THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY JIM TATE AT THE 7/9/2014 VFGC FORAGE EVENT IN RAPHINE VA.
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THE PHOTOS ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER AND I HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO CAPTION THEM YET.
I JUST DISCOVERED THAT IF YOU CLICK ON A PHOTO TWICE YOU CAN SEE IT EVEN LARGER….YOU STILL HAVE TO USE YOUR BROWSER BACK BUTTON TO GO BACK TO THE BLOG.
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chainer summer cover 2
mystery grass 1
mystery grass 2
mystery grass 3
mystery grass 4 with clip board
mystery grass in the shade of a holly tree
mystery grass in unimproved pasture
mystery grass spreads by rhizomes
some of the tobin herd
The Bull of the Woods
Tobin and his Cows
Tobin future pasture 1
Tobing future pasture 2
tobin pasture 1
Tobin Pasture 2
Tobins good pond
what is this legume?
I was scheduled to plant the first plot fo my spring planted early cover crops this past weekend (2/15/2014)….
My ambition is to plant a paddock every two weeks and monitor response…and photograph and post results here…..
But all the paddocks were covered or mostly covered with a hard crusted snow…..
since I had little interest in feeding the birds expensive seed and the ground under the snow was too wet to get to with the tractor…..
I have postponed the initial planting until next weekend…..we are supposed ot have warm weather this week but still have chances of precipitation…..My whole place is a quagmire and my gray horse is the same color as my brown horse.
12 February 2014
COVER CROP OBSERVATIONS AND THOUGHTS
Several folks have commented on the lack of cover crop postings on my blog lately…there are reasons for this other than my being trifling….
There is not much to report…..
Part of this was expected……when we went into this project last year most folks in an effort to get a good early stand planted the cover crop behind corn……That was great for last year. But this year it meant that a lot of cover crop was behind beans and late…this was not a good year to plant late cover….
A lot of the paddocks sown at my house after say the 20th of October still have not shown me anything….nothing planted at my house after the 1st of November has shown me anything….
Photo below.
My best field which had was planted memorial day and had great cover on it is now just a brown biomass. There are possibly some Rape plants which are not dead. I am pretty sure the crimson clover is okay and just not visible because of the biomass. I think a few winter peas still survive….but everything else appears to have winter killed….even the winter oats…the mustard that was so pretty in the fall is a few scraggly frosted stems where it bolted. The radishes are nearly decomposed..photo be;owere is a picture from Eastview. Taken the end of October. I talked to F.C. this week and he says it is just a brown dead looking patch right now….
Below is a photo taken of Howard Smiths official test plot also taken on Halloween. I have not been back to look at it since the cold weather….
Below are some cover crop plots at the Orange Research station. In the foreground were the early planted and in the background were the same plots planted after October 25th. It was not a good year to plant late cover crops…..
Below Rye….seeded mid September and amended with dairy manure…..a very good cover….
Below Rye seeded mid November after beans with no amendments
Summer Cover Crops
We are in the process of soliciting orders for summer cover crop seed…..We have a few producers who can and do plant summer cover crops as part of the project. We also have a few other producers who have requested to buy seed who are not a part of the project.
This summer we are going to buy Kings Agriseed and they will blend and bag and label the mix for us….
The tentative mix is below….tentative because we may have to adjust the mix to get the needed volume to balance. It will be a pretty complex mix with a lot of diversity.
species
PEARL MILLETT
COWPEAS
BUCKWHEAT
DWARF BMR SORGHUM
3 WAY CLOVER
BROADCASTER
ANNUAL RYEGRASS
SUNFLOWERS
for more information or to order….contact Jim Tate at
or
Above…..Keenbell Farm daily move while grazing summer cover….10 acres cover. Stocked at 70 animal units per acre per day grazed in July and again in September. 1400 animal unit grazing days on 10 acres….steers gaining upwards of 3.5 lbs per day. They are planting thirty plus acres this year.
COVER CROP OBSERVATIONS…….. by Tate and in no particular order than as they come to me…..each is probably a great topic for extensive debate and discussion.
Remember the great quote from Henry Ford…..”Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”
What you plant needs to be influenced mostly by what you are trying to accomplish. Different species of covers have different attributes.
