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

                               No matter how many times we find a new baby in the pasture,
                                      I still love to welcome each one to the farm and give
                                          a congratulations  to the mama for a job well done.

                                      Yesterday we had two new babies for the welcome party.

A double delight for a day during June Dairy Month.

Each of these mamas was raised by us. 

From the day of delivery, we are caring daily for each

one for an average of two and a half to three years before  

 the heifer will have her first calf.

High quality milk begins with a healthy animal and

that's where our job begins on day one in caring for each new calf.

                                                 Even though we have challenges every day,
                                I'm thankful for the joys of our job  down on the dairy farm
                                as we work to produce high-quality milk for my family and yours.

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

From the minute we bring a newborn  calf into 

their own private hutch, it becomes our priority

to monitor the calf for any health issue and to 

make sure it is drinking milk  twice a day and

adding grain at the appropriate time.

Care in the hutches continues for approximately three months.

The hutch protects from weather and the pens surrounding

 them provide ample space for the calf to freely move about 

while protecting them from other members of the herd.

When the calves are transitioned out of the hutch into a small 

pasture, the training begins for living as a group,

 eating together from a grain trough and drinking at

the water tank.

My job last week was to stand in the gate and direct

 them to follow Ryan to the feed manger at feeding time.

It doesn't take very long for the calves to know

it's time for dinner!

  

I'm thankful for the opportunity we have

each day to care for our calves that will  assure a future 

of producing high-quality milk

                                                                                  and

                                                         for the little surprises down on
                                                                       the dairy farm!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

You could set your clock by these pregnant  dairy cows. 

They know when they hear the little feed truck come down the lane

 that it's time to eat!

                                     I'm thankful for the daily scenes just like this because it
                                   reminds me that everything we do down on the dairy farm
                                          to care for our dairy cows  has value in producing
                                                                  safe, high-quality milk.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Welcome to the herd!

It's a great start to any day when we welcome a new calf to the farm.

Soon after I took this picture, Mama went to the milk barn to join 

the milking herd  and baby girl (heifer)  went to the nursery with me. 

Heifer calves on our farm grow up to become the cows that produce

milk,so it's a priority for us to get them off to a healthy start.

                                I'm thankful for my daily job to insure the health of our calves
                                  and  support the  sustainability  of our family dairy  farm by
                                                     raising and caring for our dairy calves.

Dairy Farm Test Day

Once a month our cows have a test day. I'm pretty sure  it's a lot easier and 

less stressful  being a cow on  test day than it is for students taking final 

exams at the end of the semester!

All our cows have to do is come to the barn and  be milked on their regular schedule.

 The real work for test day  is done by our  MidSouth Dairy Herd Improvement 

Technician Greg. He arrives before milking  to place his measuring meters

 in the barn, organizes his milk vials and  prepares to collect each sample.

When sampling is finished, information is typed into our computer system 

and   the samples will be shipped  to the lab for analysis.

 In  less than a week we will have information at our fingertips via email.

The test results provide us with an analysis of the milk volume and

 components of each cow's milk  and are used  as part of the record keeping 

 system to guide us  in the  management of our dairy herd.

Greg provides dairy herd improvement  service to dairy

 farms in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

It's dedicated people like Greg that work with us down on 

the dairy farm to produce high quality milk. 

Science and Technology

What does a  hospital have in common with a dairy farm?

Both places utilize science and technology to benefit consumers of all ages.

This is Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. 

It's a beautiful facility that offers state of the art health care.

More importantly, it's a place of caring,comfort  and healing.

My mother received excellent care while at Mercy last week thanks to trained

 professionals and the use of proven science and technology.

It's just as amazing how we use science and technology on the dairy farm 

to produce high quality milk while caring for our animals and the land we call home.

                                                Thank goodness for science and technology!

Arkansas Grown

Arkansas Grown is a  branding label developed by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to assist Arkansas farmers in promoting  products grown in our state. When I found this Arkansas Grown  bumper sticker tucked in my Foodie Friday swag bag at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference, I couldn't help but think about our dairy farm and the high quality milk produced every day for Arkansas consumers.

       A big thank-you to Arkansas Grown for sponsoring the Foodie Friday portion of the conference,
       for helping Arkansas farmers promote our products and for providing me with this fun bumper sticker!

                                                           

                      Our Holstein dairy calves are Arkansas Grown  on our third generation dairy  farm!

The milk that our Arkansas Grown cows produce is processed at the local Hiland plant for Arkansas consumers,

                                                                   and if that's not enough,

I'm an Arkansas Grown (born,raised and educated in Arkansas)  farmer

 living down on the Arkansas dairy farm!

Dairy Farmers Celebrate Earth Day Everyday

Earth Day isn't just a one day celebration on our  dairy farm--it's an everyday experience   as we work to produce  high-quality milk by caring for our animals and conserving natural resources for future generations.

 It's a fact that dairy farms today produce a gallon of milk using 95 percent less land and 65 percent less water while producing 76 percent less manure compared with 1944. It's the modern science and technology that make it possible to produce more milk today with only 9 million cows than with 26 million cows in 1944.


