Grass

[novatech]

There isn't any.
I like to walk my pastures daily. Now there is nothing to see. Everything is mud and has been for way to long. The stockpiled forage is gone. The clover, rye and oats are dormant. I,m so bored I'm ready to go nuts. Feeding hay doesn't last long and all I see when doing it is dollars turning into manure.
How do you northern folks handle this? Heard its going to be below zero in Min. today. What the heck you do all day? :help:
I'm ready for spring.

 

[Jim62]

Same over here. Shouldn't ryegrass be growing right about now?

 

[1982vett]

At least we found out it can rain again. I was beginning to wonder since it hadn't rained all year. Had 6/10ths yesterday morning, haven't felt like taking a look this morning yet but it was dripping everytime I woke up during the night. If it keeps this up we should have a green Spring......maybe even Summer.

I misjudged growth on the oats too. Just about out and like you said, it is just about dormant since all the cold freezing weather we had.

Jim, the ryegrass/oats would be growing if it weren't for the "global warming" taking a vacation We've gotten used to the warm sunny winters. A lot of it didn't get planted on time and didn't get any growth before it turned cold. Nobody wanted to plant in the drought and then it was to wet to plant. Get it in and growing early lets us graze thru January and February without needing it to grow when we hit our cold weather. Usually by the end of February it starts to warm up enough to recover from the cold.

 

[farmwriter]

Same here. The winter grazing is cool season - not week-and-a-half-ice-on-the-ground season.

 

[Caustic Burno]

There isn't any.
I like to walk my pastures daily. Now there is nothing to see. Everything is mud and has been for way to long. The stockpiled forage is gone. The clover, rye and oats are dormant. I,m so bored I'm ready to go nuts. Feeding hay doesn't last long and all I see when doing it is dollars turning into manure.
How do you northern folks handle this? Heard its going to be below zero in Min. today. What the heck you do all day? :help:
I'm ready for spring.

I am thinking of moving further south.
I haul hay and firewood then I haul hay then firewood.

 

[Aaron]

There isn't any.
I like to walk my pastures daily. Now there is nothing to see. Everything is mud and has been for way to long. The stockpiled forage is gone. The clover, rye and oats are dormant. I,m so bored I'm ready to go nuts. Feeding hay doesn't last long and all I see when doing it is dollars turning into manure.
How do you northern folks handle this? Heard its going to be below zero in Min. today. What the heck you do all day? :help:
I'm ready for spring.

I see them as big brown mounds of money. It's all about the cycle of life.

Today, I will go check everyone's feeders for adequate hay. Then probably go to the bush and cut spruce for rails for my bull corral. Might go visit the neighbours and see what they are up to today. It's 28F right now. HEAT WAVE! :banana: :cowboy:

 

[angie1]

There isn't any.
I like to walk my pastures daily. Now there is nothing to see. Everything is mud and has been for way to long. The stockpiled forage is gone. The clover, rye and oats are dormant. I,m so bored I'm ready to go nuts. Feeding hay doesn't last long and all I see when doing it is dollars turning into manure.
How do you northern folks handle this? Heard its going to be below zero in Min. today. What the heck you do all day? :help:
I'm ready for spring.

Actually, it is really beautiful here today ~ I am guessing it is in the high teens now. I think the whole state is above zero. My youngest is going snowmobiling today with his friends, and it is a great day for that. Saturday there is bingo at the legion ~ that's always a good time. A couple of the people I work with are ice fishing today, it is warm enough to stand on the ice if you have to. There are few things I enjoy more than fishing regardless of what time of year it is. MM enjoys downhill skiing in the winter. We play a lot of cards. This is wrestling season, and wrestling is big in small town Mn, so many people follow their kids around the state doing that on weekends through the winter ~ I did that with my oldest for about 13 winters and loved it. But as nice as it is, today is a good day to be out working if there is work to do, this warm is just a break in the ugly. February is coming, and can be the worst month of the year as far as temps go.

Personally, I am ready for spring sometime in early October when the last of the leaves fall. Love the snow, hate the cold.

I talked to my dad in AK the other day. He said a bale of grass hay, which is about the quarter size of the squares we have here, is selling for $13 a bale at the grocery store he shops at. Saw a guy buying several for his horses. Imagine how that feels... :cry2:

 

[SRBeef]

There isn't any.
I like to walk my pastures daily. Now there is nothing to see. Everything is mud and has been for way to long. The stockpiled forage is gone. The clover, rye and oats are dormant. I,m so bored I'm ready to go nuts. Feeding hay doesn't last long and all I see when doing it is dollars turning into manure.
How do you northern folks handle this? Heard its going to be below zero in Min. today. What the heck you do all day? :help:
I'm ready for spring.

Today I'll be cutting firewood, (chain saw really warms you up) moving the corn grazing wire, maybe shovel the snow out of my scale area in the alley so I can get some weights if I give them a treat in the corral, check the hay rings.... it's in the upper 20's F here today.

I am probably in a minority but I like this time of year in WI. I also like summer. I do NOT like mud. I'd be happy if it went from snow covered and the teens to 60 degrees and green grass over night.

Time moves fast enough...no sense rushing it. jmho. Jim

edit: Angie, I assume AK is Alaska? Your story reminds me of seeing some tiny bales about the size of a shoe box in the feed store recently. I thought they were for a display or something. The clerk said no they were for sale and folks bought them for rabbits, etc. I sure would hate to feed a horse from the grocery store! But think what horses do for the economy!

 

[angie1]

Angie, I assume AK is Alaska? I sure would hate to feed a horse from the grocery store!