The best nitrogen fixation and biomass cover is generally considered by grain producers to be a weed but it is Vetch and I love Lana Wolly Pod Vetch.
Next best nitrogen fixer is Crimson clover.
Early planted covers do the most good in soil protection and micro biota feeding.
Tillage kills life in the soil….Gabe Brown from North Dakota does not even use row markers because it is too much tillage for him….he told me that himself…..
I know most guys want to be planting corn as soon as possible….but waiting for the cover crop to achieve some biomass and putting the biomass in contact with the soil is invaluable.
Adding livestock to the rotation is very valuable in soil building and enhances the process….cattle prices are good and are expected to hold for a few years as the national herd is at historic low levels….I have improved my pastures simply by implementing a program of managed grazing….and quit buying lime and fertilizer….over five years ago….
Rye grass and Tillage Radishes and perhaps a few other crops are going to be on the Virginia approved cover crop species list in the new cost share year…..
The benefit of a tillage radish is not the large radish everyone wants to show off….the large radish is simply a nitrogen sink showing how much nitrogen is in the soil after the cash crop….the benefit of the radish is the long tap root that penetrates deep into the soil….as well as the ground covering large leaf biomass that winterkills.
Mixtures are good but they do not have to be as complex as I have made them…..a grass, a legume and a brassica will go a long way….
We need to find ways to get cover crops planted in beans earlier and more effectively….this includes finding species that will work….if you have ideas …..call me we are looking for innovators….
Small fine seed work pretty well for broadcasting
Larger seed work well for feeding birds and indigenous livestock when broadcasting.
Buckwheat will come up where it touches the soil….
Sumer cover crops produce much more biomass and will build soil more quickly.
Summer cover crops work very well in managed grazing.
Summer cover crops when grazed still put incredible amounts of biomass on the soil.
Fall 2012 late planted covers still did well in the spring…..mostly because the spring was so wet that corn could not be planted early…..I hope that some producers recognized the value of letting the cover crops go for a while…..but I realize that corn planting fever burns hot
Cover crops have become a hot commodity with the seed vendors….there are now cover crop vendors everywhere….some are calling me now….two years ago they would not return my call. Producer demand has driven this
I still think that corn no till seeded directly into legume stands with the legumes still living has great potential….research has been published using bluegrass and white clover.
Cover crops are great for wildlife and great for pollinators as well….cover crops need to be a part of buffers, and cropping rotations and farmscaping…
And finally……the Hanover Caroline Soil and Water Conservation District is now the proud administrative body for the 15 foot cover crop roller previously housed at the Three Rivers District. It is available for use by anyone wanting to give crop rolling a try. We are probably going to house it in Western Hanover with a producer who seriously wants to use it regularly….there is no fee to use it….just call us here at the district to discuss use and transport. It is on a dedicated Donahue transport trailer. But for liability reasons probably either the district or NRCS will transport the unit. Photos below.
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It has been so hot and muggy this Labor day weekend that even the Direct Tee Vee reciever quit working
I quit about lunch time and came in the house to cool off….
had to call Direct Tee Vee because Maries kitchen set was not working….They sent a guy out this afternoon and he has fixed it and gone….the reciever itself had quit working….He replaced that and commented that the connectors looked old and replaced all the connectors on all the cables….and changed out the head on the dish….
I have been cutting grass and sowing new fall cover crops….Took most of the day Saturday just to mow the lawn….It was growing faster that Pete could keep up with it…..Pete has a preference for bermuda
grass…we have a lot of bermuda and crab grass in the lawn and Pete will select the Bermuda…
I have commented before on my rig for sowing cover crops….below is a photo from yesterday…I broadcast the seed and then bush hog the residue and roll it with the aerator….
MY COVER CROP PLANTING RIG
this is what the field looled like after the cows had been through it….mind you this was just two cows and two heifers…. they disappeared into the jungle and I did not see them until I called them out for their evening handout….I give em just a taste of grain in the evenings to keep them coming to the barn when I call them….really makes life easier particularly in the winter….
This field carried them a bit over two weeks.
the not knocked down stalks were taller than I can reach….this one probably was 18 inches higher than I could reach….the field was covered in them….these millet and sorghum stalks are all that are visibly left. I was at Keenbell this week and in the field that they grazed and the buckwheat and cowpeas and clover and the millet were all regrowing and most was head high on me again….
