Sunrise Sunset

One of the joys of being a dairy farmer is getting up at the crack of dawn.  What, you mean you don't consider that a joy?  I actually get up before the crack, when the sky is black with only creamy clouds floating by or the stars and moon shining down.














Getting up early means seeing that crack form and wait as the sun sends a few rays at a time across the hills and trees and into the sky.

Look at what God did.

It really does not get old with me to see the sunrise; I actually look forward to seeing it every day.

My wife might say that it helps being a dairy farmer if you are a morning person as she pushes the snooze button for the upteenth time.

I have to admit that sunsets are nice, too.


A sign that the day is almost done.  Maybe a sign of a job well done.

Harvesting

After practically running out of hay and silage over the winter things are finally starting to look up around here on the farm.  It really got cold early last year and we had to start feeding more of both to the cows to keep them healthy.  The colder the weather the more they needed to eat and boy did they eat a lot.

Last week we finished chopping all of our spring crop.  We had wheat and rye mixed in a few fields and ryegrass and marshall ryegrass in a few others.  We try to raise a few different types so that in spite of weather stresses on one type the other might grow well.

This is a video of the silo unloader, which is raised to the top of the silo during filling, is being lowered down on a cable to the silage.  One of the worst parts about getting silos ready to feed off of is making sure the silage is level all the way across, in this case that is twenty feet.  This time we got lucky and there was very little forking to do in the silo to level it up.

We've also got our first field of hay mowed and hauled in.  What a great feeling to know that we have hay and silage ready for our cows to eat to make tasty fresh milk.

Not Just A Number

Our cows wear a number, but that does not make them just a number.  We don't have a philosophical reason for not giving our animals names, for us, the number on their "necklace" suffices.  With around 100 milking cows on our farm we still recognize their personality quirks.  427 only wants to eat at the end of the feedway, 65 only goes into the barn on the very last run (don't even ask her to go earlier), and 377 likes to hang out in the pasture field.

Large farms are no different.  You still must have employees watching the animals to find out how they are behaving to help them reach their full potential in the herd.  What is a big factory farm?  I really don't know.  I think any farm that takes pride in their animals and gets to know them and their needs can find success in more than just numbers.

Christmas on a Dairy Farm

Christmas on a dairy farm is in a lot of ways just another day.  That's not meant to be callous, or unobservant of the day itself.  What I mean is that the cows still have to be milked and fed.  Many folks have jobs that have Christmas day, or several days off where their business closes.  There is no day off from taking care of farm animals, just like there is no day off from being a parent.

On Christmas day the cows will receive the same love and attention we provide every other day.  But other jobs like repairs that can wait or other projects won't be worked on.  That time will be spent with family, and remembering why we celebrate.

My kids will be waiting on me to get home from the barn before they can open their presents.   They will be groaning to Mom about when will Daddy get back from the farm!  "Can't we just open one present?" they'll ask.
Presents, and breakfast, and then back to the farm.  'Cause the cows are waiting to be fed and milked again!