It never gets old seeing our amazing Oklahoma sunrises and sunsets. As you can see in the photo and video, tonight's sunset was memorable. -Leo
Many people assume the soil “sleeps” in the winter, and I can see why, since unless you’ve planted a cover crop, the fields look dead. In winter, especially on ground covered with a cover crop, microorganisms and fungi, combined with freezing and thawing, break down organic matter, storing nutrients such as nitrogen and carbon. I walk the farm nearly every day and enjoy seeing the subtle but noticeable changes. Even with the recent cold weather, the clovers, vetch, and peas are growing, and the cereal plants are starting to tiller. In 2020, at the encouragement of my friend, and retired USDA soil scientist, Greg Scott, we included a small amount of narrow-leaf Plantains in our cover crop mix. Plantains break up compacted soil, accumulate crucial minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and selenium), suppress weeds, and act as natural antibiotics and dewormers for livestock. This perennial plant also provides late-season forage that is high in minerals. I took this photo in the hay field at the back of our farm. If you follow our posts, you know that while getting better, the soil in this field isn’t the best. I was pleased to see that the Plantain plants have held up well in the recent freezing weather. I took Layla with me on the walk today. It gave her time on the long lead and a chance to explore more of the farm. She has made friends, or at least come to terms, with our house and barn cats, but she still hasn’t decided what she thinks of the three-month-old piglets. As we got back to the house, Layla noticed that Andrea had come over to pick up something. She was happy to see our birthday girl, Andrea, and get some snuggles. -Leo
Today, Staples Farm welcomed a new team member. Her name is Layla, and she is a five-month-old registered Austrian Shepherd. Our family has had several Aussies over the years, and this time we were looking for a puppy whose parents were working stock dogs. The breeder, Kim Wise, of Romance, Arkansas, uses Layla's mother, SLASH V KATIE BAR THE DOOR "Katie" ADTC OTDcs, to work her cows every day. Layla's dad (sire), ASCA SDCH Twin Oaks I'm Your Huckleberry RD AFTD-Xesm AFTDd, who goes by Doc, is a 2025 ASCA National Stock Dog in the Cattle, Sheep & Ducks divisions. He won the cattle division at this event in 2024. The second photo shows Layla working the cows at Kim's earlier this week. -Leo
This post is the first in a series of announcements about exciting developments at the farm. We are pleased to announce that two registered Berkshire boars now call Staples Farm home. Sunday evening, Jon, Travis, Geof, and I drove to Baxter, Iowa, to pick up the two boars that we bought from Brice Conover. I cannot thank Brice enough for answering all my questions on these two before and during the online auction. The trip to Iowa was uneventful; the roads were clear, and we arrived about 5:30 am. After loading the pigs, we headed back to the farm, hoping to outrun the weather. Things were going well until we came upon a multi-vehicle fatality accident. Three hours later, we resumed our trip home. By then, the storm was upon us, making for a slow drive until we reached Wichita, Kansas. We made it home at 8:30 pm, which was exactly 24 hours after we left. I appreciate the boys taking a day off work to make the trip. I also want to recognize Julie, Andrea, and Steve for taking care of things at the farm while we were gone. The boars are in a temporary training paddock for a month-long quarantine and to teach them to respect the electric fence. We did have a bit of excitement when the younger boar got shocked and ran through the electric fence at the gate, which I had left open. The boars are very good-natured, and Andi, Jon, and I were able to walk him back to his paddock. It was 14 degrees in Baxter, Iowa, when we loaded them up yesterday. So, this afternoon, they soaked up the sunshine and enjoyed the warmer weather. We do our best to ensure that all our animals have a happy, low-stress life. I'll post another exciting announcement tomorrow. -Leo
Anytime something happens at the farm, and unplanned things happen all the time, one of us will say, "It's just one more thing." For those not familiar with the phrase, it refers to a new challenge added to the already overwhelming list of items that need attention. At times, they occur just when you think your list of things to do is complete, or, more importantly, down to a manageable number of items. Such was the case this week. Two nights, Jon and I worked late into the evening, relighting the stock trailer and replacing some rusted metal at the back gate. Wednesday morning, I was feeling good about what we had accomplished. After picking up some things we needed at the shop, I decided to drive the service road back to the house. As I got close to the top of the hill, I could see a river of water coming out of the well house. The cause was a blown-out 1 ½" fitting at the wellhead. What should have been a quick trip to town took several hours and stops at five stores, which is funny since it took less than thirty minutes to replace the broken fitting. Still, we are thankful that this one more thing occurred during the day when the parts stores were open and that we were given the skills necessary to repair. Yesterday, Andrea, Travis, Jon, Steve, and I spent the day moving the pigs into new paddocks, preparing for winter weather, and building a pen for some new arrivals. I'll share more about them in the coming days. It is an exciting time on the farm, full of endless possibilities for the future. We are blessed! Leo