Yes, Ak is Alaska. I should not have called the store a grocery store, as they are more of a general store. Stores in rural Ak sell everything. In one store you buy your food, a 4 wheeler or boat, clothes, farm supplies, boots, camping gear, hardware etc.... See? So it is not so much like buying from the grocery store as it is the "store". It was a crazy place to live, and extremely expensive.

 

[fargus]

Could go out and cut firewood. But with this warm weather the raccoons are up again. Taking it easy during the day and we'll take a couple of the cur dogs out tonight for a couple hours and see if we can't get a few more up a tree. I go to a lot of courses, meetings, etc. I also have an off-farm job. My wife works on our website, trains puppies, gets them ready for the real working season.

We curl, go skiing, used to play hockey, but haven't had time for awhile. There's lots to do, but it all takes more energy in the cold!

 

[AngusLimoX]

I am probably in a minority but I like this time of year in WI. I also like summer. I do NOT like mud. I'd be happy if it went from snow covered and the teens to 60 degrees and green grass over night.

I am in your minority, mud is miserable, mild moist conditions equal snotty noses and wheezing and pugged pasture.

 

[msscamp]

There isn't any.

No, there usually isn't during winter. :lol:

I like to walk my pastures daily. Now there is nothing to see. Everything is mud and has been for way to long. The stockpiled forage is gone. The clover, rye and oats are dormant.

Umm, yes, that generally happens during winter - are you just figuring this out?

I,m so bored I'm ready to go nuts. Feeding hay doesn't last long and all I see when doing it is dollars turning into manure.

Change your paradigm(sp?). Hay equals maintaining body condition, supporting unborn calves, providing the necessary nutrition to convert to milk to raise a good calf. It's all about perception.

How do you northern folks handle this? Heard its going to be below zero in Min. today. What the heck you do all day? :help:
I'm ready for spring.

What choice do we have? We can't dictate what the weather will be, so we simply endure. As far as what we do all day, we do what needs to be done. Isn't that why insulated coveralls, insulated gloves, warm hats, and muk luks/Cabela's boots were invented? :lol:

 

[novatech]

There isn't any.

No, there usually isn't during winter. :lol:

I like to walk my pastures daily. Now there is nothing to see. Everything is mud and has been for way to long. The stockpiled forage is gone. The clover, rye and oats are dormant.

Umm, yes, that generally happens during winter - are you just figuring this out?

I,m so bored I'm ready to go nuts. Feeding hay doesn't last long and all I see when doing it is dollars turning into manure.

Change your paradigm(sp?). Hay equals maintaining body condition, supporting unborn calves, providing the necessary nutrition to convert to milk to raise a good calf. It's all about perception.

How do you northern folks handle this? Heard its going to be below zero in Min. today. What the heck you do all day? :help:
I'm ready for spring.

What choice do we have? We can't dictate what the weather will be, so we simply endure. As far as what we do all day, we do what needs to be done. Isn't that why insulated coveralls, insulated gloves, warm hats, and muk luks/Cabela's boots were invented? :lol:

I have not had to feed much hay to speak of for several years. Normally I have enough stockpiled forage to last until the clover and rye kick in. We were in drought this past year. No matter how many acres you had per cow you fed hay this past summer. Therefore there was very little to no stockpiled forage. Unusual cold and rain has set in. The normal rye, oats, and clover is not growing. Everything is mud. We are getting tremendous erosion on the slopes. Buy the time the cows finish off a bale of hay, 1 day, the mud is a foot deep around it. At this point I can see a lot of benefit to frozen or snow covered ground.
Yes we will endure what ever the good Lord deals me. But I don't have to like it. We will do what we have to do but in this slop that is about all until it dries out. It flat out is not enough to fill out my day so I have resorted to belly aching on the boards.

 

[AngusLimoX]

But I don't have to like it. We will do what we have to do but in this slop that is about all until it dries out. It flat out is not enough to fill out my day so I have resorted to belly aching on the boards.

I'll join you - not going below zero untill next Saturday now. One spring is bad enough a year.

You listening Ma Nature!! :heart:

 

[fargus]

But I don't have to like it. We will do what we have to do but in this slop that is about all until it dries out. It flat out is not enough to fill out my day so I have resorted to belly aching on the boards.

I'll join you - not going below zero untill next Saturday now. One spring is bad enough a year.

You listening Ma Nature!! :heart:

I'll take this mild weather. One thing I hate more than mud is blowing snow. That has to be the biggest waste of diesel fuel ever invented. That being said at least it is freezing here during the night, so things stay relatively dry.

 

[Jogeephus]

Last few droughts made me appreciate mud. Front just moved through and left us with 2-3 inches of rain. Temp is now 67 F which should get some things growing. Got a year's surplus of hay, got rain, good weather I'm a happy camper. Maybe I need to buy more cows. :shock:

 

[dun]

Maybe I need to buy more cows. :shock:

When you get the urge, remember the drought years, that sobers you up pretty fast.

 

[AngusLimoX]

Maybe I need to buy more cows. :shock:

You got mud fever!! Get to a Doc real quick!

 

[Jogeephus]

Maybe I need to buy more cows. :shock:

When you get the urge, remember the drought years, that sobers you up pretty fast.

:lol: :lol: Believe me I do. Those drought years are seared in my mind. Things are so much easier when you work in the rain with a dull pencil.

 

[novatech]

Maybe I need to buy more cows. :shock:

When you get the urge, remember the drought years, that sobers you up pretty fast.

:lol: :lol: Believe me I do. Those drought years are seared in my mind. Things are so much easier when you work in the rain with a dull pencil.

We prayed for rain in mass down here last summer. We got the rain accordingly. You just gotta know He's up there laughing.
Sure turned out nice today. Just wanted to stand in the pasture and watch the grass grow. The wife had other ideas.