The Good, The Bad, & The UGLY....

The Good:
Well, there has been some good stuff on the farm as late.  The cows are milking 68# pounds per cow (~8 1/2 gallons) per day this week.  This is the highest sustained milk level that the cows have achieved in 6 years (since Brent & I have been married).  We will usually hover around 60-65# (7 3/4 gallons) per day, and while this little bit may not seem like a lot, when you multiply 3/4 of a gallon per cow times 70 cows, it really adds up!  The cows are healthy & happy, and healthy & happy cows produce more milk.  We are also milking many "fresh" or newly-calved cows, which tend to produce more milk.  We've also had many live, healthy calves, and are already up to heifer #115, which was born Tuesday morning. 
The Bad:
 The bad part of all these fresh cows is that it means we have a lot more cows to attend to.  When any female has a baby, it is a stressful time, and such is the same with cows.  When cows are fresh, they are more susceptible to infections and metabolic disorders.  We work hard to stay ahead of the problems, and catch them early, so that we can treat them & keep the cows doing well.  Sometimes these treatments are just extra vitamins and minerals, like calcium and glucose (for energy), and sometimes, it requires more serious measures, such as veterinary surgeries.  Monday night we treated 4 fresh cows for various ailments.  #9014 & #913 (aka Hyacinth) were found to have displaced abomasums (DA's), and #9014 also had an infection in her uterus after calving. Hyacinth & #122 (Alexis) also both had ketosis, which is when a cow is in need of energy, and so begins to burn fat stores.  The ketones produced by the burning of the fat, reduce a cow's appetite, which leads to additional burning of fat stores.  (Hence, a bad cycle.)  So, we give the ketotic cows additional electrolytes to try to keep them from burning fat & try to get ahead of the cow's needs.  We treat the uterine infections with antibiotics, where necessary, and then we bring the vet in for surgeries.  Dr. Susan did 2 DA surgeries on Tuesday morning.  DA's is when one of the cow's 4 stomachs (the abomasum) twists, and doesn't allow food to pass thru this portion of the stomach, thus not allowing a cow to continue eating & absorbing nutrients normally.  Surgery typically is very effective on this issue, and the cow gets back on track quickly after fixing the problem.  Both #9014 & #913 are doing better now, but we will continue to watch & monitor them over the next few days.  Thank goodness for our veterinarians who we can call on when we need!

The UGLY...

Alexis in Spring of 2010, shortly after calving for the 1st time.

The UGLY happened tonite.  I was washing the milking equipment during the last group of cows, and suddenly heard a loud noise.  I looked up to see our cow, Alexis, who fell off the parlor floor & her legs where in all different directions.  I dropped the hose, and jumped up to the top deck, and lifted the bar that normally holds the cows in place during milking.  Normally, when a cow falls down, when someone opens the bar, she jumps up & tries to get out.  However, Alexis didn't really try.  I knew there was a problem, and let out a pretty blood-curtling scream to get Brent in from the barn, where he was bedding cows, to help.  We tried to get her up, and she tried once or twice, and then died in front of our eyes.  We think maybe she had a heart attack or her previous illness had progressed to something worse.  Death is something that livestock farmers learn to deal with.  A cow or pig will die from time to time, and you learn to deal with disappointment and sorrow, but this was so sudden, that I was seriously disturbed.  So, tonite, I will shed some tears for Alexis, have a glass of wine, and pray for a better day tomorrow.  Livestock farmers care for every animal on their farm, regardless of the size or type, and each and every one them means a lot to us, as their caretakers and as a part of our farm family! 

I-L-L....

This blog post has absolutely nothing to do with cows or pigs, but with how much I love the Illini & my Grandma!  Brent & I are both huge Illini fans, having had over 10 years of season tickets between us.  We are both enjoying the way the Illini are passing & sharing the basketball, and absolutely stomping on UNLV.

My highlight of the night....at one of the early TV time-outs, my cell phone rings.  With a groan, I wonder what has gone wrong, only to see it is my 80-year old Grandmother....
Grandma:  "Are you watching this?  Can you believe how they are playing?  And, that behind-the-back pass was amazing!"
I just had to smile at my Grandma acting as giddy as a school girl!  Here's hoping the 2nd half is as good as the 1st.
....I-N-I!

