Farmer Fridays - 70 degrees year round

Welcome to another Farmer Fridays.  I can't believe how fast another week has flown by and that it is almost the 4th of July which means that the sweet corn is almost ready.

 

Where is the summer going?  If it wasn't for all of this hot weather we have been having, I would almost find it hard to believe that it was summer because we've been so busy and haven't had time to enjoy it yet.  Thankfully our house has central air and we have least been able to keep cool during June's heat wave.

I'm also very thankful that we are able to keep our pigs comfortable year round at a temperature of 70 degrees thanks to modern technology.  Pigs don't have sweat glands so keeping their temperature constant and comfortable is really important. 

From last week's Farmer Fridays, you know that we raise our pigs in barns and are able to protect them from the elements like wind, rain, and snow.  By raising them in barns, we are also able to control their climate and essentially the temperature of their surroundings year round.  By using heaters, fans, movable curtains on the side of the buildings, and even a "cool cell," we are able to keep the temperature of our barns around 70 degrees year round even when it is 90 degrees or 0 degrees outside and we experieence both in Indiana. 

    

Our "cool cell" works like a giant radiator to essentially air condition the barn with the help of the fans. 

 Being able to keep our pigs comfortable is just one of the many reasons that I am glad that we raise our pigs in barns on our family farm.  
   
 
 
 

Farmer Fridays - Rain, Rain Go Away

Rain, Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day.  We all know this song and truthfully it is one we hate singing because it usually means we have had too much rain.  This is definitely the case at our pig pen. 

We have had a lot of rain this past week, in fact too much rain.  I think we have had 5 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings this week.  Storms were even the reason I couldn't get my Farmer Fridays post done yesterday as our satellite internet connection does not function well during storms.  So welcome to my first Farmer Fridays on a Saturday. 

As a farmer we are at the mercy of Mother Nature and as I said in last week's Farmer Fridays it takes just the right combination of heat and moisture for our crop to grow.  This past week has definitely provided its fair share of heat and moisture which has almost been perfect corn growing weather, but when you have fields that look like this in parts, you realize that we are heavy on the moisture side.

Another downfall of all this rain is we still have work to do in the fields and you can't drive a tractor in the fields if they are wet.  Just like our corn, we need to spray our soybeans to kill the weeds and grass that are growing in the bean fields and competing with the soybeans for essential nutrients for growth.  We are definitely at a critical point as the beans need to be sprayed now and with the additional 2 inches of rain we got last night it is going to be awhile before we can drive a tractor in the fields. 

The one upside to all of this rain is that we raise our pigs in barns.  This way they are protected from the elements such as wind, rain, and heat and we have had a lot of those in the past few weeks.  Although we can't stop the barns from being destroyed by the elements as our dear friend Jeanette at FenceRow to FenceRow had the unfortunate experience of recently finding out, we can do our best to protect the pigs which is our top priority.  From her post, you can tell that having her pigs in barns like ours, they were able to save their pigs' lives. 

My husband was also able to get our grass mowed last night before the storms which is a good thing as our yard was starting to look like the jungle and we also now have a stream running through our yard from last night's rain.

So while we were safe and dry in our house and our pigs were safe and dry in their barns, our corn and soybeans have been getting more than their fair share of moisture this past week.  We can only hope and pray that the fields dry up soon so that we can finish our field work for the spring and that Mother Nature will continue to provide the appropriate amounts of heat and moisture for the rest of the summer and this fall. 

Our fingers are crossed on this one.