We will no longer be sharing our
farm life on this blog.
Don't worry, you can still hear
about our Kansas farm life
(and other things) at
Please visit us there!
Thank you!
Julie & Milton Vogts
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2016
Monday, October 26, 2015
Landlord Appreciation Dinner - 2015
We just wrapped up our annual landlord appreciation dinner over the weekend. We served nine people and had the most enjoyable evening. There was a new couple in the mix and it was wonderful to see them join right in with the rest of us!
Our landlords trust us to care for the land and raise crops on their family legacy. We know that they could lease their land to anyone, so we do our best to care for the land, and let them know we appreciate the opportunity.
Our annual dinner is just one way we do this. We normally send out a newsletter once a year, plus Christmas cards. Some other farmers we know also send out calendars with photos of the farming that year to their landlords. I think this is a great idea! Our farthest landlord resides in California so it's nice to be able to send her things from Kansas!
We decorated the table with fall decor. PV even helped set the table and prepare for our guests! I love when she is in the kitchen! Although as you can see from the photo she is a girl with many talents!
Our menu was the following, I tried to keep it somewhat simple this year as our schedule in October was pretty full!
The guests left with a little orange bag in their hands! In their bag they found an embroidered tea towel and jar of jam. The three that were unable to attend will receive a nice little parcel in the mail later this week! :) Hint: it can be used in the kitchen!
Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of anything from the evening. I took a few but then accidentally deleted them and emptied my recycle bin before realizing what I had done.
So, the memories will stay in our mind and look to next year's event! We hope you enjoyed our little post from the entertaining kitchen today!
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie
Our landlords trust us to care for the land and raise crops on their family legacy. We know that they could lease their land to anyone, so we do our best to care for the land, and let them know we appreciate the opportunity.
Our annual dinner is just one way we do this. We normally send out a newsletter once a year, plus Christmas cards. Some other farmers we know also send out calendars with photos of the farming that year to their landlords. I think this is a great idea! Our farthest landlord resides in California so it's nice to be able to send her things from Kansas!
We decorated the table with fall decor. PV even helped set the table and prepare for our guests! I love when she is in the kitchen! Although as you can see from the photo she is a girl with many talents!
 |
| This is PV the other day repairing the chicken coop door! |
Our menu was the following, I tried to keep it somewhat simple this year as our schedule in October was pretty full!
The guests left with a little orange bag in their hands! In their bag they found an embroidered tea towel and jar of jam. The three that were unable to attend will receive a nice little parcel in the mail later this week! :) Hint: it can be used in the kitchen!
Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of anything from the evening. I took a few but then accidentally deleted them and emptied my recycle bin before realizing what I had done.
So, the memories will stay in our mind and look to next year's event! We hope you enjoyed our little post from the entertaining kitchen today!
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Farm Kid Fun in the Mud & Folding Laundry
I am hoping we are raising a well rounded young lady here on the farm. In one day she can do any variety of things. We want to raise a child that knows how to cook, clean, and work on the farm as well. That way she can be a good wife, mother, and hard working human in the future!
Today included the following for the seven year old.
Checking irrigation with Dad.
Baking a cake with Mom.
Reading, practicing piano, and folding laundry as well. Oh sure there was a little tv watching and playing in her bedroom too.
Life here on the farm we keep a pretty good routine, with some added life experiences thrown in on any given day!
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie
Today included the following for the seven year old.
Checking irrigation with Dad.
Baking a cake with Mom.
Reading, practicing piano, and folding laundry as well. Oh sure there was a little tv watching and playing in her bedroom too.
Life here on the farm we keep a pretty good routine, with some added life experiences thrown in on any given day!
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Concaves & Chickens
It was time to prepare for our next type of harvest here on the farm. Milton worked on cleaning up, waxing, and changing concaves on the combine. This photo was taken prior to the washing and waxing, he had it put away in the shed before I remembered to get one of his handy work!
The concaves are parts of the combine. Don't let them fool you, they are heavy, so he called on his trusty farm wife to come help him! He is holding one of them in this photo.
See the metal rod, I'm holding the other end. Too hard to get a photo while working to include me! I promise I'm there.
Inside view of a Case IH 6088 combine anyone?
The chirps are growing quickly and if we are outside in the early morning we can hear those lovely roosters we have too!
We have started letting them out midday and they do enjoy it! The cleaning of the chicken coop was long overdue. Time got away from us. They gathered the items needed. The mule, a couple shovels, and straw.
The red thing on PV's head is a Frogg Togg. Seriously a great purchase in my eyes. She loves it on hot days and Milton has one too. Although he doesn't wear his on his head! :)
Off to get straw! Watch out farm yard animals and people, young driver!
That pretty much sums up our current events. I'm hoping this week to get some photos of our current crops to show you. Corn, soybeans, and milo are growing in our fields!