I decided to go ahead and plant mine to the fall cover crop….
another post grazing shot.
while it look slike they ate it all….there is a good bit of residue on the ground….
here is what it looked like after seeding and rolling. then we had a little shower last night…less than 2/10 of an inch….buty I would rather be lucky than good.
I planted another smaller lot this morning….but I did not mow it…It was a grass lot that was grazed by the horses about a week ago…I broadcast the seed and then ran over it with the aerator roller….
Here is a shot of the variety pack of cover crop buckets that I planted for display at the Virginia State Fair.
all did well except the pure turnips and I replanted that one and it is coming on now….
Even the summer cover crop buckets that were grazed inadvertently by the brush abatement crew are recovering nicely now. they may be fit for display as well….
The obligatory picture of Pete waiting for his evening cookie from Marie….he has figured out that if he hangs around the front poorch sooner or later he will get a cookie….
Apache and Pete….Apache is a little jealous of the attention Marie pays to Pete…but he is a good boy and he and Pete get along well….
Stewart saw Pete on Sunday and says he looks like he is gaining weight….I see him too much and can not see him gaining yet….He is still ouchy on all four feet but he is no longer hopping….I think he might make a nice looking pony some day…..he is still easy to get along with and know his name when there is a treat or feed involved.
No photos today…8/20/2013. just a brief progress report on Pete….
Monday evening he saw me pick up the buckets with the soaked beet pulp and greeted me with a loud whinny…..
That whinny got Star Babies attention and she galloped to the stable….Perkins trotted along behind.
The brush abatement crew is a serious challenge to Pete in competition for his groceries…..they gobble theirs down and then try to steal his….So last night I let him out into the yard and pulled his feed pan out as well….
He followed me around until I put feed in his pan….after eating he walked around the yard a little bit….he is walking much better but is still lame in the off front….He even ran a bit very briefly playing with the dogs.
I thought he would graze as there is an abundance of grass in the yard and it needs mowing again already but is too wet to mow….he grazed a little but mostly just investigated and looked things over…..
he could not have been too hungry as he had consumed a half bale of hay yesterday, leaving little waste….and Pete is not a big horse….
I lef thim out and went to feed the bull calves….when I came back and was in the stable hanging more hay for him …here he comes walking into the front side of the stable….he had figured out where the feed comes from…..I went ahead and let him back inot the stall that he has run in access to.
I have ordered his vaccines and a round of fall wormer for everybody from Jeffers….should be here today….
Was tickled to see that the brush abatement crew was still in the lot where they had been placed….the panel additions worked and better news is that they have not challenged the electric fence on the back side of that lot….there is hope…
also moved the cows to the next summer cover grazing strip….they had really cleaned up the first one more than I had anticipated….but they did tread down a lot of stalks and residue….when they finish that field I will resow it with fall cover crops…..our fall seed shipment should be here within a week.
REMINDER …CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO SEE IT LARGER…..USE YOUR BROWER BACK BUTTON TO RETURN TO THE BLOG. As Marie said,,,,I guess we have another new neighbor !!!!! On Saturday a new denizen to what Jack use to call my menagerie arrived. This is a little quarter horse who needed some help…he has been in a pasture with one other horse for quite some time and has been neglected. He is as sweet as he can be and nearly that lame.Jim and Colleen Leahy found a home for the mare and Stewart and I said we would take care of this little gelding. I have started calling him Pete….which is short for Palladin Perkins Pal Peter Pinto. With a few treats and a couple of feedings he is already starting to look to me when I call Pete. And he has figured out that if I hold my hand out I have a treat.
PALLADIN PERKINS PAL PETER PINTO “PETE”
This is a pretty good side view. He is not a bad little horse If we can get him sound and get some weight on him. Jim Leahey had thrown the two of them a salt block and they had really worked on it in the last two days. I started him on beet pulp and mineral last night….he has figured out what a bucket is for….
A GOOD SIDE VIEW OF PETE
It is going to take a few trips to the grocery store to get him in shape….with him and Perkins it will be like feeding two teenagers…..I will spend the nesxt couple of weeks working him up onto some real groceries….last night he got soaked beet pulp and mineral and 4 ounces of vegetable oil. HE has free choice orchardgrass and timothy hay in front of him 24 7. He has pooped so he is not colicy. When they moved the other horse away he did some running and sored his bad feet. 
