Manfred´s little farm

Discussion in 'Members' Systems' started by Manfred, Feb 21, 2014.

  1. Manfred

    Manfred Junior Member

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    Some wintertly impressions:

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  2. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    Occupation:
    gardening, reading, etc
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    near St. Charles, MI, USoA
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    Climate:
    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    those are some big animals! :) what type of cows are they? are they primarily for meat or do you dairy farm too?
     
  3. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Oh my goodness that is SO pretty!
    And eeekkkk! - you are so brave for living where it snows!
    You have some big girls there Manfred :) Ain't nobody going hungry at your place :)
     
  4. Manfred

    Manfred Junior Member

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    I started with my father´s simmental dairy herd (on the last picture you see one of my last pure breeds) and crossbred them with angus (that is why they have no horns now) to make them a bit smaller and to increase the meat quality. They are only used for beef now.
     
  5. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Polled cattle are a great convenience :) I don't like dehorning : /
     
  6. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Living with snow would be interesting , wouldn't have to worry about watering the tomato plants that's for sure .
     
  7. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    Occupation:
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    near St. Charles, MI, USoA
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    Climate:
    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    :) i haven't been too keen on black angus here since it became the rage, so i agree with your "increase the meat quality" comment...
     
  8. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Some of my US internet friends tell me that anything black is labelled as Angus in the States, so it's possible you many not be comparing apples with apples :)
     
  9. Manfred

    Manfred Junior Member

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    @Terra: Bringing in water is not the problem here. But for growing tomatoes you need a greenhouse, as it is too cold and moist. Even if you use some heat trap arrangement, you need a roof above it, or them tomatoes will die from blight.

    Some older pictures from the garden, back when I managed it:

    I was gifted a pair of runner ducks. Therefore I had to build some shelter fast and used an old IBC available on the farm:

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    From the bottom of it I made a little mobile pond for the ducks:

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    Polyculture:

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    The former front garden:

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    The squash climbed a sunflower and my father built a frame to support the fruit.

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    Bear´s garlic (Allium ursinum) planted below a hazelnut.

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    After assigning the farm to me, my father took over most of the garden as his new pastime.
    Therefore it has a more conventional appearance again. Pictures from last year.

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  10. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Thank you for posting all of those fabulous photos of your garden :)
    And I love the duck house & pond - very cute :)
     
  11. S.O.P

    S.O.P Moderator

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    That is one sexy garden. Nice (previous) work.
     
  12. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    Occupation:
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    are those onions growing through bricks i see there? nice gardens indeed. :)
     
  13. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    Occupation:
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    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    quite possible... it's not like we eat that much beef these days, but when i do i hope it's worth the effort someone went into raising the animal and going through all the processing/transportation costs. it's really sad when at the end the product is still tasteless or contaminated.


    Manfred, are there other breeds you have there?
     
  14. Manfred

    Manfred Junior Member

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    @songbird:
    Those were wooden boards. My father wanted to suppress the weeds this way. It did not work out. The weeds grew through between the bords and through the holes for the onions, too.

    On my farm I only have Simmental and Angus and their crossbreeds.
    But there are lots of other breeds around. In our local quality meet program we have 18 different breeds at the moment. The customers like to savor through this selection.
     
  15. Manfred

    Manfred Junior Member

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    Meat. Not meet. 8)

    Some more cattle pics:

    Calving season:
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    Angus herd sires:

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    Training for future challenges:

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    Summer:

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  16. altamira55

    altamira55 Junior Member

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    Beautiful garden, and beautiful cattle, Manfred. The angus crosses are especially pretty animals. I guess some of the fullness is their winter coats, but they look well-muscled too. Do they eat only grass and hay?
     
  17. Manfred

    Manfred Junior Member

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    Some of the winter pics on the first page have been taken 2 years ago. In that year I had to reduce my herd and weened the calfs early.
    In addition some of the photos are taken with a telephoto lens. This shuffles the distance together and makes things look fat compared to the picture the human eye gives us.

    But when seeing cattle pictures from hot areas I often think “how meager the are!”.
    The climate seems to have much influence on what kind of cattle is used.

    They get grass in summer and hay and grass silage in winter. I only use grain when I have to lure them into the pen. And then it is a bucket full for the whole herd.
    For me, beef cattle have to thrive on grass. Most farmers here still believe in fattening them with grain. But rethinking has started.
     
  18. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    I love the photo of the fat one in the yellow flowers!
     
  19. Manfred

    Manfred Junior Member

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    Dry stone wall at a abandoned slate quarry nearby.

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    Lupines at full bloom.
    This patch was formerly used as a tree nursery by the local forestry office. When they gave up the nursery it was planted with fruit trees. The trees do not wear any usable fruit as the soil is far too barren and dry. Most of the grafted scions have died, but the rootstocks somehow managed to survive.
    Now I am paid by 3 high voltage line companies for grazing the patch in order to keep the vegetation away from their wires. The fruit trees must be protected against grazing from below and must be cut to keep away from the wires from above, as the owner is not allowed to fell them due to conservation regulations.
    The lupines are not native here. The nursery sowed them in order to improve the soil. It looks like they loved the place and imbruted there. As it is a bitter tasting variety, the cattle leave them alone.

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    Catzilla at work… She was hired for reducing rodents on the farm, but her cat nature makes her catch anything she can overcome.

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    One of the tomtits breeding in our garden

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    Toad spawn

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    A young hare

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    Borage seeds

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    My fence wire abused as helicopter landing place

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  20. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Absolutely gorgeous photos! Thank you so much for sharing them :) That dry stone wall is to die for ... the lupins look like a photo from a dream ... the hare is gorgeous ... the tomtit so precious ...
     

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