In looking to reduce our carbon footprint and operate as sustainably as possible, we completed an energy audit  in 2012 with the help of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and its partners EnSave and USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Services. The audit provided potential areas for saving energy use and improving long-term efficiency and profitability.





Last year after completion of the energy audit,  we  chose to install equipment in the milking parlor that would reduce the amount of electricity used to cool the milk. By installing this equipment we saw immediate results in efficiency and a reduction in the farm's carbon footprint. The change saved more than 26,000 kilowatts in electricity and  reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 6 tons annually.

 In addition to saving electricity, the plate cooler provided additional water that can be recycled for our cows to drink. We installed two rubber tire water tanks  for the cows to enjoy drinking from  year-round.  A win-win for us, the environment   and the cows!





We'll be using our energy audit to provide direction for other changes we can make to operate as sustainably as possible and continue to celebrate Earth Day Everyday down on the dairy farm.

 

How will you celebrate Earth Day?

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

 

We care for our dairy cows by providing a nutritious diet every day. This year's drought has created many challenges in the quantity and quality of feed that is available. I'm thankful for our dairy nutritionist who assists in making   sure that our cow's are enjoying a nutritious,balanced diet to produce high-quality milk.

Drought Grazing

Although  we were fortunate to receive a little rain this week, it was barely enough rain to cover the bottom of the rain gauge. Thankfully, the rain was accompanied by cooler temperatures and a reprieve from the oppressive heat of last week.


Just after the rain, I watched the cows reaching through the yard fence to snatch a bite of the green grass that had grown in the shade. A perfect picture of that saying--"the grass is always greener on the other side"! Drought has turned our pastures crispy brown.  Even though large round bales of hay are provided in hay mangers in the pasture, the cows are missing the green grass to graze that is usually available.  Drought conditions and what I call drought grazing,  have created a lot of fence building in many pastures this summer due to the cows reaching out for available green grass.

While we continue to wait for more rain and the return of green pastures for our cows, we are  making sure that all of our  dairy cattle are eating a nutritious diet and drinking plenty of clean water.

Drought or no Drought,

               we're  committed to providing high-quality milk!

                                            -----------------
                          
For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
                                           Philippians 4:11

Dairy Farm Nursing

Last week was a scheduled  appointment for Dr. France, our veterinarian, to come to the dairy farm for herd health examinations. My favorite part of  any herd health  check-up day is finding out if the cows are pregnant. I'm sure this is because I worked as a nurse in a women's clinic and cared for many pregnant women before working full time on the dairy farm! Proper management of the cow's health and pregnancy status is important to the production of high-quality milk and the sustainability of our family dairy farm.

After being milked and before entering  the feed barn, ten cows are walked into the  management area that allows Dr. France to examine the cows with as little stress as possible for the cows. As soon as the group of ten are examined, they will walk on to the feed barn to eat and then to rest in the pasture.

Even though I don't wear my nursing uniform to work anymore, as the dairy farm nurse I prepare for herd health and the doctor's arrival by gathering the breeding and health information about each cow from our computer records. During the herd health exams, I am looking at each cow as they enter the exam area, providing information about each cow to the doctor and then recording the exam results that will be added to the computer records to manage the care for our cows.

As a dairy farm nurse, I  love  caring for  these pregnant mamas....

and their babies...

 

 and providing  high-quality milk for you!

Dairy Farmer's Pantry

Our dairy cows rely on us to provide plenty of good feed every day so they can produce high quality milk. Because feed costs are the largest expense on the dairy farm, we're always carefully shopping for the best deals in grain and hay purchases. We rely on grain farmers,hay farmers,feed companies and the trucking industry to help us feed our dairy cows. When we receive grain or grain products, it is unloaded into the farm's kitchen pantry known as the commodity storage shed.

We rely on our dairy nutritionist to formulate a balanced and nutritious diet with the combination of grain and hay that we have availiable. Each of our cows will eat approximately 90 pounds of hay and grain that is mixed together for what is known as a total mixed ration. Providing a balanced diet is important to the cow's health and producing high-quality milk. Watching the cows eat in the feed barn is one of my favorite places on the farm. I love to see them bury their nose in the feed,take a bite,and then lift their head as though they were just coming to the surface after a dive in the pool!


Since 1944, improvements in dairy cattle nutrition and dairy science have played an important role in reducing the environmental impact of a gallon of milk that has resulted in:

• 90 percent less cropland
• 75 percent less manure
• 65 percent less water
• 63 percent less carbon

You can find more facts and  information about dairy production or dairy sustainability  at http://www.midwestdairy.com or http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org.



                                                                         

Rest on the Dairy Farm

Who's resting on the dairy farm during spring time? It's not the dairy  farmer! Although  spring time harvesting and planting increase our workload and stress us to the max,   our pregnant  cows are resting and relaxing  in the last two months of their  pregnancy regardless of our  increased springtime  workload.

A cow will be pregnant for nine months   before giving birth.Two months before giving birth, a cow will be "turned dry" and moved from the milking herd to a pasture to rest and eat a special pregnancy diet to prepare for a healthy birth. Two weeks before the estimated birth, we bring our cows to the pasture next to our house so we can monitor them closely and provide assistance when necessary.

