Water, Weeds, and a Final Week of Lessons
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
During the last week of my internship, we continued on as normal, irrigating the fields and cutting Mill Creek. The windrower was fixed by our mechanic which allowed us to continue cutting the Mill Creek property. Usually when cutting a field, we would turn off the entire water supply so that the hay had a chance to dry. However, we don’t turn the water off on Mill Creek because my host fears that if we have the ditch riders turn it all off, we will never be able to regain our water as water in that field is inconsistent at best. While we were cutting, we got a surge in water. We’re not really sure where it came from but we had to cut and bale the west portion of the field so that we could open gates on the west line at the three way. We ended up opening almost all of the gates on that west line which is unheard of for that field. We also tried to get a handle on some of the thistle that had sprouted and flowered but hadn’t made it to seed in one of the pastures on the main property.
The one thing that has become prominent and noticeable during the past three weeks is the amount of weeds, mostly thistle, that inhabit the property. In my opinion, I would do some research on the most efficient way to handle them and kill them for good. Spraying only works before they flower and pulling or chopping doesn’t kill the root system. The way I see it from my understanding now is that they don’t die until you have depleted the energy supply in the roots. The issue with that is that there is not enough time or hands to hit ALL of the weeds multiple times throughout the year. Especially not throughout our busiest season with haying and irrigating.
I really only have two subjects for questions that remain after my internship. Why does my host keep leasing an under-performing field every year? It’s not good quality hay because of the way the land is sloped and the soil is acidic. It also lies in boulder flats which makes it hard to cut because of the rocks. In fact, those rocks are what broke our windrower in the beginning of the haying season. The other question I have is regarding the weeds. There simply has to be a more efficient method to decimate them. How can we kill them for good with one pass?
Over the course of this internship I have learned self sufficiency but also confidence in myself and my abilities. I was able to use these skills in a real life experience on my drive back home. The rim on my car cracked and broke causing my tire to be unable to hold any air in the middle of Thermopolis. Because of the confidence I have gained, I was able to keep a level head and get my spare on and drive out to Cody to get a new tire and wheel that would get me the rest of the way home.
Submitted by: Kaylee Pearce
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
