Working Ranch 101: Winter Wheat

Today, the very strapping and virile Marlboro Man and I escaped our house of ill repute and drove 258 miles south to our farm. Here at the farm, we grow wheat for pasture, which we'll use to graze cattle from November to June.

Just to give you a little perspective, here's what this part of the country generally looks like during the month of December:

Everything shrivels and dies and turns a lifeless shade of dull brown. Many folks become seasonally depressed and begin eating disturbing quantities of fruitcake.

But wait. What's that vivid shade of green I see?
Why, I do believe it's the wheat we planted in September!

See, we plant wheat in September so it will be ready for our "spring calves"---the calves that were born on our ranch up north this past spring---to begin eating in mid-November, assuming we've received adequate rainfall since planting. These spring calves were just weaned up north a short time ago, and were transported by truck down here to the farm. They'll stay here for the winter and spring, feasting daily on the rich, nutritious green grass and gaining an average of two-and-a-half pounds every day until spring, when they'll weigh 800 to 850 pounds. Then they'll be shipped off to a feed yard, where they'll live out the rest of their days.

Unlike other crops such as corn and soybeans, which are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall, wheat is a crop that's planted in the fall and harvested in the summer. Our primary objective for growing wheat is to produce a high quality winter and spring foliage on which to graze our calves. Just look at the difference in color!

Here's our headquarters here at the farm. I love it down here.

We left the kids up north with M.M.'s mother, since we'll be traveling on to Ft. Worth for the weekend to attend the NCHA Futurity. I've been here less than two hours, and I've already figured out why the human race, as a whole, is so unhealthy: Noise. Without children, telephones, and six TV's blaring at once, I experienced my first dose of true silence in possibly months. And instantly, I felt every stress, pain, germ and tumor miraculously leave my body. The silence was so acute and so foreign to me, I actually begged M.M. to flip on the TV for a few minutes. I needed to detox.

Silence. It does a body good. So does winter wheat.

Oh, and one more terribly important thing: As M.M. and I were driving through the pasture, I kept remarking on how particularly strong and unbearable the manure smell was. Now, manure, by its very nature, obviously doesn't smell like roses, and I deal with my share on a daily basis; but this manure smell was unusually heinous. My husband then offered me a very clear, concise explanation, after which I thanked him for his time and decided never to bring it up again.

"Wheat shit stinks," he said.

Wheat shit stinks.

Comments

[Gee]

Ah....silence! You are your mother's child in that department. I went to any lengths to find it. Retreating to a solitary bathroom and locking the door (well, it wasn't exactly the silence of a mountaintop with a clear stream gurgling)I would enjoy a blissful moment just standing in the room....then the inevitable...."Mom!!! Mom!!! Mom!!!!" But even a moment of silence in indeed golden.
Thanks for the wonderful wheat photos! Have a great time in Ft. Worth!

[Brooke]

Love the photos Ree! Have fun in Texas this weekend. The weather should be great.

[Heidi]

Well that is educational...I had no idea that in ranch country a farm is where the crop is grown. Words have different meanings in different parts of the world.

Is MM riding a cutting horse or are you going to watch?

[dadia]

Wow! No traffic snarls, no road rage - it's a beautiful place! I especially ike the pic of the headquarters. Serene. That's the word that comes to mind.

But, I can also understand how folks would become depressed with all the brown around...

You & M.M. have a wonderful weekend in Ft. Worth & a safe trip home!

p.s. Are you EVER gonna tell us the story of how you two met?

[Gina]

And there you have it. Life according to Marlboro Man!

[Brandi]

Just so you know, I've listened to your children (and you) sing everyday since the post. It keeps me from slipping into depression.

[Jenni in KS]

Wheat shit stinks. And so do feed yards. Our neighbors about a mile to the south have a feed yard. On days the wind is blowing our way we get a lovely sampling of that bucolic aroma. It's worth the price to live in the country.

The thing about that first picture that gets me is not the dead, brown grass, but the huge flat expanse of land stretching on forever with no tree or any other variation in site. It's the same thing that hits me driving across most of Kansas. It's so absolutely desolate. No wonder this part of the country was once referred to as the Great American Desert. If you look closely, though, you can often see variation in the color and texture of different weeds and grasses. It's really quite lovely in its own way and it's what keeps me sane at times.

