Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Northwest Arkansas has a rich agricultural history that includes 108 years of the Benton County Fair.  Although the petting zoo has only  been a part of the fair experience for the last 15 years, it ranks at the top of the list for things to do at the fair!

Come on over and ...

 milk  Betsy,

 the Farm Bureau cow that never goes dry,

                                                     love on some baby chicks,        

and

get a kiss from a calf.

As one of the zookeepers, I'm thankful for all the Farm Bureau and 4-H members that make this farm-city connection possible!  

Drought's Silver Lined Cloud

It's difficult to see any positve opportunity from drought when you look at our tinderbox pastures and damaged or dead crops but there is a silver lining to the rainless drought cloud! Drought creates the perfect condition for cleaning out ponds that have filled up with silt or dirt that has drained into the ponds over several years. Drought dried ponds in Northwest Arkansas are calling all bulldozers and wheel loaders into action!

This Deere loader was delivered to the farm by a local equipment rental business this morning. It's true--boys never outgrow their love of toys or playing in the dirt! During this week,unless it rains, Ryan and our  sons,Cody and Casey,  will take turns playing in the dirt to clean ponds on our farm and a few of our neighbor's ponds.

Dirt is being removed from the dry pond and moved to either side of the pond. Eventually the  piles of dirt will be smoothed out and packed down to  make a slight slope that cattle can walk on without difficulty when coming for a drink of water.

Cleaning out the ponds is a conservation practice that will allow more storage space for water collected from rain events and runoff from the fields and pastures and increase water availability for our cattle.  

                                    Drought or no drought--
             we're committed to caring for our land and animals
                        as we work to provide 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

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Even though the drought is creating hardship and stress to

the birds,

my garden friend,

and our cows,

I'm thankful that cool, clean  drinking water is available for us to provide for all the animals.

Friend in Drought

During this drought and triple digit weather, I'm watering the plants on the porch and around the house to keep a little color and enjoyment in the yard.   A couple of weeks ago when I found my beautiful caladium plants  shredded and the impatien plants riddled, I thought a terrible disease had struck. I sprayed for bugs, put snail bait around the pots and went to the garden center for advice about what I should do to save my plants if all those methods didn't work. The pot looked so bad that I decided to add a couple of drought tolerant  vinca plants to fill in the holes. In two days after being planted, the plants were mutiliated and one was pulled out of the pot.

Last week when I looked out the window in the heat of the afternoon, this is the "disease" I found resting in the pot with his paws hanging over the edge.  He was so hot, I could see him panting. When I realized that he was just preparing a nice cool place for himself, I felt guilty for all my bad thoughts about what or who had destroyed my pretty flowers. 

 

  Every afternoon around three o'clock in the heat of the afternoon, you can find my friend lying in his pot.  Just seeing him stretched out in the cool dirt and enjoying his spot brings a smile.   I wonder if he realizes that I keep watering the  pot  everyday  just for him !!

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!

Rural Community Treasure

Although the Vaughn School has been closed since 1960,  classmates who attended the rural community school in Northwest Arkansas gather on the first Saturday in  August every year  to share a meal and celebrate their treasured  lifelong friendships. Even though Ryan and I didn't attend school at Vaughn, we are connected to the school because of our parents and grandparents who grew up in the Vaughn  community.

Vaughn classmates would tell you that the Vaughn  Presbyterian Church and the Vaughn School were the hub of the community during their school days. The  church was built in 1889, followed by the school in 1913.  In 2010, church members and classmates erected a monument in the church yard to commemorate the importance of both school and church to the community.

It was great seeing Ava and JoAnne today--they've been friends for at least 80 years!

My life has been enriched by their friendship to me and my family.

Attending today's Vaughn reunion was a great reminder that--

 Friendship is one of life's treasures!