I have looked into the future, and I see a chicken coop!

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By Dave Case

On Fertile Ground

What’s holding you back? Might be fun without too much extra effort.

Great learning experience for sure! Plus, did you know you can “Rent a Coop?” Yes indeed, you can rent everything these days, even a coop. Google it and check it out!

Unless you don’t read much or don’t eat eggs, you are aware of the skyrocket in price hike that eggs have been undergoing! I’ve read from 49-60% —100% or more! So, there might be a few of you considering starting or expanding a back yard flock. If you do, several things to consider:

1) It’s fairly easy

2) You don’t need a rooster, and

3) Make sure you know the health risks. If you do start one, take precautions to avoid avian flu which is part of the reason for the high egg prices.

To help prevent avian flu, keep wild birds away from your flock. Don’t let your hens co-mingle with wild birds if they’re out in the open. Birds, especially black vultures, are ones most susceptible to carrying avian flu into your flock but also hawks, owls and waterfowl. If you do order from a hatchery, make sure they are NPIP approved. And yes, they can ship to your post office in a cardboard box that’s ventilated.

If you do get chickens of you own, here are things to know: They will start to lay at about 20 weeks. So, if you buy chicks, you’ll have to feed them for several months before they lay, or you can buy them older and get eggs sooner like what we do.

Breeds differ at how many eggs you’ll get in a year. Some breeds lay 200 eggs a year on up to around 320 eggs a year. You don’t need a rooster. A rooster’s job is to fertilize the eggs so that you’ll have chicks from the eggs if you so choose. If no rooster, you’ll still have eggs, they will be unfertilized, but taste is the same. As day length increases, so will egg production. You’ll get around 6 eggs a week from a hen at peak.

What are your Garden Goals for this season? No goals? How about these!

Grow a plant you’ve never grown before: Onions, lettuce, peas, radishes.

Eat something from your garden each day.

Order seeds/plants early. Don’t wait!

Spend more time/effort into building your soil. Avoid bare soil (use cover crops), avoid digging or tilling unnecessarily, rotate annual crops, grow nitrogen fixers (clovers etc.).

Plant extra plants for pollinators. What are pollinators? Native bees, but also butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. We have leafcutter bees on our place. Plants like marigolds, milkweed, coneflower, clovers, lupine, calendula, salvia etc. are great. Plant a variety that bloom at different times. And grow organically if possible but definitely, no insecticides.

Indoor gardening season has started! Start onions for seed. We are eating lettuce almost every day and have kale growing. Last month I mentioned the AeroGarden. There are others, check out their website!

Farm Sector News and Notes: Financial tips:

As we head into another crop year, we reflect on a demanding 2022.

Careful planning can increase your chances of success while minimizing exposure to potential hazards. What does this mean? Get working capital in order — also known as “cash on hand.” Is there anything you can liquidate that are unproductive/unused assets?

Keep debt at lowest possible interest rate as possible.

Concentrate on generating cash and lessening debt.

Hold off repairs that aren’t time sensitive.

Optimize workflow efficiency.

Know your break-even point. Margins are volatile with and won’t be the same in 2023 as they were in 2022.

How healthy is your soil?

It’s not a short-term fix … very much long term!

How much of your soil is covered vs bare ground? Control erosion.

Limit disturbance. Help build and improve soil biology.

Diversify plantings. Cover crops provide carbon which is a food source for microorganisms.

Nitrogen tips to remember:

Apply more N closer to the time when corn needs it most. Side-dress the majority of what the crop needs as it takes off. If you really want to dial it in, tissue test.

Grow your own nitrogen. Legume covers ahead of the crop work if you allow the cover crop to approach maturity.

And biological products that attach to the roots and fix nitrogen are showing benefit.

Water!

We are blessed here in Champaign County with moisture both from Mother Nature but also from an abundant aquifer. We have multiple center pivots in the county. Why do we have these if water is plentiful? We are gravel underlay, and we can take a wet year better than a dry year. Corn needs around an inch a week in the summer! Corn is a very thirsty crop!

Last month’s trivia question:

When bats fly out of a cave, do they turn left or right?

Both! It’s a myth that they turn one way or the other! They turn whichever they want!

Under a polar bear’s white fur, what color is its skin? Black!

Trivia time: Approximately how many gallons of water does it take to produce a bushel of corn? How many gallons of water per corn acre?

Question or comments? Email me at [email protected].

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A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Dave Case majored in Agronomy and Ag Econ with an emphasis in Weed Science. Dave’s career spanned Champaign Landmark, Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company and Bayer CropScience. In 2018, Case formed Case Ag Consulting LLC.

He is a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Agricultural Fraternity and Alpha Zeta Agricultural Honorary. He is on the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Association of Kentucky, Chairman of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association Educational Trust Foundation and Secretary of the Alpha Gamma Rho Alumni Board. He is also a Champaign County Historical Society Agricultural Capital Campaign Committee Member and is a Trustee for the Champaign County Farm Bureau. Dave and his wife Dorothy live on a small farm south of Urbana where they raise goats, chickens and various crops. Dave can be reached at [email protected].

A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Dave Case majored in Agronomy and Ag Econ with an emphasis in Weed Science. Dave’s career spanned Champaign Landmark, Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company and Bayer CropScience. In 2018, Case formed Case Ag Consulting LLC.

He is a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Agricultural Fraternity and Alpha Zeta Agricultural Honorary. He is on the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Association of Kentucky, Chairman of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association Educational Trust Foundation and Secretary of the Alpha Gamma Rho Alumni Board. He is also a Champaign County Historical Society Agricultural Capital Campaign Committee Member and is a Trustee for the Champaign County Farm Bureau. Dave and his wife Dorothy live on a small farm south of Urbana where they raise goats, chickens and various crops. Dave can be reached at [email protected].

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