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie
Julie
Friday, July 17, 2015
Farm Wife Reality - I Married a Risk Taker
One of the biggest risks I ever took was marrying a farmer. I was oblivious to this reality on our wedding day in 2003, even though we had dated the year before. I didn't really understand or know the realm of things in farm life.
Perhaps it took that long for me to realize it because the first part of our marriage he worked full time in construction, farming was the second job. Even when those roles switched, I still didn't realize the depth. I believe it was because I worked full time outside the home. The "safety net" so to speak.
I grew up in a farming family until I was 11, I honestly didn't know what the reality of farm management was. Then I lived as a "city folk" for the rest of my life until 5 years ago. That's when we actually moved to the farm.
Honestly, we should have moved long before that time. I believe the reality of living "on the farm" and being more involved in the farming operation has brought about a better understanding for me. A better marriage as well.
When we moved to the farm, I grieved the life I had and even the house we had in town. I recall sitting with my spouse looking out at the same field I am right now. It was during the building of our farm house. Together we sat where our fireplace is now, without any walls built. I remember having a mixture of sadness and fear about leaving behind the life I had come to know for so long. Fast forward to the present.
My life is better for being where I am, more meaningful, and yes more difficult at times. With my change of occupation from working outside the home to stay at home it has brought a time of transition. It has been almost a year now. In that time I have participated in the farming operation in different ways. The farm books, paying the farm expenses, watching how many bushels of grain we have, organizing information for insurance and government offices, not to mention tax stuff. Including some physical labor too!
Due to my more active involvement, as wheat harvest arrived a few weeks ago the need for a good wheat harvest came into my view clearly. This year I found myself more committed, interested, and involved than ever before. I've been a partner in this farm operation for 12 years, but I don't think I ever understood most of it. It's starting to really click now!
I married a risk-taker. A man of risk. Those of you that know my husband may be laughing right now, but I'm right. Farming is a huge risk.
It's no wonder he loves it, he has to, because if anyone didn't, no one would last long in farming. I feel any man or woman that can depend on the seed, dirt, fertilizer, chemicals, hard work, and mostly the weather is a risk-taker. Which means if I married him I must be one too! I can now add that to my resume, right?
Milton waited a long time to get to this point in his career, he deserves every good crop produced, every sunset he sees from the tractor, and the opportunities he has been given. There will be successes and failures in this farm life, but he knows this. He is OK with that, and knows the following.
We are sustained, not by the work of our own hands but the abilities that have been given to us. We are not able to stand firm in our moments of risk without the abilities that have been created in us. The farm would not function if not for God. I think many need to remember this, the farmer is just the steward of the land.
Thanks for stopping by.
Julie
 |
| This photo truly shows the happiness we both felt that day. |
Perhaps it took that long for me to realize it because the first part of our marriage he worked full time in construction, farming was the second job. Even when those roles switched, I still didn't realize the depth. I believe it was because I worked full time outside the home. The "safety net" so to speak.
 |
| We don't always have smiles on our faces together but they are present more now than ever! |
I grew up in a farming family until I was 11, I honestly didn't know what the reality of farm management was. Then I lived as a "city folk" for the rest of my life until 5 years ago. That's when we actually moved to the farm.
Honestly, we should have moved long before that time. I believe the reality of living "on the farm" and being more involved in the farming operation has brought about a better understanding for me. A better marriage as well.
When we moved to the farm, I grieved the life I had and even the house we had in town. I recall sitting with my spouse looking out at the same field I am right now. It was during the building of our farm house. Together we sat where our fireplace is now, without any walls built. I remember having a mixture of sadness and fear about leaving behind the life I had come to know for so long. Fast forward to the present.
My life is better for being where I am, more meaningful, and yes more difficult at times. With my change of occupation from working outside the home to stay at home it has brought a time of transition. It has been almost a year now. In that time I have participated in the farming operation in different ways. The farm books, paying the farm expenses, watching how many bushels of grain we have, organizing information for insurance and government offices, not to mention tax stuff. Including some physical labor too!
 |
| Working together on the farm |
Due to my more active involvement, as wheat harvest arrived a few weeks ago the need for a good wheat harvest came into my view clearly. This year I found myself more committed, interested, and involved than ever before. I've been a partner in this farm operation for 12 years, but I don't think I ever understood most of it. It's starting to really click now!
I married a risk-taker. A man of risk. Those of you that know my husband may be laughing right now, but I'm right. Farming is a huge risk.
 |
| one of my favorite photos of him |
It's no wonder he loves it, he has to, because if anyone didn't, no one would last long in farming. I feel any man or woman that can depend on the seed, dirt, fertilizer, chemicals, hard work, and mostly the weather is a risk-taker. Which means if I married him I must be one too! I can now add that to my resume, right?