Meetings, Meetings, Everywhere....

Yikes!  I haven't blogged much lately because I have been VERY busy with what many on the farm call "Meeting Time".  Yes, winter is when most farmers, and especially livestock farmers, have annual or year-end meetings.  Not only is it a slightly less busy time (no hay to make, or crops to plant or harvest), but it is also a time when we look back at the year past, and see  how our farm has compared to others.  At my work, we work very hard to look at the year past, benchmark ourselves to other farms, and figure out what we need in order to do better in the year ahead.  This means a lot of late nights getting ready for all of these meetings, but it is rewarding when you see some farms show improvement, and other farms set goals & be inspired for the year to come.

This means that I have not seen the cows much lately, and we continue to have lots of changes.  We are now up to 10 heifers, and 5 bull calves.  The calf barn is nearly full, and "Million Dollar Reward", Calf #101, is already ready to be weaned off milk and moved into the 1st pen of heifer group housing.

As you can see, she has grown well (thanks to Gail's TLC), and is already hard at eating her feed, which is a good sign that her gut is changing and that she is ready to stop eating milk, and start eating regular feed.  She is 2 months old today, and is ready to move to the next barn.


This is the 1st feed that our calves will start eating.  Technically it is called calf starter, but we commonly call it "crunchies". 

Mother Nature is warming things up nicely, and I hope to spend most of the weekend out cleaning & sprucing things up!

Why I'm Thankful for Teachers....

I wish more people would say "I'm thankful for farmers....", but today I was reminded why I am thankful that there are people that spend their days surrounded by young children.  Today was my annual AITC (Ag in the Classroom) visit to DeKalb area schools.  I present the lesson, "From Cow to Ice Cream", that helps kids know where milk (& ice cream) come from, and that the answer is NOT the grocery store, but rather farms like ours.
I did 3 classrooms - back to back to back - and by the end my voice was giving out (anyone who knows me well, just had a good giggle at that comment!)  There is no good way to get kids to stand up & shake their bag of milk, cream, sugar & vanilla surrounded with ice to turn it into ice cream, AND get them to sit down quietly & listen to what I'm saying.  However, it is all in good fun, and I try to send them home without too much of a sugar high for their parents to deal with!

Some interesting tidbits that I brought up with the kids today:
A newborn calf weighs ~100 pounds
An adult cow can weigh up to 2000 pounds - this is equivalent to a full-size pick-up truck!
A cow gives ~70 pounds of milk each day (so, if a gallon weighs 8 pounds), that is ~9 gallons of milk
Chocolate milk does NOT come from Chocolate or Brown cows!  You laugh, but there were people in my freshmen class at the University of Illinois who asked this question, and they weren't joking.  Luckily, all the kids in the 2nd grade classes knew that you get chocolate milk by simply adding chocolate flavoring.

To get your "3 a day" of dairy - use the following recipe that Brent & I both enjoy:

Cheeseburger Mac n' Cheese (from Family Circle Magazine)
1 box (1 lb) elbow macaroni                     1 T.  butter
1 lb ground sirloin                                     1 T. flour
1/2 tsp. salt                                               1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. black pepper                               3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. ketchup                                          2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 T. yellow mustard                                  Bread crumbs, to top

Heat oven to 350.  Cook pasta.  Drain.  While pasta is cooking, cook beef.  When beef is done, add ketchup, mustard, & 1/4 tsp. of salt & pepper.  Remove beef from pan.  Add butter back to meat pan - melt.  Add flour.  Stir in flour & then add evaporated milk, slowly.  Bring to a simmer & cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat & add 1/4 tsp. salt & 2 cups of the cheese until smooth.  Stir in pasta, and pour pasta-cheese mixture into the bottom of a 2 qt. casserole pan (or 9 x 13 pan).  Spread meat mixture over the top of pasta & cheese.  Top with remaining cheese, tomatoes, and bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Cleaning Time....

