Blog 2

Over the past week I cleared out the old fish house in preparation for the high schoolers to come out for their farm project but due to corona the start date has been pushed back. Regardless that is one project finished and ready to start. In the past week three cows have given birth so there’s a few new calves running around that are nice to see. Spraying of cotton continues in preparation for harvest and the strip till is now up and running so were finishing the fine tuning of it. This weekend is opening weekend of dove season so the farm should soon fill up with dove hunters and birdshot. Ready for things to start cooling down but I’m sure that’s another month or two away

Kory “Red” Kiernan

Fall Farm Intern

Blog 1

My first week at Stiles has been great. I was lucky enough to overlap my starting time here while Kyra was still interning on the farm, so she was able to show me some of the ropes before she left. Undoubtedly it will still take some time to fully learn the farm, but it was a great help. Starting the week Kyra and I refilled molasses for the two herds, and she showed me the layout of the farm as well as general herd information. On most afternoons during the week Ryan and I worked on putting together the large one trip tiller in preparation for next weeks use. After a day of practice, I was able to operate the hay tractor on the farm and on Friday fed 2 bales to the north and south herds. Next week we should be going to Thrall high school to discuss starting a mini farm project with the high schoolers where they would come out to the farm 2-3 days a week and work. The plan now is to grow a small garden for them to grow vegetables of their choice as well as getting some pigs and chickens to raise for harvest. I believe we may be turning the old fish house into the workshop for them so starting Monday I may begin to clean it out in preparation for that unless more pressing things come up. I am very excited to start this project I believe it has the potential to turn out very well.

Kory “Red” Kiernan

These past two weeks, I have been building the walking trail for the Partners project, a Blackland Prairie nature education site currently in development on the farm. I rented a track skid steer and have been operating it to excavate the trail, entrance clearing, and prairie pothole features. Following excavation, I laid down a geotextile fabric to prevent vegetation from growing up through the trail aggregate and to reduce erosion and loss of aggregate over time. While I was excavating, the aggregate was delivered via trucks to designated intervals along the trail route, for 12 loads totaling approximately 295 tons of 3/8” crushed limestone, including fines. It was very interesting to see how those trucks operated in terms of unloading their cargo (see photo). Once I had the aggregate, I began to ferry bucketfuls from the aggregate piles to the trail and then began spreading the aggregate out using the bucket float feature on the trackskid. I have really enjoyed operating the trackskid; it’s a neat piece of equipment, both versatile and maneuverable, and the tracks are more stable on the uneven ground than the four wheels of a regular skid steer. Ear protection is a must though, as the thing is a rattle trap.

My next steps involve saturating the trail with water, shaping it further with the trackskid to create a shallow crown in the middle of the trail to divert precipitation, and then using a double-drum vibratory roller to compact the trail so that it is ready for traversing by the feet of many. I also have some additional dirt work to do along and around the trail, such as building small berms and excavating shallow channels, as a way to hopefully further mitigate impacts from erosion caused by future precipitation and runoff.

In other news, our LIP (Landowner Incentive Program) project area received an herbicide application last week, following the clearing of mesquite, in preparation for planting native grasses and forbs early next year. It is wonderful to see that project moving forward as well. We’ve planted approximately 50 acres of natives this past year between our two PUB (Pastures for Upland Birds) project areas, and between Partners and LIP, we should have another 100 acres planted in the next year or two. Even after my time here comes to a close, I plan to return to see the natives established in these project areas, as it will be a beautiful sight.

While excavating in Partners, I came across a new reptile to add to the farm’s species roster: a Dekay’s brownsnake (Storeria dekayi)! This juvenile was crossing the cleared ground and so was visible to me, but it was definitely the tiniest individual snake I have ever come across. The Dekay’s brownsnake is a small native non-venomous snake that primarily feeds on snails, slugs, and earthworms. Adults give birth to live young in late summer, and I expect this little one was very new to the world. It is heartening to find another reptile species in the Partners project area, and I am hopeful the upcoming native grassland restoration efforts will provide improved habitat for brownsnakes and other native wildlife to flourish.