His feet are pretty bad….at first I htought he was foundered….but now not so much….he is really lame on the off front and sore on all four
There are scars from previous abcesses. Where they were is somewhat swampy and wet and I think he probably has another abcess brewing….we will get it taken care of…..I have already called my farrier….
He does not mind the goats and so I put them back into the small pen with him…..I thought Star Baby and the donkeys were okay with the goats but when Pete arrived she became boss mare and started chasing everybody and kicked one of the goats. no damage apparent ….but I put them in with Pete to be on the safe side.
I have made some progress with the goats….for now they are staying in the pen with Pete….this is in no small part to my cutting and attaching cattle panels to the bottom of the corral panels in all ht eplaces the goats like to crawl under and come into the yard. They have doen a number on the grape vines and my azaleas at the stable. They were still in with Pete this morning instead of standing under the cow barn where I have found them the last six days…. also walked them up into the woods and some of the places i actually want them and they stayed out there for about an hour and looked around….they were barn raised goats and it will take a while for them to adjust.
Apache and Dee Dee are upset because In goat proofing I also eliminated their access to the pastures on the horse side because those places the goats used were the same places the dogs used to go our there…..
left to right….Nimrod, Nellie and Nancy
they managed to regraze the summer cover crop buckets again….the same ones the cows got to last week……oh well….it is raining today and they got a good rain last night and they will come back out….
speakeing of buckets…..these are the cool season cover crops I planted last week….they are coming along nicely…..they were not far enough along to draw the attention of the goats, thank goodness….
And we started grazing the big lot with the summer cover on Friday morning. I took the bush hog and cut two paths and put up two hot wires…..I took two ten foot tall PVC pipes and stood them up to see where I was aiming to as I cut the path fo rthe fences…..cows went into it and I did not see them for 24 hours. this morning it looks like this…..it looks like they have stripped it but I know they have walked a lot of it down and there should be a lot of residue on the ground. I will evaluate this evening and determine when to open th enext strip.
Two mature cows and two heifers….mine is a yearling heifer and the red is Courts and she is just a weanling…..four animals and they went through that stuff like Sherman went thru Georgia….
I have not planted any grass or cover crops this weekend….the lot the horses just came out of got a lot of residue stomped down and it really does not need a cover….nor does the one the cows just came out of…..the patch I planted up by the road is starting to show good growth and the buckwheat is blooming nicely. I probably should go out and scatter some seed but we had 9/10 of an inch last night and it is drizzling now and I don’t want to tear up any fields and the cover needs to be gotten to the soil and or covered…..
BELOW ARE A FEW SHOTS TAKEN THIS MORNING AROUND THE FARM….
BELOW ARE 12 NEW COVER CROP BUCKETS PLANTED FOR DISPAY AT THE VIRGINIA STATE FAIR……I WILL BE THERE ON THE AFTERNOON OF OCT 2 I BELIEVE, TO TALK ABOUT COVER CROPS WITH ANYONE WHO CARES TO STOP BY….WILL HAVE THESE 12 AND THE TWO SUMMER COVER CROP BUCKETS IN THE BACKGROUND AS WELL….THEY ARE RECOVERING AFTER BEING GRAZED ONE DAY LAST WEEK….MY CATTLE MANAGER HAD LEFT THE GATE OPEN AND THE COWS WERE MUNCHING OUT ON THE BUCKETS ONE DAY WHEN i GOT HOME FROM WORK….
12 NEW FALL COVER CROP MIXES PLANTED FOR DISPLAY AT THE VIRGINIA STATE FAIR
BELOW IS THE NEW BRUSH ABATEMENT CREW….THEY JUST CAME IN TODAY FROM LOUISA….MOTHER NANCY WITH TWO OFFSPRING NELLY AND NIMROD….SPOTTED NUBIANS….PRETTY CALM AND 1600 LB STAR BABY IS RUNNING AND SNORTING LIKE THEY ARE LIONS….LOL
COVER PLANTED TWO WEEKS AGO…BUCKWHEAT VERY VISIBLE AND SORGHUM AND MILLET JUST COMING UP….CLOVER IS SPROUTING BUT TOO SMALL TO SEE IN PHOTO.
