citrus and I'm purchasing my neighbors five acres of pecans along with a hundred plus year old home that was built after my great granddad gave the property(as well as the one I live on) to a widow. I also farm twenty acres of walnuts across the street that I lease from my father and another five acres of citrus ten miles away. All of the hay and corn is grown a little further out into the valley floor in dairy country. Twenty miles from me.
As far as cattle, I'm one of few people who have any irrigated pasture here in the valley. My horses, bulls, and whatever cows I'm keeping in my spring herd to make bulls with live down here in the summer and then get moved up to the mountain during the winter, which is when our grass grows. In all honesty, that irrigated ground would be better off farmed but it would need a new well and the owner is old enough that he'd be to old to take care of trees by the time they came into production and since he's not ready to sell and he likes cattle, he leases it to me.
Our mountain pasture runs about 10-12 acres to the head and can get pretty steep. On my 1,285 acres I have a rise of over a thousand feet in elevation so even our run of the mill cow calf deal can get pretty western compared to what alot of people are used to.

[sim.-ang.king]

CP, where does most of your citrus end, juice or whole fruit?

[cow pollinater]

CP, where does most of your citrus end, juice or whole fruit?

We're all whole fruit unless we get a hard freeze. Our clay soils and climate are perfect for making good flavored, pretty packaged navel oranges.
Almost all whole citrus is grown here in CA. Most other states raise juice as the climate here really produces pretty color and high sugar content. We do still raise a few valencias(juice oranges) but it's in the areas that freeze often enough that a navel crop won't make it but the terrain won't grow much else.

[sim.-ang.king]

CP, where does most of your citrus end, juice or whole fruit?

We're all whole fruit unless we get a hard freeze. Our clay soils and climate are perfect for making good flavored, pretty packaged navel oranges.
Almost all whole citrus is grown here in CA. Most other states raise juice as the climate here really produces pretty color and high sugar content. We do still raise a few valencias(juice oranges) but it's in the areas that freeze often enough that a navel crop won't make it but the terrain won't grow much else.

Hey if it freezes you can sell it as frozen concentrate.
Very cool to her about fruits, we only have apples, peaches, and strawberry here.

[hypo-chrisy]

Like I said impressive cows, feedlottin to reach 500 pounds

I guess you have the type that take their calves to 700?
My cows take them to about 90 lb if they're lucky... often less. Then I sell their milk and raise the calves myself.

600 pounds usually up to 630 down to 590 an first calvers round 550. Just thougt if your feedin them mite as well give em more weigt than 500 thats all.

[ALACOWMAN]

In the winter time we bring our cattle home from other pastures when the grass runs out, and start feeding them in a sort of feed lot set up on a few acres of grass and feed mostly hay there.
Our weaned calves go to a small dirt(mud most the time)lot, and most the time have a small shed, or old converted hog brooder house for them to stay in. We raise them to 400-500 pounds then send them off to the sale barn. The replacement heifers stay in the lot till they are either old nuff to go back to pasture, or we keep them in longer, depending on the amount of grass.
And we do raise show calves, but most just raise a steer to show at the fair in my county.

You must have impressive cows with those weanin weights.

I didn't say i wean 400-500 lbs calves, they are about 150-300 lbs at 4-6months weaning depending on weather and grass

ive read this a few times .....i cant even calculate what im reading