Diversity is Key
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Paul says simply.
And, it’s that philosophy that keeps the Heidlage
operation fully charged.
Their 250-head cow-calf operation is black-based
with mostly Angus and Brangus cows. Angus and
Hereford bulls are turned in with the cows for breeding
the first of May and the end of November for spring
and fall calving seasons, with nearly two-thirds of the
cows calving in the spring. Home-raised heifers, as well
as some they purchase, are kept for replacements. Larry
Jackson a field representative from Joplin Regional
Stockyards assists the Heidlages with marketing.
While row crops aren’t as typical in southern
Missouri as cattle, the Heidlages grow soybeans and
wheat on both owned and rented acreage.
“It’s more of a renovation thing,” Paul explains.
“Fescue stands get old and (row crops) are a good way
to go in and work up the ground, pick up the rocks and
reseed.”
In the past, Paul says he’d plant a couple hundred
acres of wheat and then plow all night before sowing
soybeans.
No-till has been one of the biggest changes their
operation has seen over the years, according to Paul.
“When we were younger, we’d plow all night. That
ground had to be beat back down if you were double
cropping, from wheat stubble into beans. We would
plow all night, and then have to work it and work it.
We did our own spraying with three-point sprayers.”
Paul’s dad was among the first farmers in the area
to harvest fescue seed.
Crop rotation is key to producing quality fescue
seed. “The big thing is you can’t go in and cut seed year
after year (on the same field),” Paul says.
Repeated harvest on the same field allows cheat, an
annual grass, to grow alongside the fescue, Paul says.
Most fields are straight Kentucky 31 rather than newer
novel endophyte varieties.
“It’s hard to beat Kentucky 31,” Paul says. “We used
to have a problem with fescue foot in the cows, but not
as much anymore. It’s a great erosion preventer.”
Paul says clover, both inter-seeded and native
varieties, helps alleviate fungus issues with the fescue.
In years past, a lot of producers harvested fescue
for seed. There would be 10 to 15 trailers lined up to
unload.
Matthew Heidlage came back to the family farm after earning a degree in
civil engineering. The Heidlages run a 250-head cow/calf operation. They
hope to eventually transition the operation to son Matthew.
HEARTBEAT | SUMMER 2016 9