THE PEARL MILLET IS CATCHING THE SORGHUM SUDAN IN HEIGHT….GOING TO BEGIN TO GRAZ IT NEST WEEKEND…
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE NEW BRUSH ABATEMENT CREW….I AM GOING TO LEAVE THEM ALONE UNTIL THEY GET ACCLIMATED AND THE DONKEYS AND HORSES GET USED TO THEM….THEN THEY WILL ALL GO TOGETHER. ALSO HAVE TO GET A VET TO MAKE NIMROD WETHER TIGHT.
SECOND SHOT OF THE NEW COVER BUCKETS AND THE TWO SUMMER BUCKETS. BY THE WAY….SOIL IS FROM A VDOT PILE OF ROAD DITCH CLEANINGS AMENDED WITH A LITTLE HORSE MANURE….SEEDS SPREAD ON TOP AND HAY MULCH TO COVER THE SEED.
THESE ARE THE NEWLY PLANTED ROOT BOXES….I CUT DOWN THE SUMMER COVER AND FILLED THE BOXES LEVEL FULL AND SCATTERED SEED AND MULCHED….THE ROOT BOXES HAVE REMOVABLE PANELS TO SHOW ROOT PENETRATION INTO THE SOIL….
THESE MAY GO TO THE FAIR AS WELL BUT WERE PLANTED FOR AN NRCS CLASS.
BELOW ARE A FEW OF THE SHOTS I TOOK AT THE SOUTHERN PIEDMEONT AG RESEARCH STATION FIELD DAY ON AUG 7 2013.
JUST A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH PHOTO AS i HAVE MORE TO DOWNLOAD AND ANOTHER POST TO MAKE YET TODAY.
THIS WAS A SHOT OF DR. BRIAN CAMPBELL JUST AFTER THE BULL HAD ENCOURAGED HIM TO GET OUT OF HIS SPACE.
THIS WAS A SHOT FROM THE TRAM AS WE GOT CLOSER TO THE NEW FACILITY
THIS WAS A HOT OF A MIXED SPECIES FORAGE PLOT. BMR SORGHUM PLANTED WITH SOY BEANS AND COW PEAS AND SUNFLOWERS
ANOTHER SHOT OF COWPEAS AND SORGHUM
THE CROWD LOOKS AT THE NEW FACILITIES
THESE WERE A PAIR OF HEIFERS FROM VA DOC USED FOR BODY CONDITION SACORING
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE HEIFERS
YET ANOTHER SHOT OF THE HEIFERS….THESE ARE TWO YEAR OLD HEIFERS DUE TO CALVE THIS FALL
dR bRIAN cAMPBELL
DR CHRIS TEUTSCH SHOQING A SUNFLOWER IN THE bmr FORAGE MIX AND DISCUSSING WHY THE MIX
S AHOT OF THE CROWD STUDYING THE FORAGE MIX
THERE WAS A GOOD CROWD ON HAND FOR THE EVENT AND THE NICE BARBECUE LUNCH
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE WORKING FACILITIES
THIS IS A VIEW DOWN THE ROW….THIS FORAGE WAS PLANTED IN 30 INCH ROWS BUT IT LOOKED THICKER….PEOPLE WERE WALKING DOWN AND INTENTIONALLY UNPLANTED ROW
THIS WAS MY FIRST SHOT OF THE DWARF BMR SORGHUM…i LIKE IT….NEXT YEAR…..
THIS WAS A SHOT FROM THE TROLLEY OF MY FIRST SIGHT OF THE NEW FACILITY
THIS IS A PENDLETON BRED BULL BELONGING TO VA DOC….LOOKS LIKE HE CAME FROM QUAKER HILL FARM…
A PRETTY VIEW FROM THE BARN
THERE WERE SOY BEANS GROWING IN THIS SORGHUM THAT WERE AS TALL AS ME….
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE THE DWAFR BMR SORGHUM
A BIG SUNFLOWER DROOPED INTO THE SORGHUM
VIEWING THE SORGHUM
ONE OF SEVERAL CATTLE FROST FREE WATER TROUGHS INSTALLED TO FACILITATE ROTATIONAL GRAZING
Part of a world weather system project run by the university
pdfangus 