Milton waited a long time to get to this point in his career, he deserves every good crop produced, every sunset he sees from the tractor, and the opportunities he has been given. There will be successes and failures in this farm life, but he knows this. He is OK with that, and knows the following.
We are sustained, not by the work of our own hands but the abilities that have been given to us. We are not able to stand firm in our moments of risk without the abilities that have been created in us. The farm would not function if not for God. I think many need to remember this, the farmer is just the steward of the land.
Thanks for stopping by.
Julie
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Wheat Harvest 2015 - Recap
Milton drove the Case
IH 6088 combine, RV took care of hauling wheat via the semi and grain
truck, while LV weighed the trucks as they came home to store the grain.
Julie helped some with weighing and scale tickets and cooked one meal for
everyone each day. PV, well we will
call her the supervisor that played a lot!
Once the grain bins
were full at home, the grain began being hauled to the elevator in Canton and
the new Ag Producers LLC terminal on Hiway 56.
Hauling to the terminal was a new experience for all, but turned out to
be a good choice in our eyes. Depending on the priced being offered in the future, we will see if it is more profitable to haul there verses ADM that is located 40 miles away.
While harvesting
Milton did deal with mud in the fields from the rains that blessed our area
days and weeks before harvest. I do not believe ours were as bad as others or at least my farmer didn't complain much about that.
The yields varied anywhere from 43 to 86. Our average was 62. We harvested 881 acres of wheat. Being able to apply the fungicide was a
critical component to having a good harvest we believe, along with the rainfall that came in May and June.
The harvest lasted 9
days. Milton and RV worked the
longest hours, normally cutting by 10:00 am and not stopping until 10 or 11 at
night. Milton’s brother VV helped us
by planting soybeans and milo. At one point, Milton did give him the opportunity to drive the combine. My farmer was pretty protective of our investment. I can understand why as this investment was something that is essential in our farming operation and costs a great deal of money. We are grateful for the help that his brother offered.
I did do some new things during this wheat harvest. I drove an empty truck from one field to another, drove a loaded truck to practice, and went to get fertilizer with a trailer. Baby steps is how I'm going about this farm wife journey and it works well for me. :)
Now the days are less stressful as the new crops are planted and beginning to show growth.
This wraps it up for our wheat harvest and we are focusing on the new crops. Time to get things caught up as in paperwork, housework, and spending time together as a family.
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie
Monday, June 29, 2015
Wheat Harvest 2015 - Kansas Style - 8 & 9
This day began for Milton at 5:30 am. He unloaded the semi from the last cut of wheat from the night before. This will be used as "seed wheat" for next wheat crop.
I made my way over about 6:30 am and we unloaded the soybeans I had picked the day before off the pickup and trailer. Then they were loaded into the grain drill so it is ready when needed.
Corn is going back into a field we harvested yesterday of wheat. Milton went out to see if it was too damp to start planting. It was so he headed to a soybean field to replant some that the grasshoppers enjoyed!
Wheat harvest started back up around 11:00 am and the field we are currently cutting has produced some really good wheat for us. Milton's brother V. came to drive combine so he could go plant corn. RV (Milton's dad) is the truck driver and hauls the grain.
PV & I made a quick trip to Elderslie Farms where I get my blackberries for jam making this morning. I will need to get that done in the next couple days!
Day 9 was our last day in the field. We didn't start until about 2:00 pm. We spent our morning as a family worshiping our Lord and had a great potluck afterwards! We did finish the wheat harvest (minus a couple muddy spots) about 9:30 pm.
We are including a video of Milton running the combine on our last field.
Stats
Fields harvested: YH28, DO32, Silo17
I will do a wrap up post when I have more time. Now I need to focus on getting life back in order and help the farmer as much as I can in the planting season! Thanks for following our #wheatharvest15!
Julie & Milton
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I made my way over about 6:30 am and we unloaded the soybeans I had picked the day before off the pickup and trailer. Then they were loaded into the grain drill so it is ready when needed.
Corn is going back into a field we harvested yesterday of wheat. Milton went out to see if it was too damp to start planting. It was so he headed to a soybean field to replant some that the grasshoppers enjoyed!
Wheat harvest started back up around 11:00 am and the field we are currently cutting has produced some really good wheat for us. Milton's brother V. came to drive combine so he could go plant corn. RV (Milton's dad) is the truck driver and hauls the grain.
PV & I made a quick trip to Elderslie Farms where I get my blackberries for jam making this morning. I will need to get that done in the next couple days!
Day 9 was our last day in the field. We didn't start until about 2:00 pm. We spent our morning as a family worshiping our Lord and had a great potluck afterwards! We did finish the wheat harvest (minus a couple muddy spots) about 9:30 pm.
