Bring on the Salt Blocks

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This week I have learned about a center pivot and how to keep it functioning and irrigating properly. We had the center pivot running this week. It was going back and forth pivoting around one end of the sprinkler. It has birds that hang underneath it that rotate and spray out water. Some of the birds were plugged up. I went out with a piece of wire and used it to stick inside the birds and try to get them unplugged. I was successful in this mission but I did get soaking wet. I also put out more mineral and salt blocks for the cows. I am learning more about the different kinds of minerals and how they are used to optimize the health of the cattle. Salt blocks are also important so the cows will consistently drink water on hot days, like how the days have been lately. Salt is not easily accessible in a normal pasture environment so the salt blocks provide salt to the cows which is an important mineral.

The cattle were moved into different pastures this week so I practiced my horsemanship and herding abilities. I am understanding what a pasture should look like in order for the cows to be moved and I am learning how to avoid overgrazing the grass. I have been using farm equipment like four-wheelers and a side-by-side which helped me with moving tools and materials. I used a four wheeler to move a feed trough from one pasture to another when we moved the cattle. Therefore, I have been learning about effective transportation.

I would challenge that there may be an easier way to keep the center pivot functioning properly than using a wire to unplug it. Unplugging it with a piece of wire is tricky and not always the most effective. The person unplugging the pivot also gets pretty cold and wet as a result. I believe there has to be an easier solution. The birds seem to get plugged up pretty easily as well. There has to be a way of keeping them working for a longer period of time without getting plugged up.

This week I learned that minerals are very expensive to buy. I was wondering why minerals are so pricey and if there are any alternative solutions in order to get your cattle the extra nutrients that they need. I would like to know if there is anything else you could put the mineral in for the cows besides a feed trough since the mineral is exposed to leaves and grass as well as the elements.

I plan to use what I have learned this week in the future if I continue to do ranch work or decide to run a ranch and have animals of my own someday. It will be important for me to know about different types of irrigation systems including a center pivot. I will also have background knowledge on how to keep the irrigation functioning properly. I would need to know when to rotate the animals and how to avoid overgrazing the pasture. I can also apply what I have learned about minerals and salt blocks when I am supplying them and trying to decide what to use for my own animals someday.

Submitted by: Leiana Andrade Stout
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team