As another interesting find, I observed a spider wasp (Family Pompilidae) dragging a paralyzed rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida) across the trail. I was able to watch the drama unfold as a smaller spider wasp of a different species, likely Ceropales elegans elegans, approached and investigated the larger wasp’s prize. Ceropales species are known to be kleptoparasitic, meaning their foraging strategies usually involve stealing prey from other wasps. Additionally, Ceropales spp. will often intercept other female solitary wasps as they drag their spider prey back to their nests and the Ceropales female will scare off the other female and insert an egg into the paralyzed spider before departing. That appears to be what this individual did. The other spider wasp will often return to continue dragging its prey back as a source of food for offspring, unaware that the meal is already host to the Ceropales egg. As soon as the Ceropales larvae hatches, it will seek out the egg of the other wasp and consume it before preying on the spider host. Fittingly, the common name of this genus in some countries is the ‘cuckoo spider wasp.’ Unfortunately for the spider, it will be the ultimate loser in this battle of wills.

I should have photos of the completed trail installation, save a few bridges, for my next post.

Until then,
Dani Miller
Wildlife Biologist
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Stiles Farm Foundation

Howdy folks! Harvest season is in full swing around here, so the corn and milo are slowly disappearing from the fields, and the cotton has bloomed and will be ready for harvest soon too. Last week was spent checking and feeding cows as well as assisting our farmhand, Bobby, in getting ready to apply herbicide to a couple of pastures. He sprayed the area to prepare it for planting native plants and forbs in January. I helped bring water out to the sprayer and move equipment as needed. I also continued fence repairs and other maintenance jobs around the farm, such as removing old barbed wire fencing and mowing around headquarters.

This week I have been showing our new intern, Kory, around the farm and preparing him to take over for me, before my internship comes to a close. It’s crazy to think that this is my last week here since it feels like just yesterday that I was learning to drive the tractor! I am so grateful for my time here on Stiles Farm. I’m thankful for the incredible learning opportunity the farm has provided, as well as for the people here I have gotten to know and work alongside, and the professional experience I acquired within the cattle production industry. It is bittersweet reflecting on how far I have come since starting this internship less than three months ago but saying goodbye to everyone here (including the cows) will not be easy! To anyone considering this internship in the future, I would highly recommend it. Thanks to those of you who have read my blog posts and followed along with me on this adventure as the farm intern!

Kyra LeJeune

Farm Intern

Howdy! July is over, and we were glad to get two inches of much-needed rain the last couple of weeks this month from the tropical storms blowing in from the Gulf. The rain has helped our crops to grow, allowed the green grass in pastures to increase, and improved the water supply in tanks (so needless to say, we were very excited and grateful)! When the rain rolled through, it also gave us some very thick and sticky mud, so I got to take out the four-wheeler (ATV) to check cows, since it is the only vehicle that can easily get across the mud that we have here in the Blackland Prairie.

As I mentioned, the new green growth in the pastures has provided additional forage for our cattle, allowing us to reduce supplemental feeding, save for some mineral and molasses. I have attached a picture of some delighted cows from when we let them into a new pasture. Instead of spending time feeding hay, we have been able to focus more on general maintenance and clean-up projects around the farm. We have pulled out old barbed wire fences, cut up and hauled dead trees, and cleared brush and thick forb cover from around the barns and off of fence lines. I have also completed a number of fence mending jobs as needed. The hardest fence jobs lately have involved electric fences as I dealt with fixing a wire that snapped (which is more difficult to patch than it sounds), as well as finding and fixing the sources that were grounding the charge and not allowing the fence to carry electricity.

The corn and milo have matured and dried enough to be ready for harvest, so our custom harvesters began the process at the end of last week. It has been strange for me to see the tall corn fields I have viewed for months now reduced to soil and some corn husks.

It’s been a great past month on the farm, and I’m looking forward to what August has in store! Please enjoy the attached photographs showcasing two of my favorite things: beautiful, country skies and happy cows.

Kyra LeJeune

Farm Intern

A few weeks back this picture of a Bald Eagle was captured here on Stiles Farm Foundation.