Cornell University

This summer has certainly flown by! I cannot believe that my experience in Texas has come to an end and it is again time for classes at Cornell! I lookback on my experience and I cannot believe what I have learned! I have been exposed to many aspects of dairy farming on a large scale! From the operation of large equipment, to assisting during vet check; Introducing new technology on the farm to repairing broken irrigation equipment in the field. I feel that I have truly gained an adequate understanding for large-scale dairy operations and certainly a greater interest.

 

After the completion of my intern project I have found that there were 107 crop circles feed by 219 wells! This attests not only to the scale of the farm but also for their need for adequate irrigation. It is well known that water availability is arguably the most import resource in agriculture. However it has taken a drought half a decade long for much of the nation to realize the true scarcity of this essential component of life. My summer experience has open me to a new perspective on what agriculture might look like 30 years from now, and I ask myself… water we doing?

As a potato packer for Wegman’s Food Markets in the North East our family farm, Williams Farms, requires a constant supply of produce all year long. As a result potatoes are purchased from all over the US and Canada in order to be packed and redistributed to buyers in the North East. One of our sources for fresh potatoes during our off-season is Barrett Produce a packing shed also located in Muleshoe, Texas. So this weekend I decided to take a short break from dairy cattle and circles of corn to learn about potato production in the Panhandle of Texas.!

 

Most of the potatoes grown in the panhandle are either Reds or Russets and are grown on a sandy loam soil, as drainage and compaction are two important aspects of growing potatoes. A full circle of potatoes requires wells that can supply approximately 800 gallons of water a minute throughout an average growing year. The potatoes are harvested with a 4-row harvester, loaded on bulk truck and shipped up to 60 miles to be packed and distributed. The Barrett’s have limited storage capacity and as a result within two days after being dug, the potatoes have left the farms possession.

 

Additionally I was able to attend a variety field day hosted by the Barrett’s and the research team at Texas A&M. New varieties of mainly red and russet potatoes were displayed to growers all around Texas and other locations throughout the US and Canada. It was a great opportunity to ask additional questions about potato production in the Southwest and build my professional network!

Week 5
A busy schedule has distracted me from blogging but alas the time has come for an update on the activities here in Texas. The past few weeks have been filled with an abundance of fun activities.

The cost of feed composes approximately 50% of a Dairy Farms costs. Additionally nutrition is essential to the growth, health and production of the cows so essential to profitability. As a result the production and processing of the cattle’s feed are very important activities within the dairy. I spent two days feeding the cattle on the farm with many different rations throughout the herd. Feed ingredients include homegrown silages and hays as well as purchased products such as Dried Distillers Grains (byproduct of ethanol production) and various minerals necessary for adequate cow health. Through these two days I fed over half a million pounds of feed for nearly 7,000 animals including heifers, and milking and dry cows.

Also essential for operation on such a large farm is organization and documentation. Overt the past weeks I have been working to integrated some additional technology, utilizing RFID ear tags, to electronically document events such as pregnancies, freshenings, sicknesses and deaths. This information is later used to analyze the status of the dairy, an impossible task without the help of modern technology.

Texas has gotten into the habit of record breaking during the past couple of years. A record drought is now being followed by record rainfall making a mess of operations on the farm. However farmers here in the Panhandle are certainly not complaining, as the water is certainly needed in order to replenish the aquifers in this region.

Despite the rainfall farmers have continued to irrigate their crops in order to provide a steady supply of water to the crops, especially corn. However the rainfall causes problems for the center pivots as the excess mud causes the to get stuck and break down. As a result I spent many days pulling these sprinklers out of the slippery clay mud and replacing the broken parts that move them along the 1.5 circumference of the circle.

The additional rainfall for the year also contributed to a welcomed surplus of feed provided by unusual regrowth by their winter tricale crop. The grass was swathed, raked and balled in order to store for a predicted return drought. As a result throughout the past two weeks I have moved nearly 700 round bales from the field helping me further develop my operating skills in the field.

Of course during the rainy days I have working on the mapping project they have assigned, obtaining well locations and determining where the water lines run throughout the field. This will be essential information when adding additional water lines, tilling the field and maintaining irrigation systems.

Week 1
Over ten years ago the Dairy I am interning with made the difficult decision to relocate from their dairy in northern California to the Panhandle of Texas. Over the past decade the Family has accumulated 4 individual dairy farms and a calf ranch and milk a total of 14,000 Holsteins. In addition to managing their cows company works approximately 16,000 aces, three quarters of which are under center pivot irrigation. The Texas Panhandle has experienced an extreme drought over the past 5 years depleting the ground water supply which they depend on by 25%.

This is there first year adding an intern position to their payroll of nearly 350 people. I found the job through the Network I have been creating at Cornell. A former professor introduced me to a Cornell alum who was offering the job.

My role as intern will consist of helping to improve and maintain the organization of their cropping operations in addition to completing basic tasks around the farm. Extensive networks of irrigation are an important factor for the farm profitability as the arable land provides over 75% of the feed for the dairy portion of the farm.

After a complete tour of all 5 farms and many introductions on the first day I was prepared to begin my role on the farm. The following day I learned how to operate a laser leveler moving earth from one location to another in order to prepare a foundation for a new hay barn to be constructed upon. Wednesday I received a 30 minute crash course on how to plant sorghum with a 32 row planter and operate John Deere’s Green Star software in order to plant sorghum, a drought tolerant crop commonly used for silage in Texas. Two and a half days later I already had 470 acres under my belt as my employers moved me to my next task. The main purpose of my intern position would be to gather information on each quarter section (an field consisting of 160acres) the farm owned. Over the next 7 weeks I will be gathering GPS coordinates, soil composition information and cropping records in oder to compose documents that will further improve the growers ability to efficiently produce high quality forages for 14,000 animals.