We are including a video of Milton running the combine on our last field.
Fields harvested: YH28, DO32, Silo17
I will do a wrap up post when I have more time. Now I need to focus on getting life back in order and help the farmer as much as I can in the planting season! Thanks for following our #wheatharvest15!
Julie & Milton
Opportunities to follow our family farm adventures! Pick one and join the fun!
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Saturday, June 27, 2015
Wheat Harvest 2015 - Kansas Style - 6 & 7
June 25-26, 2015 Thursday & Friday
Day 6
Day 6 ended like this.
Day 7
My husband normally helps me in my #pfwg44thbirthday challenge but the timing didn't work this time. So my day started out by donating blood alone at a closer location than we normally use. It went rather quickly and it helped save 3 lives. I was in and out in less than one hour, no kidding! Please consider helping others by donating blood, they are especially short in supply during the summer.
When I returned home Milton asked me to come with him to haul the Chevy grain truck that was loaded with wheat to the new grain terminal. It had rained and he couldn't cut yet. This way I could practice driving with it loaded. I don't feel I did even ok, let's just leave it at that. It was interesting to go to the grain terminal where they load railroad cars with wheat. I will write a post on that later but here are a couple pictures of the location!
I'm working on becoming more a farm wife verses farmer's wife and I got a little closer today. I headed to get soybean seed a few miles away from our farm on my own. This may not be a big deal to others but to me it was. I headed home with a heavy load!
Milton finished one field he had started cutting yesterday. Then headed to try another one. The wheat looks really good on it but the straw still had green in it. So he was off to another field!
He finished the field with some extra passengers. We love to give combine rides! The young man was 4 years old and we love him to pieces! After K rode in the combine we moved to a new field and he was my sidekick in the grain truck. It's was so cool to see him so excited about all things farming!
PV & I were able to finally spend some time in the combine with Milton. These two make my life so much fuller, I'm grateful she has the opportunity to be raised by such a good father. Even the smallest moments matter folks! Treasure them while you can!
The post today really showed you what happened between our sunsets from day 6 to day 7. We will close on sharing the view from the combine cab. Both nights were pretty spectacular!
Day six & seven stats:
Fields harvested: Far16house, RV16, Nut8, RV17
Truckloads of wheat hauled: 14 plus
Number of acres harvest:124 plus
Harvest food included: Huntington chicken, corn, bread, and fresh fruit
Opportunities to follow our family farm adventures! Pick one and join the fun!
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Day 6
 |
| Harvesting Wheat under pivot |
 |
| Taken through my car window... no filter |
 |
| What Kansas is known for. WHEAT! |
Day 6 ended like this.
Day 7
My husband normally helps me in my #pfwg44thbirthday challenge but the timing didn't work this time. So my day started out by donating blood alone at a closer location than we normally use. It went rather quickly and it helped save 3 lives. I was in and out in less than one hour, no kidding! Please consider helping others by donating blood, they are especially short in supply during the summer.
When I returned home Milton asked me to come with him to haul the Chevy grain truck that was loaded with wheat to the new grain terminal. It had rained and he couldn't cut yet. This way I could practice driving with it loaded. I don't feel I did even ok, let's just leave it at that. It was interesting to go to the grain terminal where they load railroad cars with wheat. I will write a post on that later but here are a couple pictures of the location!
I'm working on becoming more a farm wife verses farmer's wife and I got a little closer today. I headed to get soybean seed a few miles away from our farm on my own. This may not be a big deal to others but to me it was. I headed home with a heavy load!
Milton finished one field he had started cutting yesterday. Then headed to try another one. The wheat looks really good on it but the straw still had green in it. So he was off to another field!
He finished the field with some extra passengers. We love to give combine rides! The young man was 4 years old and we love him to pieces! After K rode in the combine we moved to a new field and he was my sidekick in the grain truck. It's was so cool to see him so excited about all things farming!
 |
| One of my favs. PV & K waiting for the combine. |
 |
| Combine rides & beautiful skies. Kansas is good! |
PV & I were able to finally spend some time in the combine with Milton. These two make my life so much fuller, I'm grateful she has the opportunity to be raised by such a good father. Even the smallest moments matter folks! Treasure them while you can!
The post today really showed you what happened between our sunsets from day 6 to day 7. We will close on sharing the view from the combine cab. Both nights were pretty spectacular!
Day six & seven stats:
Fields harvested: Far16house, RV16, Nut8, RV17
Truckloads of wheat hauled: 14 plus
Number of acres harvest:124 plus
Harvest food included: Huntington chicken, corn, bread, and fresh fruit
Opportunities to follow our family farm adventures! Pick one and join the fun!
Facebook Page
Emails directly to your inbox! Be sure to sign up in the top right hand corner of blog!
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