Neighbors helping neighbors Kim Baldwin McPherson County farmer and rancher Fall harvest is in full swing on our central Kansas farm. Our dryland and irrigated field corn has all been picked and all that’s left in those fields are corn stalks and a lot of dry organic material that was kicked out the back end of a combine.

Planting Trees in the Fall Fall can be a great time to plant trees and take advantage of the root growth that can occur while the soil is still warm before freezing begins. This gives trees a head start, enabling them to endure spring growth and summer stress. Early September to late October is the ideal planting time for most trees. Some trees are unsuitable for fall planting, such as beech, birch, redbud, magnolia, tulip poplar, willow oak, scarlet oak, black oak, willows, and dogwood. These trees cannot establish roots in time to survive the winter.

Adventures in baseball Jackie Mundt, Pratt County farmer and rancher I am not a great lover of sports, but I have always enjoyed America’s favorite pastime: baseball. My uncle regularly took us to watch the Brewers play at the old County Stadium in Milwaukee. Game days were long because we lived three hours from the stadium, but we never complained.

Technology in Beef Production Systems There are several technology opportunities for the beef industry. Here’s a few highlights.

Late summer on our central Kansas farm has consisted of keeping our crops irrigated, checking cattle, working ground and the start of fall harvest. Since the kids are back in school, my main focus has been monopolizing large tracks of uninterrupted time during the day working in our office while my husband is out and about checking fields, switching water gates and running equipment.

Fertilize Cool-Season Lawns It is prime time to fertilize your tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass lawns. This would be the best time if you could only fertilize your cool-season grasses once yearly.

Test to Prevent Nitrate and Prussic Acid Poisoning Many Kansas cattle operations rely on some harvested feed to use in the winter months, and shared among those sources is forage sorghum, sorghum-sudangrass, and Sudan. Forages in the sorghum family are prone to two problems in feeding cattle: nitrate poisoning and prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid, HCN) poisoning.

I admit going to Africa was never on my 'bucket list.' Earlier this year, I was offered the opportunity to travel there with the Kansas Farm Bureau Casten Fellows. Was I apprehensive? Absolutely. Was I nervous? You bet. However, after a quick check with my family, it was clear this was a chance of a lifetime and something I could not pass up. Boy, am I glad I took that leap of faith because my perspective of the world will never be the same.

Filling a freezer Greg Doering Kansas Farm Bureau For the first time in a long time, I won’t have to spend a Saturday defrosting an upright freezer in anticipation of the local meat processer calling to say our half steer is ready for pick up. Ideally this would have happened last fall, but I was really trading one hand-me-down freezer for another. And I’m a firm believer in beggars not being choosers.

Harvesting Winter Squash Spaghetti squash, butternut, and acorn are all examples of winter squash. Contrary to their summer squash relatives, such as zucchini, winter squash varieties should only be harvested once fully matured. Harvesting too soon will result in produce that shrivels up and lacks flavor. Mature winter squash can be stored longer as well.