NAM-02-29-2024

LIVESTOCK LIFE

SNOWFALL FALLOUT:

Winter storms bring much needed moisture

CROP TILL YOU DROP:

Soil preservation practices help future generations

MAYTAG’S CASH COW:

Author tells untold story about Newton’s famous family

Winter snowfall could help drought conditions for farmers in the state

While added winter moisture can be beneficial, the state has a long ways to go for topsoil to be at adequate level

Mother Nature has made her presence known after dropping more than a foot of snow in January and causing the temperatures to plummet below zero for daily highs. While a change in the forecast closed schools and gave snow plow businesses their first real run of the season, it also brought much needed moisture to the soil the state so deeply depends on.

The State of Iowa has been in a drought, with some areas in extreme drought conditions, going on four years. According to Greg Wandrey, Iowa Corn Growers Association Director of Sustainability, more than 97 percent of the state is in some level of drought.

“Many places in the drought-stricken areas of the state are more than 10 inches of rainfall short of long time averages. Rainfall in Iowa averages 32 to 34 inches per year with less in the northwest and more in the southeast,” Wandrey said. “Not many areas of the state have been near the average the past few years.”

Going back to data from November 2020, Wandrey said the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship listed topsoil moisture condition rated 12 percent

very short, 28 percent short, 58 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus. The subsoil moisture condition rated 20 percent very short, 33 percent short, 46 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus.

A year later, the conditions bounced back with topsoil moisture levels rated 3 percent very short, 20 percent short, 74 percent adequate and 3 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 7 percent very short, 29 percent short, 62 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus. The following year did not have as good results with moisture levels plummeting. In 2022, topsoil moisture condition rated 23 percent very short, 33 percent short, 43 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus. The 56 percent short to very short topsoil moisture rating was the highest percentage of short to very short to close out the season in a decade when 72 percent fell into the short to very short categories. Subsoil moisture condition rated 30 percent very short, 35 percent short, 34 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus.

To wrap up 2023 conditions remained serious with topsoil moisture rated 22 percent very short, 45 percent short, 33 percent adequate with no surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 33 percent very short, 40

percent short, 26 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus.

“As you can see, the drought intensified since 2020 and 2021 the last two years. State moisture averages don’t tell the whole story though,” Wandrey said. “The timing of rainfall is also very important. For example, a farmer may have had below average rainfall for the year but they got rain during critical times during the growing season and produce a good crop. I talked to farmers who had tremendous yields in 2023 with very little rainfall but the rains came at the right times. On the other hand, farmers that did not get that critical rainfall did not fare as well.”

Dry springs can help farmers get their crops in the ground in time but timely rain is needed at key growth stages throughout the season, Wandrey said. That can determine if the crop will be poor, average or good for the year.

To help the overall topsoil conditions, copious amounts of snow can benefit drought levels, although additional factors matter such as when the snow hits the ground, if it will do future crops any good.

U.S. Drought Monitor

NO-TILL THE END OF TIME

Farmer prefers no-till to preserve Iowa’s rich soil and to keep land fertile for the next generation

In the kitchen of Richard Roorda’s rural Prairie City home is a small table covered with so many newspapers and farming magazines you could hardly tell what the surface looked like underneath all those publications. We sat across from each other, with his back toward the kitchen counters and mine toward the foyer. He had just returned from chores and apologized for

the mess in front of us. I told him it I didn’t mind, and then we began our interview for an AgMag story that would very likely be added to the rest of the pile in the next few months.

Roorda is a no-till farmer, and has been for nearly 30 years. Which means, when growing his corn and soybeans, he takes great care not to agitate the soil too much with cultiva-

tors or other tilling machinery. In addition to rotating his crops — an extremely common practice where farmers alternate which crops are grown in their fields, meaning a soybean field last year will likely become a corn field this year — Roorda has also planted cover crops. As a steward of fertile Iowa farmland, he sees these practices is an effective way to reduce soil erosion.

For many Iowa farmers, that means their fields will have longer lifespans and their prized topsoil stays intact. Much of Roorda’s fields are covered with a layer of crop residue, like stalks, husks, leaves or cobs, and together they are protecting that topsoil. Roorda must have sensed my confusion, so he paused for a moment to think of an example. He looked down, and then his eyebrows perked up. The perfect illustration for

cover crops and no-till farming was right in front of us.

“It’s kind of like my table here. It’s covered with magazines. If a rain shower comes through, well the raindrops don’t hit the soil — you know, the bare table — they hit the magazines, the crop residue,” Roorda said. “The raindrops are not hitting directly on the soil and making a splash or dislodge the soil particles so much that they start to move, and move downhill. The magazines absorb that impact of rain and then allow it to soak in to the table and not run off the side.”

