Tiny, tiny farm crop rotation...

[PacerX]

1st year: field rye

Wife learned to make 100% rye bread.  It's pretty dense, but made with maple syrup (I hate molasses...), it's pretty good!

2nd year?

3rd year?

 

Here's the kicker... whatever I rotate in needs to be edible for humans.  Soybeans are a non-starter.

I just don't know what to do.

I won't build an animal barn until next year, so nothing to feed with whatever...

[ChrisNY]

Sweet corn

[JaredT]

Drybeans, lots of bean soup that way😉

[mike newman]

Millet.....that is very good tucker for us homo sapiens.....

Mike

[sandhiller]

3 hours ago, PacerX said:

Here's the kicker... whatever I rotate in needs to be edible for humans.  Soybeans are a non-starter.

I just don't know what to do.

I won't build an animal barn until next year, so nothing to feed with whatever...

 

Where are you at and what is the need for this "animal barn"?

Throw a steer on the grass and eat him when he hits 1400#

Man did not survive to this day by eating stuff that should be fed to a cow.

 

[mike newman]

48 minutes ago, sandhiller said:

 

Where are you at and what is the need for this "animal barn"?

Throw a steer on the grass and eat him when he hits 1400#...oh boy

Man did not survive to this day by eating stuff that should be fed to a cow.

 

..Why shucks Jeff...them's fighting words ......

Mike

[Chester5732]

1 hour ago, sandhiller said:

 

Where are you at and what is the need for this "animal barn"?

Throw a steer on the grass and eat him when he hits 1400#

Man did not survive to this day by eating stuff that should be fed to a cow.

 

Also, a barn is a man made idea.  The Good Lord provided fence lines and trees to protect the animals.  

[Alan Dinan]

How many acres? Split it up and plant a garden. Sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes. Local farmers market or roadside stand?

[PacerX]

6 hours ago, sandhiller said:

 

Where are you at and what is the need for this "animal barn"?

Throw a steer on the grass and eat him when he hits 1400#

Man did not survive to this day by eating stuff that should be fed to a cow.

 

Northern Michigan.

There's gotta be a barn for the critters.

[JaredT]

How many acres?

[PacerX]

1 hour ago, JaredT said:

How many acres?

30 total, 8 in hay, 10 in sugar maples for syrup, 2 set aside for pasture in the future.

Right now, about 1/4 acre in each of field rye and wheat.

I want to figure out something to rotate those with so as to not burn the ground.

We've got bad ground here for anything other than raspberries or spuds.  It's called "Kalkaska Sand" and 4 inches under the surface it's literally a beach.  An acidic beach at that.

[ihrondiesel]

6 hours ago, Chester5732 said:

Also, a barn is a man made idea.  The Good Lord provided fence lines and trees to protect the animals.  

If ‘twas the Good Lord that provided fence lines, that was a cruel joke to us who had to maintain them as kids!

[sandhiller]

25 minutes ago, ihrondiesel said:

If ‘twas the Good Lord that provided fence lines, that was a cruel joke to us who had to maintain them as kids!

The Lord hath a sense of humor as some of us were tasked (condemned?) to ride them forever🤠

[Lazy WP]

2 hours ago, PacerX said:

Northern Michigan.

There's gotta be a barn for the critters.

Highlander cattle, or Yak don’t need barns. 
Personally, I believe that no cattle need barns, but that’s going to cause a fight amongst some. 

[Mudfly]

I'd say an open loafing shed is fine.  Northern MN here with horses and they winter ok as long as they have a wind break and a place to get dry occasionally.  Beef cows can be outside, a building is optional.

[Lazy WP]

5 minutes ago, Mudfly said:

I'd say an open loafing shed is fine.  Northern MN here with horses and they winter ok as long as they have a wind break and a place to get dry occasionally.  Beef cows can be outside, a building is optional.

My horses have access to the barn and never go inside. They will stand with their backside to a Cedar tree and have snow a foot deep on their backs. 

[db1486]

47 minutes ago, sandhiller said:

The Lord hath a sense of humor as some of us were tasked (condemned?) to ride them forever🤠

Obviously a different sense of humor as mine, as I don't find it very funny walking a half mile in swamp and loom crap up to my waist to find out I have to turn around and go back because I ran out of staples or wire 😂

[iowaboy1965]

2 minutes ago, db1486 said:

Obviously a different sense of humor as mine, as I don't find it very funny walking a half mile in swamp and loom crap up to my waist to find out I have to turn around and go back because I ran out of staples or wire 😂

You have that problem too?

[PacerX]

Fellas...

If the cows decide they don't wanna go in the barn, that's fine.  But they'll have the option.

No use for horses.

We get this thing called "lake effect" snow.

How much?

This thing dragged out 2 plow trucks last winter.  One of them was the neighbor's, the other was the county's.

 

[db1486]

18 minutes ago, Lazy WP said:

Highlander cattle, or Yak don’t need barns. 
Personally, I believe that no cattle need barns, but that’s going to cause a fight amongst some. 

I completely agree. Only time our cows go in the barn is when they are calving in winter/spring. And only for a day or 2. Otherwise they're outside all year. They can handle -40 just fine out there. Although they do need shelter of some kind so if there's no bush around I would expect to have some windbreak or loose housing for them to get out of the wind and elements. We have lots of bush so very fortunate that way

[db1486]

1 hour ago, iowaboy1965 said:

You have that problem too?

I call it a minor inconvenience. Doesn't sound as bad that way lol

[db1486]

As for the crops, not sure on your area and how they would grow but being a few acres and if you're looking to use what you grow, oats and flax would make a good rotation to add in. Get some animal feed from the oats and flax is awesome to use in baking and such. 

[iowaboy1965]

59 minutes ago, PacerX said:

Fellas...

If the cows decide they don't wanna go in the barn, that's fine.  But they'll have the option.

No use for horses.

We get this thing called "lake effect" snow.

How much?

This thing dragged out 2 plow trucks last winter.  One of them was the neighbor's, the other was the county's.

 

I dont blame you for wanting shelter for your animals. Like you say if they chose not to use it whatever.  But sometimes you want/need to get a sick animal in for a few days or maybe a newborn and mama that is struggling. Or In a severe storm or cold snap. Can they survive without? Most times yes, but....

Different circumstances/climate make a difference too sometimes. 

Your soils are different from ours so that makes it a bit differnt. What are the other locals doing? Or what did the old timers traditionally do back in the day? That may give you some ideas. 

I do like the oats flax suggestion above. Something that puts nutrients back in the soil would be good, but you say beens are a no go. Clover? Could rotate with alfalfa every few years?

[PacerX]

Ok.

Getting some good ideas.

Beans (other than soybeans), oats, alfalfa or clover for the critters...

Oats might not be half bad... never ever thought I'd eat as much rye as we do.

It's just nice that field rye will grow on concrete if you seed it there, so a bad hobby farmer like me can have at least one success.

[Bermuda_Ken]

green peas.....sunflowers....sweet corn.  All can be sold as extras....