Our friends at 6B Seed and Supplies are in one of their favorite seasons – fall! We’ve loved following their crew along this year – thanks, Baruth Family!
Farm Fall Favorites
As fall has come in fast and furious so has the workload. We seem to talk a lot about how busy things get, but fall although busy, is deemed to be the most rewarding. All the hard work that was put in during calving season and planting season is seen.
This past week we weaned the calves as well as pregnancy tested the cows. We talked previously about preconditioning the calves and now, it’s already 30 days later and time to gather them up and separate them from their mamas. If the cows cooperate, it is a pretty simple task — round up and sort. The work is in the preparation, for the last week we have been getting water tanks, Hubbard Brigade stress tubs and making sure the pen is secure so that no calves are able to get out.
For the first two days, the calves are fed hay up by the feed bunks. The calves spend a great deal of time walking the pen to try to find their mamas. We put in larger tanks so that the calves have access to fresh water and stress tubs to lick on. We also give them their booster shots at this time. As the calves’ cries begin to wind down, we then begin to feed them in the feed bunks, the quicker the calves start to eat the healthier they will stay.
Another big task completed is pregnancy testing the cows. This determines the potential of your next calf crop and how well your bulls performed. We do this at weaning time since the cows are already rounded up and we will be in the combine for the next, well who knows. Doing this early allows us to sell off the open cows and not put another 30-60 days of feed or additional grazing expense into a no pregnant animal.
The other exciting thing that happens in the fall at 6B Seed and Supplies is our Customer Appreciation meal. This allows us to show how much we cherish and appreciate the customers that do business with us. As a small family owned and operated business, we like to make sure we have something for everyone. This year in addition to great food and beverages, we also added more fun for the kids.
As I write this, I am blessed to look out the window at the puddles in my driveway! The rain this past weekend was not only a blessing for fall moisture, combine fire safety but also allowed me to catch up in the house and get a few meals ready for harvest! Fingers crossed by the middle of the week my office will be relocated in the cab of my favorite Case Combine.