Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2020 i Farm and Ranch Living

“Nice winter we’re having this spring.” It’s a common refrain here in the Upper Midwest—one we don’t completely retire until the first of June. (Meanwhile, my friends and family out West are busy tilling up the soil in preparation for planting.) But no matter how chilly, muddy, frostbitten or bogged down in snow we get, the work still needs doing. Wisconsin farmer Josh Nagel, whose ag diary begins on page 26, can attest to that. His family raises cattle, hogs and chickens, and taps trees to make maple syrup. He is also an elementary school counselor, a school bus driver and, when record snowfalls demand, a tireless snow-shoveler, too. Now, I enjoy shoveling snow, but if I’d had a month like Josh did, I might be singing a different tune.…

Many people chimed in via email and social media regarding the mystery tool pictured above, which was sent in by reader Emmett Machande. We received quite a wide variety of answers, ranging from a seal cutter for bulk liquids to a seedling shovel to a tree borer. By far the most common answer was an old boot stretcher that’s missing its wooden parts. Do you think we got it right? If you have a tool mystery you’d like help solving, send us a photo and any supporting info using the link below, and we’ll see if we can help.…

SEND US YOUR STORY Share stories and photos with us using the online form at farmandranchliving.com/submit. HELP US SORT THINGS OUT Include the name of the department your submission is for (Prettiest Place, Tractor Talk, etc.). For any photos you submit, please identify the people, city, state and year the photo was taken. We reserve the right to use submissions in any section of our magazine, or elsewhere. WHAT YOU’LL GET If we print your submission in the magazine, we will send you a complimentary copy of the issue in which it appears. PHOTOS We accept high-resolution digital images. Digital images should be about 4 x 6 inches at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch, or about 1200 x 1800 pixels. Photos must be in focus and of…

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS and a short story for a chance to win the $500 grand prize in our first-ever My Favorite Truck contest. If you have a farm truck that has stood the test of time, enter photos and a 300-word essay for your chance to win $500. Two runners-up will each be awarded $50. If you restored the truck, send before and after pictures. We can’t wait to hear about the ups and downs that come with maintaining an old workhorse—or getting a vintage truck back up and running. Hurry! The contest ends June 5, 2020. Enter at : farmandranchliving.com/contests…

Our daughter loves life on our ranch. She thinks she’s the ranch manager, and one day she’ll probably make quite the hand. She likes horses and cows and enjoys riding in the tractor every day. BRITTANY KENYON CLEAR LAKE, SOUTH DAKOTA 1. NEVER TOO COLD It was 10 below zero on this day, but we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Admittedly, Dad does most of the work, but feeding our beef cows is always a family affair. MICHAELA BERTOVICH AVELLA, PENNSYLVANIA 2. A MATCHING SET Our son Cade was a little over a year old in this photo. Cows and horses are his favorite animals; he would be the happiest boy in the world if we let him live with the cows during calving season. MALISSA CASCIATO KAYCEE, WYOMING…

Raising cattle and hogs during a Wisconsin winter—with its snow, ice, rain and extreme temperatures—can be grueling. Here’s what we do to make it work. • Keep the clean water flowing: Make sure tank heaters and heat tape are working to provide a constant, open source of water. • Supply silage and free-choice hay so cattle stay warm and well-fed. • Implement a proper mineral feeding program to keep livestock healthy and reproduction rates up. • Maintain clean barns and dry animals. Add a thick layer of bedding (straw, wood shavings, bean stubble) on top of barn floors for insulation. • Provide shelter and windbreaks. • Push early season snow far enough away so as winter wears on, you’ll have plenty of open space to deposit more snow. This will…

Although the job has some wonderful perks, it’s not easy being a rural veterinarian. The work is physically demanding, it’s tough to make a living, and there’s one thing vets commonly encounter that can make things downright dangerous: farms without the equipment necessary for the safe and effective handling of large animals. “Probably 75% to 80% of the farms in my area do not have the facilities to be able to work their livestock,” says Dr. Seth Stowers, who owns a practice in rural north Georgia. “They don’t have a chute, they don’t have a catch pen with an alleyway or even a head catch, for that matter. It’s really hard to do herd health and preventive medicine on those farms.” If you can’t afford to plunk down $5,000 on…