February is supposed to have ice storms, not blizzards & subzero temps!  While Mother Nature is not smiling on us in the weather arena, it has blessed us with 5 happy, healthy HEIFER calves!  That's right, we are 5 for 5 for the year, with moms and babies all doing well.  These subzero temperatures have made it difficult to keep everything clean, but thankfully, a warm-up is underway. 
Every 6 months, we have an inspection of our milking system to ensure that we are keeping our equipment, facilities, and cows in tip-top shape to produce high-quality milk for your table.  This inspection is done by the Health Department, just like the restaurants where you took your significant other out for Valentine's Day.  In order to sell milk that can be used for fluid consumption, you must maintain a Grade A milk permit, and that requires passing these inspections.
While we always work hard to keep everything as clean as possible, this biannual inspection serves as a good reminder to get the "little things" done.  I equate it to cleaning under & on top of the frig & under and behind the stove in your kitchen.  (Come on, really, when was the last time you did that in your kitchen?)
Since it finally warmed up this weekend, it made it possible to attach this project, as it requires getting a lot of stuff (including yourself) wet (there is no good way to mop the ceiling and remain dry), and that doesn't work too well when it's below freezing.  So, we'll spend the next couple of weeks chipping away at the little things. 
Producing high-quality milk for your table & mine is a priority and we are more than willing to have that checked by a third-party, so you can feel more confident in the products you buy.

The Conveniences of Modern Farming....

While we appreciate the conveniences of modern farming, there are times when they disappoint us.  One of those conveniences is not having to milk cows by hand.  I don't know how they did it "way back when" (Heck, my arms are sore the next day if I have to milk a single quarter on a single cow!)  Tonight was one of those nights when we were reminded why farmers use today's modern conveniences, just like you do in your everyday life.
 I work full-time, and, on a good day, I normally make it home & out to the parlor shortly after 6.  That usually means Brent & his dad are about half done with the night milking.  However, tonight, when I was on my way out of the house, I met Brent on his way in.  We were having electrical "issues", and were in the midst of getting & replacing parts.  So, instead of being done at 7 PM, we were just getting rolling at 6:30.  Thankfully, it was something that we could fix ourselves, and didn't have to wait any longer to get things started.  The cows helped out by being ready and rearin' to come into the parlor, so we still got in at a decent hour.
Here's to all of life's conveniences & everything they offer to our lives - regardless of whether it is milking a cow, or simply things like using a microwave.....which will be required for the leftover supper tonight!

Blizzards have their advantages...

Like most of you, we have been "hunkered down" for the storm that brought over a foot of snow.  Thankfully, the winds haven't been as severe today, so that we've been able to dig out without everything blowing shut again.
Being stuck at home also gave me the opportunity to do something I don't normally do - watch Oprah.  Oprah challenged the employees at Harpo studios to go vegan for a week.  Almost 300 people completed the week challenge.  Obviously, as someone who produces "animal products" for a living, this concerned me.  If you choose not to eat meat, dairy or egg products, so be it, that is your right, and I am not going to argue with you; however, I just want to encourage you to allow every person to make that same decision with the correct information.
What I enjoyed about the show yesterday was that Oprah encouraged everyone to learn more about where their food comes from.  What I did not enjoy was that some of that information was coming from two authors who promote a vegan or reduced animal product diet, not the farmers who raise the food.  Michael Pollan came across as the moderate in the discussion, and as he has worked very hard to encourage people to not support animal agriculture, that was concerning.

Kudos to Cargill for allowing the show into one of their processing plants.  I have been asked several times, "How do you do "it"?, and I thought this was pretty good.  (http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Inside-a-Slaughterhouse-Video/topic/oprahshow) Lisa Ling, who did the segment, was a meat eater, and still is.  I spend an entire summer working in a pig processing plant in Missouri, and I can tell you that I am very comfortable that this process is managed & overseen by experts who know what they are doing, and how to do "it" right.

Remember, 98% of all farms are family-owned, and everyone was has been blessed with the ability to work with animals for a living takes that responsibility to put safe, nutritious, affordable food on your table very seriously.  It is why, when the show was over, I layered up - grabbed the pitchfork & spread new straw in the maternity pen to keep the cows as comfortable as I could make them in the blizzard.

View from the maternity pen - the cows didn't seem to mind the snow, they were all outside eating when I got out to bed the pen!

The cows got dug out 1st!  I haven't started on our sidewalk yet...

Speaking of which, it is time to head that way again!