Week 3 Farm Inter Georgina Macias

At the beginning of this week the weather stayed relatively dry and allowed me to get more training on the tractor, loading and feeding hay and moving hay rings under Bobby’s supervision. Bobby and I also fixed some of the fences along the southern pastures and taught me the basics of putting in t-posts and barbed wire. The cows in the 4 corners pasture got out on Tuesday morning and we were able to get them all back together and lead them to some green grass. 

Due to spotty showers in the middle of the week and the conditions being too wet to do much, it gave us the opportunity to do some maintenance work on the equipment in the tractor shed and attaching a new implement for the horticulture field. On Tuesday, I attended a grain producers meeting with Ryan, hosted by the county extension agent, and was able to meet some farmers in the community and our local extension agent and get some insight on some one of the many projects he does for the county.  This week I was also trained on driving the ranger so I can take it out to the pastures on my own in the coming weeks. On Thursday Bobby and I checked cows in all the pastures and checked the perimeter gates and fences to prevent more cows from getting out. We also went to Williamson Co. Grain and Bobby showed me how we get molasses and minerals for the cows to supplement protein and essential nutrients. We loaded the molasses tub and set out the smaller tubs in the three small herds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly this week due to the wet conditions we just checked each herd to make sure they’re ok for the weekend and had no obvious health issues. We had a few cows give birth this week and we’re keeping an eye on the cows to make sure they’re recovering ok and the calves are nursing properly. It was a busy week at the Stiles Farm and there is lots of Slowly I’m working into awork to always be done.  Slowly I’m working into a routine in checking cows, and in the coming months we will be getting ready to wean the older calves and get cows back on schedule.

 

 

-Georgina Macias Fall 2018 Intern

Stiles Blog 9-14-18