Pjesky Winter 2007-2008 Diary Entry

Winter 2007-08 Diary

December

The month of December is usually one that from a weather standpoint epitomizes a saying by the famous Oklahoma humorist, Will Rogers. He said “If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma just wait until tomorrow.” We had several days of temperatures near or over 60 degrees and then winter arrived. During the early part of December we had 3 inches of sleet followed a few days later by a cold 2 inches of rain. It could have been much worse, as over 700,000 Oklahomans to our south and east were without electricity because of an ice storm for several days. We only lost power for part of one day. Just before Christmas we received 6 inches of snow along with strong winds causing blizzard conditions and the snow blew into drifts. All of the precipitation and freezing and thawing have made the dirt roads to our farms really muddy and hard to drive on, it’s a good thing we have four-wheel drive.

Cold weather and snow are really tough on animals. Every day we need to thaw out water pumps and break the ice on top of water tanks with axes and throw it out using pitchforks. Cattle also need to be fed hay and feed because the wheat they graze is covered by snow. This makes our day’s work much more difficult. Livestock and pets need fresh water in cold weather as well as when it is hot. Always remember that domestic animals can’t take care of themselves, so farmers and ranchers must be responsible for their care and well being.

The typical day for us in December starts at 8 a.m. We go to each farm where we have cattle to feed them, make sure they have plenty of hay and be sure their water tanks are full and free of ice. This process is repeated at all 12 farms where we have cattle. At the receiving pens we check all the cattle and make sure they all eat. If any don’t eat we put them through the chute and check to see if they have a fever. If they do, we give them an antibiotic shot and pills. These cattle are kept separate in a smaller pen where they can eat and have a barn for shelter.

Christmas with the family is important to us. We all spent the holidays with my brother and his family in Canyon, Texas. We are looking forward to the New Year. It will bring a lot of work, but we believe 2008 will be even better than 2007.

January

The month of January in Oklahoma is one of short days that are really the easiest of the year. With mostly cold weather all we do is take care of the cattle, feeding and watering as well as checking new cattle to be sure they aren’t sick. We will get busier again in February as the days get longer and warmer.

Early in the month a huge event in our area occurred. The Chisholm Trail Agrifest is a large farm show. At this event different types of businesses that cater to agriculture show their products in one location. This is kind of like a gigantic toy store for farmers. New machinery and all sorts of cool, new technology and gadgets are available to see and check out. I spent the whole afternoon looking at everything from GPS guided auto-steer to new tractors and harvesters. It is really fun to look at this stuff but most of it wouldn’t be practical on our farm because it is too expensive.

This month marked a milestone for our family. My dad and I were able to pay off our land. This is like paying off a house for those who live in town. Finally after five generations my family doesn’t owe any money on land. This is important as it now gives us so much more financial flexibility than we have ever had. When I think of the struggles that previous generations of my family had paying the mortgage, along with my struggles over the last 14 years, I realize just how exciting it is to pay off the loan. It is a great relief.

February

February is usually when we get most of our winter weather, but this year has been mild. We have gotten several cold rains and one period of snow. We applied our spring fertilizer this month. This is done to replace the nutrients used while the plants have been grazed by cattle during the winter. We as farmers have really felt the pinch of higher energy prices. Not only are we faced with the high price of gas and diesel fuel but fertilizer, which is produced using natural gas, has increased nearly five times over the last five years. You may have heard that wheat is trading at record prices but those prices have barely risen enough to cover the huge increase in expenses. Not to mention that severe weather conditions this past year caused us not to harvest hardly any wheat, so we don’t have any to sell at these high prices. Enough bad news, the good news is that our current crop has great potential if everything goes well from here on to harvest.

This month Hope traveled with a group of other producers and agribusiness people from Oklahoma to China and South Korea. They visited Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Seoul. During their travels they met with government officials and looked at several different agricultural operations. While she was gone, I used our semi truck to haul some more hay home that we had bought. We got ready to begin moving cattle off the wheat that we will harvest in June. I also got our lambing barn ready for our ewes to lamb, which happens during March.