Almost half a century ago, my grandpa, James Jones, bought a 1941 model A slant dash John Deere for $100, put a battery in it and drove it home, about 10 miles away. For years he used it to plow his parents’ garden, where they grew corn, okra, squash, tomatoes, cantaloupes, onions, cucumbers and more. I remember riding on this tractor with him when I was a little kid, and I loved every minute of it. When I was around 4 or 5 years old, he bought a 1963 Massey Ferguson 35 Deluxe and stopped using the model A. For most of its life, that tractor sat outside. But in the early ’90s Grandpa built a barn, and that’s where it lived for the next 22 years. As I got…

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THE GREYS HAVE IT I found Nathaniel Miller’s story in the October/November issue to be very well written, and I was pleased to learn that, like us, he raises grass-fed beef and has started using Murray Greys. We just had our second calf crop by a Murray Grey bull, and we’re so impressed with the results. As an aside, I have been a Farm & Ranch subscriber since the first issue. KATHLEEN RINTA YACOLT, WASHINGTON FINE FARM MEMORIES Years ago I was a farmer’s daughter, and Shaun Lambertsen’s ag diary woke up my memories of that life and how hard a farmer works. Shaun shared the highs and lows of his experiences, and I wanted his daily accounting to continue. It made my heart smile. JO ANN CARMAN FINDLAY, OHIO…

1. Mushrooms release spores, a process that is similar to plants releasing seeds. We collect the spores and give them a time and place to begin growing. 2. The spores colonize to create mycelium growth (similar to a root system). The mycelium growth is transferred to a sterile, gluten-free carrier grain, which becomes its food source. The unit of mycelium growing on a grain is called spawn. 3. When spawn is introduced to our pasteurized compost, it migrates away from the sterile carrier grain and colonizes in the compost, where it has better food to grow a stronger root system. 4. During this stage, we control the humidity, temperature, and carbon dioxide/oxygen levels. We also introduce water through casing material (peat moss, limestone and water) and continue to water by…

In the summer of 2018, my husband and I bought 13 acres of farmland in southeastern Wisconsin. Since then, Rob and I have been getting to know our land’s history from others who live in the region. There is still much to learn, but we have been told that ours is an old horse farm. When we bought a fixer-upper farmhouse, we didn’t plan to give it away—let alone allow it to burn. But that’s just what we did. And, strange as it may sound, I’m glad. The original deed dates back to 1858, 10 years after Wisconsin was declared a state. That owner had a total of 80 acres, but then between 1873 and 1934, the land was split into smaller lots, most likely the result of family members…

My husband and I inherited several acres of Florida’s finest underbrush, and with it came six female goats. Known for their ability to munch through almost anything, it seemed like a reasonable idea to let these all-natural mowers clear the land. But to get the job done, we would need more goats. We had two options: purchase a few nannies or bring in a buck. Financially, the decision was clear. “Get ready, ladies,” we announced, “your life is about to change.” Soon a neighbor delivered the smelliest, ugliest, meanest goat ever born to its species. We weren’t sure that a little buffalo blood didn’t run in his veins. A dark mantle of hair fell from stocky, broad shoulders, and a pug-nosed face held eyes that burned with rage. To top…

We hid a drawing of a horseshoe like the one above on page 36 of the December/January issue. Then we drew names at random from all the readers who found it. Each winner received a year’s subscription to Farm & Ranch Living. We hid another one in this issue. It could be hidden anywhere, so keep a sharp eye out. Enter the contest on our website at farmandranchliving.com if you find it. From those submissions, we’ll draw additional names and send those readers a year’s subscription or subscription extension to Farm & Ranch Living. No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. The sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of…