Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

While I was  mowing along the fence yesterday, grass clippings blew within reach of these soon to be mama cows. Although our pregnant cows  enjoy grazing in the pasture and are fed a  special balanced and nutritious  diet to prepare them for calving, they were enjoying the grass clippings like kids in a candy store.

                                       I'm thankful for these unexpected moments that bring a smile
                                 and for the  appreciation I have  for these perfect recycling experts!

Birthday Blessings Down on the Dairy Farm

Although birthdays don't happen everyday down on the dairy farm, eating a nutritious balanced  diet is an everyday affair for dairy cows. Even our pregnant cows are provided a special diet formulated by our dairy nutritionist  for  the last two months of pregnancy to maintain  body condition, prepare for  the delivery of a healthy calf and  provide adequate calories  for   milk production  after having a calf.

 

 

This group of pregnant  cows will calve in the next two weeks and are being provided with grain, hay and a mixture of silage in a measured amount every day.

 

 

Although August is hot, it's a good month to be a dairy cow resting in the pasture, eating all you want and drinking lots of water as you wait for a new baby calf.

 

Healthy babies are always welcome blessings  on the dairy farm!

 

 

 

Twenty three years ago, we had a healthy birthday blessing  of our own down on the dairy farm.

( I did eat a nutritious diet but I didn't get a two month rest before I had this eight pound boy!)

 

 

Happy Birthday,Casey!

 

Dairy Farmer's Wish List

 I'm making my list and checking it twice tonight in preparation for our monthly milk testing day tomorrow. It's a kind of  dairy farmer's wish list-- its a list of cow's to test for pregnancy and wishing each one will be!  Finding a cow to be pregnant is always  a  big deal because managing the reproductive cycle is a central component on today's dairy farm.   Thanks to new dairy technology, we can now check a cow's milk to determine pregnancy.

Milk pregnancy test is a great tool for the dairy farmer's tool box to assess and maintain herd health, consider reasons for the inability of a cow to get pregnant and to identify open cows early. The test is 98% accurate and can be done as early as 35 days after a breeding date. Most importantly, it is a noninvasive test that requires no additional labor and doesn't create any stress on the cow.

Our monthly milk testing provides information about each cow's milk quality and quantity and provides information about the health of each cow. All of this information is used in making management decisions to help us care for our dairy cows and provide high-quality milk.   Adding the   milk pregnancy test that can be done when we do our monthly milk testing  is a great tool to add to our  dairy farmer tool box!


                  In just 24 hours after we send the sample, I can't wait to see if I get my wish---

                                                                      She's Pregnant!

Snow Cows

Twenty degrees below zero and twenty four inches of snow are not the winter time norm for Northwest Arkansas. After we fed baby calves this morning, I decided to check on the pregnant cows located next to our house. We normally go into the field on a 4-wheeler or truck, but because the snow was so deep, I decided to walk in the tracks made by the tractor from yesterday's hay feeding. These soon to be mamas were giving me the eye as I approached them. I was greatly relieved to find no new babies on this frigid morning. The cows were enjoying the sunshine and some of them were resting on the hay that we had unrolled for them to lay on. They had plenty of silage hay in the feeders in the field and their water supply was not frozen. We will check on these cows several times a day because they are scheduled to calve within the next two weeks. At the end of each day if we find a cow that we suspect might calve in the night, we will walk her to our maternity barn so that if she gives birth, her calf will be in a more protected environment from the extreme weather conditions. As I was standing in the middle of the field looking at each cow with all that snow around me, the beauty of the moment was incredible. I find that even when conditions are tough, life on the family farm has its own set of blessings!