Last week when I was walking across the yard to feed baby calves, I noticed this expectant mama next to the fence. She looked pretty guilty--like she might have been nibbling on those iris! Even though watching our pregnant cows during this rest phase is part of our job, I find it to be a fun and entertaining part of our daily routine.

Rest during the dry period for dairy cows is important for the cow's health and to insure production of high-quality milk.  Providing high-quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows!

Hoof Trimming Artistry

Yesterday's schedule included the monthly visit from our cows' podiatrist, commonly known as the "hoof trimmer".  Providing hoof care prevents lameness that creates discomfort and leads to decreased milk production. It's a fact---high quality milk is produced from cows that are healthy and comfortable. One of the most common hoof problems for cows on our farm is when the hooves grow long in the front of the hoof making it difficult for the cow to walk.

Ben, our hoof trimming specialist, identifies hoof problems and works with precision and great skill to carefully trim each hoof as needed. He brings a special hoof trimming table that allows each cow to be treated individually. One by one, each cow walks into a chute that is connected to the hoof trimming table. Once secured in the chute, the hydraulic equipment secures the cow to the table and turns the cow on her side. After trimming the hooves, the cow is turned to the standing positon released from the chute and ready to eat or return to the pasture to rest. I find it amazing to watch how Ben works much like an artist, carefully making sure every precise movement of his tool results in a perfect hoof shape to provide comfort for the cow when walking.

I'm thankful for professionals, like Ben,  that work with us to make sure our  dairy cows are healthy and comfortable and able to produce  high-quality milk for my family and yours!

Contented Cows

Today was a beautiful day in Northwest Arkansas and a perfect day to be working outside on the dairy farm. While waiting on our veterinarian to arrive for our scheduled herd health check-up day, I walked over to the feed barn to watch the cows eat after being milked this morning. I love watching contented cows eat their balanced and nutritious diet designed by our dairy nutritionist.

Everyday our milking cows are fed a total mixed feed ration of grain,silage and hay. All of the feed ingredients are measured,mixed together in a large mixer wagon and fed to the cows in the feed barn. We monitor how our cows are eating and enjoying their feed everyday because the cows' health,milk production and reproduction are dependent on good nutrition.

Our commitment to producing  high quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows by providing a nutritious diet, good medical care and healthy living conditions. As I watched the cows eating, I couldn't help wondering if those cows were as contented as me!

Dairy Characters

Even though we do many of the same chores everyday to produce a perfect product, each day  on the dairy is different because of the various cow  characters:

Sweet babies!

 Fiesty Teenagers!

Mature Mother

                                                                        Perfect Food

 Although everyday presents new challenges and situations to deal with on the family  dairy farm ,we love what we do and  are committed to providing high-quality,nutritious  milk  by  taking good care of our cows and land.  I love all these characters!

Food and Drug Safety

Even though we've been having the most beautiful,not too cold January weather, we have had a couple of calves become very sick with pneumonia in the last few days. Young calves require daily consistent monitoring because they are susceptible to respiratory illness when we have erratic or unusual shifts in temperatures or changes in humidity.

Our commitment to providing high-quality milk begins with taking good care of each dairy calf that is born and raised on our farm.  Each dairy heifer calf is a future milk producing cow on our farm.  As each animal grows and matures, we are providing a nutritious diet,good medical care and healthy conditions.When a calf  develops a respiratory illness, we treat them with an  antibiotic that is prescribed by our veterinarian. The list of medications that are approved for use in food animals is provided by the Food and Drug Administration.  Every drug has its own particular dosage rates,  number of treatment days  and specific instructions for its use. We follow directions for treating a calf  with an antibiotic just as you would treat  your self or your child.

I'm very grateful for the science that provides medications to treat illness in humans and animals.  I can't imagine living in the days of no penicillin or aspirin!  On the farm, we count on using sound science and best management practices in providing the safest,most affordable food for consumers. Responsible use of any medication used for treating illness in food animals is an important key to providing safe food.

Nutrition Tips for 2012

While packing up the Christmas tree and decorations and thinking about the possibilities of the New Year, I decided that health would be at the top of my personal improvement list.  We work diligently everyday on the dairy farm to make sure that our dairy cows are provided with a nutritious and balanced diet to produce high quality milk, so why would I not strive to improve my own personal  nutritional health habits?

In the past few months, the USDA has provided a new nutrition guide called MyPlate. The Choose My Plate tip sheet can help guide food choices for a healthy lifestyle by balancing calories, choosing foods to eat more often and to cut back on foods to eat less often. You can find more detailed  nutrition  information  at  http://www.choosemyplate.gov/.

10 Tips to a Great Plate

1. Balance calories
2. Enjoy your food,but eat less
3. Avoid oversized portions
4. Foods to eat more often: vegetables,fruits,whole grains,fat-free or 1%milk or dairy products
5. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
6. Switch to fat-free or low-fat milk
7. Make half your grains whole grains
8. Foods to eat less often: foods high in solid fats,added sugars and salt
9. Compare sodium in foods
10. Drink water instead of sugary drinks

                             I'm already getting started on my 2012  improvement plan.  How about you?