Every Inch Counts

The use of precision agriculture is on the rise in rural Iowa. As this new technology is growing, farmers are maximizing their resources to their advantage. As farmers in Iowa prepare to get in the fields this spring, precision agriculture is a topic that is on most farmers' minds. 

What is precision agriculture? It is a form of technology that is used today to help farmers in a variety of ways on their farm. It can be used for planting, harvesting, tillage, spraying, and fertilizer application.

There are many benefits to using this technology in farming operations today. The first is that is saves money. By using precision agriculture, input costs are reduced and as a result, a higher return on investment can be attained. Input costs can be reduced in a variety of ways.

First, seed overlap is reduced during planting and seed placement is more accurate to maximize yield. An increased yield is obtained by getting more plants in the right spot during planting and the chemicals are also getting applied directly onto the seeds and plants in the right spot. Fuel costs are reduced by making fewer passes through the field. As you can see, costs savings include chemical application costs, fertilizer costs, and reduced seed costs.

An ergonomic benefit to using this technology is that more hours can be worked in the field with less fatigue.

Another facet of precision ag is yield monitoring. With yield monitoring a farmer can see the areas of high and low yield which can help them to make an informed (hopefully cost effective) management decisions whether it is getting an idea where to place tile or putting down a different rate of fertilizer.

Precision agriculture also helps keep track of farm records. These accurate farm records provide valuable information on yield and sales. It also helps to provide information for future management decisions. 

Lastly, precision agriculture is sustainable. Pollution is reduced through a reduction in the wasted use of chemicals.

We are still trying to adopt precision ag on our family farm. It is a large investment and takes a lot of consideration. However, knowing the benefits compared to the costs, I think that this will be a purchase for us in the near future. 

A great resource with more information about precision agriculture can be found at putyourfarmonthemap.com 

I Love Cows!

My favorite animal is a cow. A cow provides some of my favorite foods- milk, cheese (mac ‘n cheese especially!), burgers and steaks! I decided to look up some fun cow facts this morning to share with you. Enjoy!

~In a year’s time a dairy cow produces 1,500 gallons or 6,000 quarts of milk. A Jersey cow will give as much as 3 to 4 gallons or around 16 quarts of milk each day.

~Dairy cows provide us with milk and milk by-products like cheese, butter, and ice cream. In addition, milk is also used to manufacture glue, paint, and plastics.

~Straight from the cow, the temperature of cow’s milk is about 97 degrees Fahrenheit.

~The average U.S. dairy cow produces 22.5 quarts of milk each day. That’s about 16,000 glasses of milk per year – enough for about 40 people. One cow can give 200,000 glasses of milk in a lifetime.

~It takes approximately 1.4 gallons of milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream.

~Cheese was first made over 4,000 years ago in Asia.

~Cows are ruminants or cud-chewing animals eating hay, corn, soybeans, grass, wheat, and ensilage. Each cow eats 20 to 25 pounds of grain, 40 to 60 pounds of ensilage, 30 pounds of hay and drinks about 15 to 25 gallons of water a day.

~A typical, full grown Holstein cow weighs about 1,400 pounds and produces 60 pounds of milk per day.

~One day's production is 2.6 pounds of butter or 7 gallons of milk or 6 pounds of cheese.

~A dairy cow consumes 35 gallons of water, 20 pounds of grain and concentrated feed and 35 pounds of hay or silage (a mixture of corn and grass) in just one day.

My bottle calf, Marvin waiting to get fed. 

~It usually takes about 20 minutes for a cow to be milked. On average a cow is milked 2 to 3 times a day.

~Hamburger meat from a single steer will make about 720 quarter pound hamburger patties. That's enough for a family of 4 to enjoy hamburgers each day for nearly 6 months.

~Most popular cut of beef is ground beef.

~Beef is the #3 source of iron behind fortified cereal and grains.

~The U.S. supplies 25% of the world's beef with 10% of the world's cattle. 

What is your favorite food that comes from a cow? Comment below! 

No more snow.. or yes?

This time of the year we only have one thing on our minds and that is spring time. We cringe anytime we hear the word “snow” in the weather forecast. The shoveling, the falling, and the mess are just a few things that we begin to hate about snow this time of year. Trust me, I am so ready for spring to get here and for all the beautiful colors that it brings (and for planting 2013 to start too, of course)!

I was always taught to look at the positive side of things in situations that I don’t like. Could there be anything good about snow this time of the year? Well, I looked into that, and for how much I hate to say it, the snow has a few benefits this time of the year as we prepare to get in the fields in the next month or two.

Beautiful snow cover ground at sunset at The Young Farms.

Moisture. With the heavy drought that we experienced last year, we are all hoping that spring this year will bring us plenty of rain showers. Rain is something that we need a lot of in order for our crops to grow. However, the snowfall can also have a positive impact on the moisture levels of the soil. It has been found that 10 inches of snow equals 1 inch of rain. As the snow melts, some the water gets absorbed into the ground and the rest runs off into nearby streams and rivers. As the grounds soaks up all of this moisture, it helps to get the soil nice and ready for upcoming planting season.

Insulation. As you know, the ground freezes during the winter months because of the cold temperatures that we experience in the Midwest. The snow provides insulation to the ground. The blanket of snow helps to warm the ground and prevents the deep soil layers from freezing. The fewer layers of soil that are not frozen, the quicker the top layers of the ground can thaw in the spring. By keeping the ground warmer, the soil is able to absorb more moisture and the upper layer of the soil will thaw much faster.  

So the next time the weather man calls for a couple inches of snow, just remember, snow is moisture and moisture is good! We may hate it now, but since we are stuck with it we might as well appreciate the benefits that it provides.