Zoom's Transformation

Last October during a virtual farm tour on our dairy farm,

the students found out how we raise  baby calves that are born

on our farm.  One of the students thought the name ZOOM

was a perfect name for the youngest calf on the farm 

that particular day.   Of course, we agreed!

She's been called Zoom ever since tour day but

she is also identified with her ear tag number of 3381.

That number identifies her in our computer records that

document information about her growth and development

and assist us in making management decisions as she grows

and develops into a milking cow.

At three weeks after the tour, I could tell that 

Zoom was growing  but

changes are very obvious at three months!

Zoom no longer looks through the wire panel--

                                                                   she's looking over it !

                               Over the next couple of weeks, we will be getting 

                               Zoom ready to leave her calf hutch and enter life in

                                   a small pasture with a few of her herd mates. 

                                    I'll miss the everyday interaction with Zoom

                                    but I will love  watching her continued growth

                                      and development  into a healthy dairy

                                  cow that produces  nutritious   high-quality milk.

                                           

                                               

                                               

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

In October we hosted a virtual farm tour for school age

children. During the tour,  we were asked if this new baby calf had

a name. Since we were using the Zoom platform for the tour,

one of the students stated that we should call the calf, Zoom.

We thought that was a perfect name and that is what we

call her. She also has her number name 3381 attached 

to her ear.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to share how Zoom is 

growing and changing and for the new ways

we have learned to use technology to provide

learning opportunities  for all of us.

I'm pretty sure Zoom knows she is a movie star!

                                  Zoom and I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas!

                                       
 

Zoom goes Virtual

Have you ever been on a virtual dairy  farm tour?

I have watched a few and now I can tell you that

we have hosted one  with the technical help from Midwest Dairy

  to highlight dairy and  celebrate  the Arkansas  Farm to School 

program  during October.

As stated on the Arkansas Grown  website:

" Arkansas Farm to School activities improve public health, 

strengthen the local economy and communities, improve food access

 and food abundance for all, and protect the environment."

As Arkansas dairy farmers we were honored to share  from down on the

 dairy farm where nutritious milk and dairy products

are produced for our Arkansas students and their families.

Here's the link for the virtual tour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbthCIWw0Lk

It's been my experience through the years, the favorite 

part of the dairy farm tour is visiting the baby calves in the hutches.

It was also true for the virtual tour!

On the day of the tour, this baby was two days old and drinking milk

twice a day from a bottle. The students actually named her

Zoom!

What a perfect name!  We thought it would be fun to 

share how she will grow and change over the next two months.

Just like all of our baby calves, Zoom received her mother's milk in

a bottle for the first three days. That first milk is so important because it

contains colostrum that provides antibodies to aid her immune system in

fighting illness. After those three days, we taught her to 

drink milk from a bucket.  She was a fast learner!

Zoom is now  two weeks old.

She drinks milk twice a day followed with a small

handful of sweet grain. 

If you look close, I think she's smiling at you!

                                                         

                                               The highlight of my virtual farm experience was 

                                                the gift of thank-you letters from Sheridan,AR 

                                                    written by Ms. Caldwell's 1st grade  class.

                                                       I'm so happy that Zoom went virtual!