I do love the bright green wheat fields that break things up. When I first moved to Kansas, I didn't realize that was wheat. (Wheat only comes in amber waves, don't ya know.) I told dh Kansas has such beautiful, lush *grass* and he thought that was just hysterical. (Wheat *is* a grass!) That green wheat looks so soft and inviting when it gets to just the right height. I mentally lose myself in it while sitting in the passenger seat mile after mile. I don't know why people say silence is golden. It's obvious to me that silence is green.

[Carrie]

Ree, silence is golden! Isn't it funny the movie theaters used to tell us that? Oh yeah, get used to the smell. My mom can still smell a feed lot from miles away. I swear. We were travelling to Colorado and she said: "there's a feed lot around here somewhere." About 3-4 miles later, what do you know, a feed lot. That was 17 yrs. AFTER living on the ranch. Needless to say, their feed lot was right next to their house, so I'm sure she got quite used to it. Do you all just feed wheat or corn, too? We get some really GREAT corn fed beef here. Funny story I'll have to tell sometime about a study done on stressing cows-- corners. Have a great time in TX!

[Ree]

Heidi, actually, Tim is riding today. I'll post an update!

[Remuda Mom]

Oh have fun at the NCHA. Someone we know is in the NRHA finals, on a Clinton Anderson owned horse. They are both really fun to watch.

[Remuda Mom]

Oh, congratulations on your wheat. Ours doesn't look that good yet.. maybe the latest snow will spruce it up a bit.

[Stacie]

Great post...I had no idea that the winter feed was grown so far away...

Stacie

[Robin]

I had no idea how profound MM is. He should write bumper stickers for a livin', or at least while he's sittin' around waiting on the wheat to grow.

May you find many Starbucks on your mini-kinda-sorta-getaway.

Sometimes nothin' sounds better than nothing;).

[Pamela]

Winter wheat is grown in our valley. I love the velvet on the hills in the early spring.

Here it is harvested and barged down the Columbia River to be made into-- hmm - probably spagetti noodles.

I agree about noise. Even the flourescent lights at work hum... annoying.

As a kid I thought pea silage and alfalfa silage was the stinkies stuff - even before the cows even ate it.

[b.]

It's really beautiful! Where's the mountains? Wait, where do you live??

[Nan]

Okay... Do you have satellite internet or something? How do you drive 258 miles, experience the beauty of silence, and learn about wheat poop all before 5 A.M.?? Y'all sure accomplish a lot before the rooster crows don't you?
:^D
In-Awe-Nan

A couple of day ago you posted close up pictures of your girls in stocking hats. They were beautiful pictures (as always) and they were very crisp and clear. I was wondering if you were using a tripod? I believe I remember reading that you have a cannon rebel camera.? I also have a rebel and was wondering if there are any tips you could give me on getting beautiful close up images. Thanks for your time!
P.S. Love you blog!

[fwsunshine]

Welcome to Fort Worth! And good luck to Tim!

[lion]

Damn, look at that sky! Where I live now it's all gray, gray, gray. I hate the east.

But you've cleared up a little mystery from the year I spent (last year) in Colorado: now I know why there was green in winter.

[SQT]

It's amazing how the pictues you take of nothing but brown grass are still gorgeous. You have a lot of talent my dear.

[swampwitch]

Always such an education over here !
Silence is Golden...and so is Wheat !
Wasn't there a song by Gimon and Sarfunckle along those lines? Or did they sing,
"Wheat Shit Stinks?" Yeah, I think that was the song..."Wheat Shit Stinks"

[Nan]

To the poster below my first comment, Ree has a Nikon D70, not a Canon Rebel. Just FYI. :^D (Although I bet you she could probably still give you some kick-a tips! :^D
Nan

[Jennifer]

You think wheat shit stinks? You should be up in MN right after the canning company harvests the peas. How can peas smell you ask? Well, it's not the peas themselves that stink it's the leftover stalks that begin to decompose/rot/deteriorate. It smells absolutely awful. I've been around every animal/barn/farm smell there is and I can't think of anything worse than that. It makes your eyes water. Worse than turkey/chicken shit. It's disgusting. Makes me always think twice about eating it or feeding peas to my itty bitty cute little nephew.

[momto3cubs]

Loved the post. Very interesting. Ah, it's nice to know there are blue skies and greenery somewhere! I think all that flat, open land would drive me bonkers, but it is peaceful!

[Karmyn R]

258 miles? holy mackeral.

The farmers grew winter wheat where I grew up in Eastern Washington. It was nice to always see greenery, no matter what the weather. (of course - in July and August everything was golden). I miss it sometimes.