On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazards) Joyce Bupp It's an unlikely scenario. Black and white figures dot ting the hillsides, heads down intently, munching away at green grass. Cattle grazing? So what, you say? We have never grazed this farm-and least not in my memo ry-in January. But then, how many January's in southcentral Pennsylvania have there even been when cattle could chow down fresh, growing, green grass? Like most producers of live stock in these parts, summer's drought left us seriously short of NNSYLVANIA Longacre Service Inc. Ag Division 602 Main Street Bally, Pa. 19503 PH: 610-845-2261 Electrical feedstuff's. So, as quickly as pos sible, we harvested the short com crop last fall and immedi ately followed it with plantings of an oats-rye mixture. Intent was that these cool-tolerant grassed would thrive in early fall and provide some backup ton nage of forage to help make up the difference. Again, the weath er was uncooperatively; the grass crop just didn't develop the height and volume it should have, though it did add some precious volume to the winter supplies. Thi with ter Rufus Brubaker Refrigeration 1048 N. Penryn Rd. Manheim, Pa. 17545 PH: 717-665-3525 Rt. 3, Box 437 A Quarryville. Pa. 17566 PH: 717-786-1617 541 Frystown Rd. Myerstown, Pa. 17067 PH; 717-933-4711 ature weather and continuing, if slow, growth of the crop, we hastily strung temporary fences around almost the entire farm. And the "girls" were turned out in alternating areas to harvest grasses too short to cut with equipment. Though they only enjoy the stay outside for an hour or two each day, even that has helped fill their ever-hungry, four-stomach interiors and somewhat reduce the daily inroads into our skimpy stores of feed. And, the girls love it. But setting them loose across the farm has it's interesting moments, since cows turned out on new turf behave like a group of exuberant kindergartners on a new playground. The week of wintery stuff over the holidays interrupted their daily recess it's hard to graze snow and kept them confined to the feeding and exercise lots. So when last week's stretch of April-like weather arrived, they practical ly knocked the fences down to hit the grassy slopes. Like hr calves their first Martin’s Refrigeration Service 1122 Woodstock Rd Fayetteville, Pa. 17222 PH: 717-352-2783 Lyco Dairy Service Cogan Station, PA PH: 717-494-0708 717-966-1396 MARYLAND Priest’s Refrigeration 20205 Marsh Haven Lane Hagerstown, MD 21742 PH: 301-797-3921 Regional Manager MD. DE Frank M. Bird Jr. ILA, GA PH: 706-789-3928 Lancaster Fanrthg, Steuntey, January 17. WMf time out of the pen, those mature, milking bovines jump, run, kick up their heels and butt one another. Cavoring some times right through our hastily strung, temporary-grazing site fences. And, at least the first few days on new pasture, cattle can't just go eat the waiting green grass. Instead, they must trot around to the farthest comers of the fence. See if they can go under it. Or Over. Or through. All of which ours did at some point. Anticipating this predictable behavior, We have ridden fence lines, cowboy style, with the three-wheeler. Our cows are accustomed to being herded with cycle-type horsepower and respond well. Since those first few days of testing the limits, the herd has settled into a rou tine of scattering across the hill sides, harvesting brunch, them promptly lining back up to return to the feed bunk when the feed mixer wagon goes by. Region: Western PA Hank Kulhawick Akron, OH PH: 216-864-0253 inager Regional Manager Eastern PA. NJ Mark Wehr Miftlinburg, PA PH: 717-966-1199 One bit of bad behavior that persists is their breaking into our fenced-off stash of round bales of hay in the center of the field below the house. Not neces sarily to eat the hay. Just to play. They push and shove at the bales with their heads, butt them, rub against them, and just generally shred them, a layer at a time, until the bales are trashed. The girls know those bales are off limits, but cows are drawn to forbidden turf like steel to a magnet. Increasing numbers of dairy products in recent years have adapted various grazing tech niques, letting the cows at part ly replace the mechanical meth ods of forage harvesting. Of course, it's still necessary to have winter stores of feed put away, so the cattle have some thing to eat when grasses have shriveled up and snow blankets the pastures. We’ve often debated the mer its of grazing. But who’d have "Thunk" we’d incorporated it into our feeding program...in January? D’ya suppose this is a fore • runner to a killing frost on Memorial Day? got mi YES! ROSENBERRY STOVES (717) 532-9023 NEED YOUR FARM BUILDINGS PAINTED? Let us give you a price! Write: Daniel’s Painting 637-A Georgetown Rd. Ronks, PA 17572 (or leave message) (717) 687-8262 Spray on and Brush in Painting k
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