Of course these soil conservation practices do not outright prevent soil erosion and runoff, but farmers can drastically reduce soil movement or soil loss. Roorda said it is important for farmers to take care of Iowa’s

The miracle (and work) of life

During the winter months, many farmers who solely grow crops are preparing for the next year while their tractors are getting a break until work begins for spring planting. For livestock farmers, an exciting and trying part of the year is just getting underway with birthing season.

While breeding starts when the weather is still easy to manage, the babies tend to make their entrance at some of the craziest times, from snowstorms to record low temperatures. When babies are coming, everyone has to be ready.

“Our breeding program is scheduled for winter calving. Most of our calves come during January and February. We also have a few cows that we calve out in early fall,” Jessica Barnett said. “Our first calf typically hits around the Christmas holiday. Yes, we have had calves on Christmas and New Years! The cows don’t take breaks over the holidays.”

Barnett and her family have a Nolin Red Angus cattle operation near Monroe. They raise purebred Red Angus cattle on their farms outside of town and have found that the cows tend to birth during the extreme weather conditions.

“Typically when our calves come it’s cold and most often a snowstorm or extreme cold,” Barnett said. “We do several things to ensure our survival rate of new-

born calves. We calve inside our barn no exceptions. The survival rate of a new calf greatly declines during inclement weather. The extreme cold is very hard on newborn calves.”

They also clean the barns twice each day to keep the bedding clean and dry, and they introduce several supplements to promote viability and health. Another challenge comes with calves being very wet when they are born. With frigid temps, work has to be done to get them dry quickly.

“In extreme cold conditions, parts of the calf will begin freezing, particularly the ears. The ears can freeze solid. If the ears are frozen solid for an extended period, the tissue will die, and parts of the ears will eventually fall off,” Barnett said. “We don’t leave the calf until its almost completely dry. In extreme cold conditions we bring our calves inside our basement and use a blower to dry them off.”

Jacob Clark, who has hair sheep, Hereford pigs and laying chickens, also battles the cold to ensure the newborns have their best chance at survival. Currently, his sheep lamb at the start of the year to be used for his son’s 4-H and FFA projects at the county fair.

“The sheep are bred to lamb on or after Jan. 1 and it usually lasts until mid-Febru-

ary,” Clark said. “We do this so the lambs will have a chance to grow as big as possible in preparation for (his son) Kolby to show a couple at county fair. Once the boys age out of 4H/FFA, we’ll probably switch to lambing in the spring when the weather is nicer.”

His oldest son Kaden also shows at the fair but his choice in livestock are the pigs. They are also bred to birth on or after Jan. 1, allowing them to be at market weight for the county fair.

“We also bred a sow for Feb. 14 this year so the pigs will finish out to show at state fair,” Clark said.

To help combat the winter weather, Clark has a fully enclosed barn to help block the wind and maintain the temperature inside. They have six birthing pens with solid walls to eliminate cold air drafts on the newborns, and they have also made “hot boxes” for extra heat.

“We cut an entry hole in a 55-gallon plastic barrel and hung a heat bulb in it. Once the lambs find this, they’re in it all the time when it’s cold,” Clark said. “We have three heated buckets but need three more to eliminate the hassle of thawing frozen buckets when it gets very cold.”

Sometimes getting to the animals can be a challenge as barns typically aren’t located right outside the back door.

Raising livestock proves challenging, especially during extreme winter weather, but rewarding in many ways

With feet of snow blocking the roads, farmers have to prepare and get creative to reach the animals.

“The January snow events proved to be a challenge for our family to get to the farm. I had to be at work during most of the snowstorms to remove snow. Due to that I relied heavily on my family and parents to watch over the cattle,” Barnett said. “In January we knew that the heavy snow was coming, and our roads may or may not be passable. My son stayed at my parents for four days during the heavy snow events to assist with digging out the lots, feed cattle, assist with calving and keep the farm going. It takes the entire family to keep it running.”

Once the babies are here, the work continues to make sure they survive and thrive. In some cases, that is even harder than bringing them into the world.

“One of our orphan babies had a rough start but is now one of our favorite ewes. I found her in the pen, but nobody had claimed her, so the lamb ended up in our garage. We milked another ewe that had twins the same day to try to get the lamb some colostrum and then started her on milk replacer,” Clark said. “After a few days, her health took a turn. She was getting weaker everyday and finally got to the point where she couldn’t stand on her own. That night we gave her colostrum milk, probiotics and several medications and

prayed for the best. With some luck I guess, it worked, and she began her recovery. We had suspended the lamb in the air using a T-shirt and dog crate, so she was upright. This allowed for her bowels to work better and build her strength in her legs. Kolby showed her at county fair and won Champion Hair Yearling.”

Barnett has also had her chance to care for a twin calf after it wasn’t favored by the cow. After assisting with the birth, the twins, who were smaller at 50 and 55 pounds, got to start their lives in her basement and ended up living behind their house for the first few months.

“We named the calves RIP & Dutton after the Yellowstone series. RIP was the weaker of the two,” Barnett said. “We enjoyed feeding him the bottle and keeping them penned up behind the house the first few months. When the calves are small, they tend to be very friendly. It’s fun to walk around the pen and have all the babies right next to you. This is a good experience for my kids and their friends to interact with them.”

Raising livestock is not for the weary. Farmers have to have a love for their animals. From pulling all-nighters to trudging through knee-high snow, they put in the work to keep the farms going.

“Seeing the boys develop their husbandry of animals through their 4-H projects is

the main reason we continue to raise sheep and pigs,” Clark said. “Chores has given the boys an opportunity to learn responsibility. They have also experienced true life with the highs of birth and lows of death by raising the farm animals.”

Barnett wants to keep her animals for as long as she can. It is more than just farming to her, it is a way of life.

“Success for me is measured by the fruits of my labor. The farm and cattle are where I find my peace. We have a small herd of around 30 cows and I know every one of them. The cattle depend on me to keep them safe and help them when they need it. The No. 1 rule of cattle operation is don’t get attached. Well ... that’s one rule I break on daily basis. I can’t help but bond with my cattle,” Barnett said. “Raising cattle isn’t glamorous or easy. I do it because I enjoy it and I am passionate about cattle. It gives me a sense of purpose and satisfaction of raising cattle on our family farmland. A couple years ago, Wyatt (my husband) asked me what one thing is I want out of farming. I told him to always see my red cows grazing in the pasture out my kitchen window. I meant it. My plans are to always have cattle. It may be less than what I have today but if I didn’t have that connection to nature and cattle, I think I would be lost. It’s my way of life.”

— Jamee A. Pierson

HAVE YOU HERD OF THIS?

Minnesota-based author chronicles untold history of Maytag’s finest cattle herd

The Maytag family is best known for washing machines and blue cheese, but author Ronald Eustice, 78, of Minnesota, discovered while researching his latest book that not only did Newton’s most famous family pave the way for quality home appliances, they also helped paved the way for quality cows in Iowa.

Which certainly piqued the interest of an author whose body of work prominently features the histories of many different types of cattle herds. Based on a friend’s advice, Eustice would go on to spend about four years researching and writing the book “Maytag Farms: Washing Machines, Classic Cows & Blue Cheese.”

Horace Backus, a New York man in his mid-90s and who is widely considered the foremost authority on Holstein cattle history, had written numerous books but decided to put his writing days to an end. He regretted not being able to finish a volume covering the Maytag herd. So he encouraged Eustice to take the reigns.

It didn’t take long for Eustice to become attached to the project.

Eustice said, “Mr. (Elmer Henry) Maytag was very committed to cattle breeding and understood genetics and quality, whether it was manufacturing household appliances or his farm. Everything was first class. But the interesting thing is that Maytag was basically one of the leading herds of dairy cattle in North America.”

Prior to 1900, people did not fully understand genetics and the effect it had on quality cattle production, Eustice said.

The Maytag family very much understood the importance of quality products. Eustice said E.H. Maytag at one point traded two washing machines for a mating of his cow with a bull back in Austin, Minn.

“That bull carried this recessive red gene, so Mr. Maytag introduced that red gene to his herd with that little encounter in the 1920s,” Eustice said.

E.H. Maytag had a keen awareness of genetics, much like Eustice himself. Raised on a dairy farm in southern Minnesota, Eustice has spent his entire life and career in livestock improvement. For some time he even worked in the international marketing of bovine genetics, something E.H. might have admired.

According to the book’s preface, Eustice learned the Maytag family’s herd won its first blue ribbon in 1926 at the Iowa State Fair. Ten years later the herd won five of 15 All-American awards, one Reserve All-American and three honorable mention awards. “No herd even came close to his level of excellence,” he said.

When Maytag established a leading and award-winning herd, the family stayed on top and competed with some of the finest cattle herds in North America in both the show ring and in milk production. Eustice said the Maytag family never sacrificed milk production at the expense of top showings.

As someone who knows the world of cattle breeding better than most other authors, Eustice respected E.H. Maytag’s vision for cattle breeding, especially when considering the time period. In the 1930s and 1940s, there were fewer systems in place to evaluate the quality of animals.

Linebreeding was one such tool individuals could use back in those days, and it involves the breeding of closely bred livestock. E.H. Maytag concentrated the bloodlines to mainly two bulls, a father and a son (one of which was named Sir Pietertje Ormsby Mercedes the 37th), and it was a tremendous success.

“When the herd was finally dispersed at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, every animal in that herd had multiple crosses to those original bulls,” Eustice said. “They

“While snowmelt can be helpful in the spring, the key is whether the ground is thawed enough to absorb some of the melting snow. If the ground is frozen, the snowmelt may run off the field,” Wandrey said. “Practices like no-till and cover crops will hold the snow in the field until it melts in the spring.”

Farmers also have additional tools to combat the variable weather conditions. Wandrey said pieces like precision ag equipment and choosing seed varieties that can produce high yields in tough conditions help farmers control their own destinies.

“Iowa farmers are an optimistic bunch and look forward to the next growing season just like a baseball team looks forward to the upcoming baseball season. Hope spring eternal,” Wandrey said. “However, every farmer wants Mother Nature to be a good partner throughout the growing season.”

— Jamee A. Pierson

soil, which historically has great productive capabilities. Whether immediately or slowly over time, washing the soil away also washes away its productivity. News reports over the past few years point to continued loss of Iowa topsoil. Roorda knows these reports well. Some have even graced his kitchen table a time or two. He’s paying attention.

“You hear numbers that we’ve lost half of our soil in a lot of the state. It all depends on typography and the way its been treated and multiple other things. But by not tilling you can retain that soil better than you can by stirring it up and loosening it every year,” Roorda said, estimating a good share of farmers he knows in Jasper County at least try to reduce any negative impact to Iowa soil.

While there is some data that shows farmers who till have a higher crop overall production, Roorda was hesitant to say for certain. To him, no-till farming is just a different management style, and any style of farming could produce lousy yields; even for those who till their fields, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture says is generally done to prepare soil for planting, better incorporate fertilizers, mix crop residue into the soil and control weeds, among other things. Roorda said tilling does make it easier to plant seeds. No-till farming can prove challenging.

“I’ve got last year’s soybean

stubble to deal with when I’m planting corn, or I’ve got all the residue left from the corn plant for my soybeans,” he said. “I’ve got husks and cobs and stalks laying every which way, and I’ve got the stumps of the corn plant to interfere with the planter a little bit. So you kind of have to figure how to make it work and to deal with all of that.”

Are there benefits to no-till farming? Sure. Conceivably, there may be fewer expenses since there would be less machinery involved, but then again there will always been some level of uncontrollable overhead costs for farmers. And there’s nothing “cheap” when it comes to farming. Even if there was a great deal of cost savings, it would not be the reason Roorda is a no-till farmer. To him, it all comes down to soil conservation. Preserving Iowa’s “black gold” means more years of fertility for himself and the next

generations of farmers.

Farmers leave behind a legacy through their fields. Roorda said farmers do not want a reputation of not taking care of their land. For those with a good conscience, the dreaded fear of a rundown farming operation hangs over their heads like a dark storm cloud before a fall harvest. It makes Roorda sick to think someone might one day say about him, “Man, that fool ruined this farm!” No one wants to hear that. Farmers want the best for their farm, and they hope folks will say, “Boy, this farm really meant something to them. They really took care of it.”

Roorda’s legacy is buried beneath a layer of ragged soybean stubble and old corn cobs. It is decades worth of work, but he feels good that his farming practices are fairly consistent and are not going out of their way to harm the state’s greatest asset.

He hopes his efforts in preserving the soil have made it fertile enough for the next farmer who would take over the fields. And he hopes they will lead by his example. Perhaps they, too, will see the benefits of covering a kitchen table with a bunch of magazines.

“Whether it’s a family member or not, somebody is going to be farming that land. When I quit, that farm is not going to sit idle. Somebody’s going to farm, and at least I can know that I’ve done the best that I could to preserve the soil and take care of it and its productive capability,” Roorda said. “Am I leaving it better than I got it? That’s kind of hard to say. But you hope. You hope you’re leaving it as good as you got it. This is what we make our living from. You don’t want to do anything, consciously, to interfere with future use and future productivity.”

—

Christopher

Braunschweig were the leading Holstein. He picked winners to begin with, and these were absolutely the top bulls in North America at the time.”

These days, professionals in cattle genetics have specific formulas they can utilize or evaluate animal quality with computers. While there was certainly potential for improved business, Eustice surmises that E.H. Maytag was primarily interested in cattle genetics as a hobby.

Which is partly what motivated Eustice to write his book about the Maytag family’s prized cattle herd. It also helped that he shared an interest with what E.H. Maytag devoted a large part of his life to. What is Eustice taking away from this whole experience? He’s just happy to chronicle a piece of agricultural history.

Especially a history that he believes is not as widely known.

“What I’m trying to do — and what I am doing — is recording agricultural history that

thus far has not been compiled and recorded,” Eustice said. “This is a permanent record that will last. No one else is doing this. No one else is researching some of these farms and ranches.”

Eustice said his goal is to spend the years he has left researching these types of farms and telling their stories.

“There is a need for this to be done and there’s interest,” he said. “…It’s very rewarding for me.”

— Christopher Braunschweig

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