pics from around the farm recently

We have been done with harvest well over a month now, yet, we still seem to be keeping busy. I sometimes wonder how this happens but I would hate to just sit around!

Last thursday we finished bringing home the cows from summer pastures. They are all vacinatated and home for the winter and we will wean the calves in a week or so.


This morning we began feeding the cows. The 4430 on the bale processor in this pic. We run our hay and stalk through it and into piles in the bunker.



The 4230 back on mixer duty. All tuned up and ready to go for another winter. It is a rare sight for this tractor and mixer to be that clean.


This is the first loader bucket of silage. These three bag contain around 400 tons of corn silage.


This is the bunker we process bales into. Corn stalks on the left, gluten in the middle and hay on the right. We will mix those ingredients along with silage and mineral for a complete ration.


This is what it looks like in the mixer. The cows have plenty to eat yet as they are on cornstalks but we like to get the claves used to eating a little silage and hay before weaning so we feed them a partial ration for awhile.


These cows havent been fed out of the mixer since june yet when they saw the tractor and mixer in the driveway they knew what was up. Just like a pet cow that would follow you with a bucket of corn these girls will follow anywhere I went with the tractor.


Took this pic this afternoon. I often wonder if modern tractors will be as useful as these still are after 40 years.


Of course older tractors do break down sometimes. This is our 4630 recieving some "minor" repairs!


We installed the cattle waterer in the almost finished new feed lot yesterday. When we get it finished up I get some pics of the whole thing. Turned it on and it didnt even leak!


This is a morning ritual. Making feed for the cows takes about 30 minutes every morning and Wrigley likes to play catch with a frisbee while nick loads the mixer. He runs and jumps and brings it back and if you dont throw it again he gives you "this" look. Eventually he will get tired and bring it withing about 10 feet of you and lay down and just watch.
Just living the dream!
Hope everybody else is having as much fun as we are. Have a good turkey day.
bill

very nice pictures and captions,but the best is to see wrigly,he is some great dog! thanks for posting,it was great!

As always, great pictures, those are great looking animals! Whats up with the 4630, hydruliac troubles?

Thanks for the pictures Bill - Was wondering what you were up to.

4 wheeler go into the shop after the 4630?

Jim

Great looking herd of cattle. How many do you have? Of course every good farmer has to have a good dog. Nice clean looking equipment , Iknow that it won t look like that in a few weeks but sure looks nice at the start.
Great looking Farm & equipment sheds.

Thanks for the pictures. First thing I noticed was the green grass. Here in the great NW Iowa desert the green left the grass three months ago. Keep up the good work. Jim

"Took this pic this afternoon. I often wonder if modern tractors will be as useful as these still are after 40 years."

i think we all know that answer. we all know the saying, "they sure dont make things like they used to"

they just dont make things to last a long time these days.

i don"t understand how people can say cows are dumb.
when i was getting bale of hay for my this afternoon someone failed to chain the gate. one of the cows pushed on the gate enough to get it open and out they went.
i dumped bale into feeder and took it back to pasture. the cows came running when i got there and started calling them the old girls kicked it into high gear and were at bale feeder before i got it unhooked.

I thought the 4639 was just a valve?!?!?! Oh my that looks serious.

Well it WAS just a vavle. It seems it has now become just a tiny bit more involved!
bill

Looking good around the board. Is the Ritchie electric free? Curious as to how you like that model, we put in a 2 hole energy free last fall and I"m already planning at least 2 more of some type.

Thanks bill

Had a US Highway between 2 80's and a underpass. I took all my hay from the 80 across the HWY and the dairy cows on this side, after frost I would let the cows run across the HWY for about a month. They seemed to know just when I was going to let them a cross.

always enjoy your posts! nice looking farm.

thanks!

-Jameson

Golly, Bill, I would hate to see what a Major problem might be!!LOL

I used to drive a 4430... I loved that tractor (quad range manual shift, of course). Drove great, always started, good power... A little fickle on the steering sometimes, though, but fun to run the field cultivator with. Never got it stuck, but came close a time or two. :roll: 8)

And... "Minor" repairs, you say? :shock: :lol: