From the Barns — Toland: The price is right

Macomb, Ill.

Things have been really busy here at River Oak. Winter has not been too hateful with us and for that we are grateful. That statement right there will probably jinx us for sure. January flew by because there was always something major going on the schedule.

The western heifers came reluctantly across the river and some got pretty wet on Jan. 16. Carson and I could not even get the lead cows to start, so we had to call in Shannon and that was the difference. The day was cold but sunny, so we left them to dry a bit before loading them in the afternoon. By loading time the January sun had done them well and they looked really good going home.

We were able to get 48 grazing days on 50 acres across 10 paddocks of stockpile with 72 head. At $1 per head per day, that winter graze returned $69.12 per acre. At 75 cents per head per day, the winter graze returned $51.84 per acre. If we add the rest of the grazing summer to those acre returns, we have some impressive value per acre with very little cost. At times it was tedious with some snow and rain, but overall we left there with a pretty good graze and not a lot of forage or ground damage.

That brings us to frost seeding time and we are watching the weather to find some agreeable forecasts. Right now, we have the remnants of a 2-inch snow on the ground. If it looks good, we will start next week. I don’t like too much snow on the ground, as it can result in some runoff or pooling of the frost seeds.

Red clover is always our choice on the fescue. The price is right and though not absolutely failsafe, red clover surpasses all others in results. I had to beef up the mounting bracket holding the seeder on the ATV. This has resulted in a shocking ride. So, Jane has volunteered to use foam to make a cushion to help protect the back from some damage.

We have been truly blessed to be able to purchase a 20-acre property that borders us to the southwest. Although small in acreage, its value is great because it connects all our acreage south of the river to the township road. That simply means when we have this fenced properly, we will stop writing to you about river crossings in poor, wet conditions. Instead, we will simply unload into the new South 20 or use the portable corral to load out of the south side of River Oak.

And we can heat our considerable length of electric fence on the South without a highline all the way from home. I can sleep better from both of these improvements. We have been working this week to remove a considerable amount of trees and brush from the boundary fence areas. With that done, seeding comes next.

Enjoy the Beef Expo, shop a number of spring sales and good luck with calving. And, of course, hold off on any February blizzards.