Last week we started wheat harvest on the farm. Wheat is a very important part of our crop rotation. You may be thinking, “What in the world is a crop rotation?” On our farm we rotate where crops are planted each year in order to keep the health of the soil high. Each crop we grow uses different amounts of nutrients and deposits different nutrients back into the soil. By rotating the crops around we are not letting the soil get out of balance. Meaning we don’t have way too much of one nutrient and not enough of another. By keeping an ideal balance the soil is healthy and we can minimize the amount of fertilizers we apply to the crop.
Photo Courtesy Quin Bairski
Our wheat crop is sold to an elevator. No, this isn’t the elevator that you use to get from floor to floor. This elevator takes in different grains and beans and then sells them for the farmer. A lot of our wheat goes to Kellogg’s and goes into many of their bakery products.
Wheat at is not just a crop grown to sell. The leftover part of the plant called straw, is used to feed and bed our cows. Before we can harvest wheat we have to let then entire plant dry out completely. That means the stem of the plant is completely dried out. When we harvest the wheat we just take off the grain, which is at the top of the plant. The rest of the plant is laid on the ground in a big pile. We can then bale it. Meaning, we put it in a compacted circle or rectangle that is wrapped with a netting or strings. This allows us to move it and store it for a very long time.
The straw is then used to feed our cows. It makes a great feed because it has a lot of fiber, like vegetables! We also use it to bed our young calves. The straw is great at keeping the calves clean and dry. In the cooler months the straw is a great insulator too and keeps the calves warm.
This was my first Jersey calf! Bambi had massive ears apparently.
What have you always wondered about wheat or straw?
