Planting Alfalfa (and its still winter?!)

I know that as farmers the weather being strange or changing patterns is supposed to be normal.  That's just part of our job.  The risk we take.  And one of the big reasons why so many of us realize how we need to rely more on God than our own understanding of "Mother Nature."
As the old saying tells us: The only thing that stays the same is everything changes.
So why do we continue to worry and make a huge deal when we see record highs, lows, rainfall, etc...?
Well, I don't know why. But we do.
80 degrees and sunny for a whole week in the middle of March is just CRAZY!
We are not really sure if we are making the right decision but one of the Core Values of our business/farm is Make Hay While the Sun is Shining. And boy is it ever!
So here you have it...planting alfalfa before the calendar even says Spring.
Another fun fact for you:
This feild shown here is right behind our house and for the past 5 years it has been corn. This is what we call Crop Rotation. Changing things up to replenish the soil. When you plant alfalfa the seed usually lasts for 4-5 years- not like corn or soybeans that we have to plant every year.

Alfalfa in April

*Please note: This post was originally from April 2010.
Alfalfa in Aprilfrom Dairy Discovery at SwissLane Farms by annie

We all know that April showers bring May flowers!
Well, last week we were blessed with some much needed showers but sometimes too much of a good thing isn't always best.
We found this to be true with our newly planted alfalfa fields. We planted 210 acres of alfalfa seed this year. Last week, the rain caused washouts in 2 of the fields that we had just planted and we had to replant 15 acres.
Today my dad went over the rough spots with the Finisher to smooth out the washouts.




And then, Uncle Tom came along and replanted more alfalfa seed.



This field has beautiful rolling hills! (which contributed to the washouts)



Alfalfa seed will last for 5 years, so we replant a few fields each year. Total we have around 700 acres of alfalfa that will be harvested for hay silage. This hay silage makes up about 25% of the cow's diet.