On the first day at Fleming Grain and Cattle, in Texas, Flat Aggie helped put out hay and feed the cows. The weather was getting colder, and the cows were getting hungry. We needed to fill their bellies for the cold nights.
Flat Aggie on top of the hay bale- the cows didn’t know what to think of the little man on their hay!
Flat Aggie got to ride in the feed truck and watched as the cows came up for their food. He even got licked by the curious cows!
At our ranch, when the cold weather comes, that means so do the baby calves. This black baby is only a few hours old and Flat Aggie got to welcome him.
Flat Aggie went with Augustus and Robert to look at bulldozers.
After looking, they stopped by The Little Ranch at Comanche Springs to see Larry Marble, a radio host. Robert listens to Larry every day on the radio. Flat Aggie got to see some of Larry’s sheep, and almost got his foot eaten by one.
Flat Aggie even got to listen to Larry on channel 680 AM.
Behind the Fleming house, we have a compost pile that we put our coffee grinds, old fruits and vegetables and egg shells into. When the spring time comes, the compost helps the soil become fertile so we can grow tomatoes, squash, okra and green beans. By putting these foods into the soil, we are providing extra nutrients for the plants to grow.
While Flat Aggie was with the Fleming’s, it started to rain. It hadn’t rained since November and it was January when he came. It rained so much that it started to run off in the fields. Without plants in the soil, the rain carries off some of the soil into the rivers, which is called erosion. Farmers need the soil for the plants to grow, so erosion isn’t good. The plant’s roots help hold the soil in place, but nothing had been planted in this field yet. You can see where the water created a small stream in the field and carried off the soil.
All the soil that was taken away from that field was dropped here.
This is the wheat header that goes on the front of the combine. The combine is the machine that picks the crops when they are ready and ripe. The black forks act like a comb for your hair. They pick up the wheat heads where the seeds are. The teeth, where his feet are, then cut the stem and the plant moves into the combine.
This is the combine harvesting wheat.
This is the corn header. There are eight rows in this one. The corn plants go in between the rows and teeth cut the plant.
This is a better picture of the combine harvesting corn. Flat Aggie didn’t get to see this, but he heard about it.
This is the corn planter. We put all the seeds in the eight yellow boxes. The tractor pulls the planter and the seeds are let out of the boxes one by one. The big hoses are what pull the seeds out of the boxes- it is like a giant vacuum pulling the seeds around. Can you imagine planting your mom’s garden with one of these?
When we plant the seeds, we want to protect them from insects that will eat them. We also fertilize them like you would your garden at home to make the plant grow bigger. We carry all this in these big tanks that are on the back of a semi truck.
When the seeds are combined, they go into these big things. In Texas, we call them grain bins. They are a storage shed for the seeds to keep them dry until they can be sold to be made into bread, pizza and other foods that you enjoy to eat!
The last stop Flat Aggie made was to pet the barn kitties. The cats help keep the rats away which can eat seeds and other valuable things.
A HUGE thank you to Dakota and her family for hosting Flat Aggie for us!! AMAZING adventure!!!