Fertilizer and Math Skills

Did you know that I do a lot of math over the winter?  Actually, we do a lot of math on the farm, period (sometimes in the form of…if I can get 15 acres/hour done, and have 45 more acres to do, what time will I be home?). 

After harvest we immediately start planning for the next crop.  One very important part of the next crop is the fertilizer.  The main sources of fertilizer we look at are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (P).  On our farm we have different sources of fertilizer that are applied onto our field as:

• Manure
  • Cattle manure
  • Hog manure
• “Commercial” fertilizer (what we have to buy to put it on our fields)

This may seem simple.  “Put on fertilizer!”  Just like everything, it ISN’T that simple. 

We have multiple fields, with multiple yields and crops.  Which then means each field has a different removal of nutrients (for each bushel of corn/soybeans they remove N-P-K).

So we have to look at:

1. What crop was on each field
2. What was the yield (which then relates to what was removed as nutrients from the soil)

This will tell us how many nutrients were removed for this past year (we use ISU values to determine what was removed)

We also need to know:

1. What is the soil analysis for that field?
   1. Did we have high analyses for P and K?  or low?
2. What was applied as fertilizer the year before?  or, the history of the field?
3. What do we want?  are we short (too low) on nutrients, long (too many)? what is the investment?
4. What will the weather be?  What’s the plan for next year? 2 years? 1 year? etc

Remember, each of these answers is different for each field!

In summary, Mr. Snyder & Mr. A would be proud that I’m putting my math skills to work.  And, Excel ® is a great program to help me out! 

Pets and Livestock

I grew up on a farm.  But now, being a parent, I realize how much my kids see and learn.  Most of the time, these are great experiences.  But the process of life and death, is a hard one. 

This past week, we had a calf that wasn’t going to make it.  This calf had a lot of issues that neither we nor our vet could help with.  Sometimes, the difficult choice has to be made on whether or not to put them out of their own misery.  On the farm, those decisions have to be made. Wyatt asked a lot of questions about why we had to put him down.  Why we couldn’t just ‘give him a shot’ to make it all better.  That same day, our indoor cat, Sandie, had to go to vet because he was sick.  More questions came. 

Livestock and pets are different on the farm.  They are the same in the aspect that we feed them, we try our best to keep them healthy, we try to keep them comfortable, we try to keep them pain free.  But, our livestock’s lives are meant to be different than our pets.  They are not meant to be long term.  They are not meant to be companions. They are here to feed us.

Simply put, we feel sad when any animal on the farm dies.  As I get older, it seems to hit me harder. I believe it is my kids sadness that I am taking on, too.

Our cat of 8 1/2 years, Sandie, got sick.  We took him to the vet, and unfortunately, the vet couldn’t help him.  He died on his own, and it was no decision of anyone's, but we tried to save him.  The house is now lonely when AJ is out late working and the kids are in bed.  I will miss my Sandie dearly.  Thank you for being a friend. 

 

Career Changes

This week was my last as an Agronomist for The Maschhoffs.  It was a very hard decision after almost 8 years!  I've had the best team to work with.  My last week of work with TML consisted of:

An open house for a new Production Partner.  It will never get old seeing great people like this start their future in agriculture.  http://www.supportfarmers.com/news-articles/story-county-celebration

My last team meeting.  Yes, it included Pizza Ranch and Guitar Hero.  BOOM.

 

My last inspections at sites.  The day ended with 5 pigs somehow escaping.  According to my iPhone, this day I put in the most steps. :)

I will miss that chapter, friends, colleagues, and partners.  

I am excited for the next adventure working with the Boone River Watershed in north-central Iowa as a Watershed Coordinator with the Iowa Soybean Association.  I, again, get to live out my passion for conservation and get to work again with great people.  

Decisions to leave are hard when you love what you do.  Thank you to everyone that have given me the opportunities to do what I love.