Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Foggy mornings are sometimes challenging when you are looking 

for new calves that may have arrived in the early morning hours.

The gathering of these expectant cows around the new baby  was a 

beacon as the fog began to lift.

It's that mothering instinct that always shines.

                                       
                                       I'm thankful for the beauty of new life as we transition
                                                into the fall season down on the dairy farm.
                                                                                   
                                                   

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

We were happy to see Gittlein's custom chopper pull into the first corn field yesterday. 

Harvesting of any crop is a big deal but our corn crop is especially

 important to our dairy cows diet   through the winter and early spring.

All the corn we raise is chopped and hauled from the field to the 

silo on the dairy farm.The chopped corn will go through a

 fermenting process and become the silage that our  dairy cows 

will enjoy eating with other grains and hay.

It was my good fortune to be offered a ride around the field 

with my oldest son Cody.This was our view  of the chopper as 

we drove down the field side by side so the corn could be

 blown from the chopper into the truck.

With three trucks running to haul the corn to the silo,

it gave us opportunity to catch up on a little mother-son communication

 as we waited for our turn to pull up to the chopper.

                                              I'm thankful for the harvest of a good corn crop,
                                      the unexpected opportunities to spend time with my family,
                                                                                  and

                                                           
                                                     to share  life down on the dairy farm
                                                              with multiple generations.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

When my job of delivering net wrap to the field was complete,

 I took advantage of the opportunity to ride around  with Ryan

 in the truck and trailer to haul bales to the wrapper.

This crop of hay-grazer will be used to feed our dairy cows this

fall and winter in their daily feed ration.

Even though we work together every day on the farm, 

we're not often all working on the same job.

I savored the moments as I watched the farmers working together.

  

                       

                                             
                                       I'm thankful for this crop that grew in spite of the drought
                                                                               and
                                           for the steadfast faith and hard work of the farmer.                                                                               

                           
                                         

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Even though we have a daily routine that includes milking our cows

 and feeding all the animals on the farm, today was anything but ordinary.

During fall or spring calving season, 

it's not unusual to have from one to three calves born.

Today we had a total of nine new babies!

It was anything but a routine afternoon  as Ryan and I worked to

give each new calf a bottle of colostrum and vaccinations to prevent illness.

I'm thankful for these kind of interruptions of our daily routine

that bring smiles to our dairy farmer faces

                                                                                  and

                                         for the new crop of calves for Hattie  to help  feed!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Emergencies involving large animals can occur at any time in any community.

Who do we call when we need help?

Agencies that deal with public safety.

Last week  the Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Committee,

Benton County Cooperative Extension, Farmer's Cooperative and Purina 

were  involved in organizing a training event  for our emergency workers

to learn how to handle large animals in emergency situations.

Experts in animal handling provided hands on training to 

men and women who work

for our community fire departments, police departments,

 and county sheriff''s office.

                                   
                                           I'm thankful for the sponsors of this event and the
                                                   men and women who took advantage of
                                              specialized training for large animal rescue.
                             

September's Smoothie

How are you celebrating  the first day of September?

So far, we're celebrating birthdays down on the Arkansas dairy farm.

I think that calls for a September Smoothie!

If you need a quick,nutritious, refreshment  for your action packed Saturday,

try a Apple Yogurt Smoothie I'm sharing from Midwest Dairy

                                 Apple Yogurt Smoothie

Ingredients:

                                                       2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt                                                         

1 medium Granny smith apple,cored,

    peeled and diced

  1/2 cup orange juice

  2 tablespoons honey

 5-6 ice cubes.

                                                                       Directions: 

                                Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
                                                                 Pour into 2 tall glasses. 

                            Garnish with sliced almonds, fresh mint and dollop of honey, if desired.

                                                          Happy September!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

As we hurried to get the baby calves fed before the storm moved in,

 I noticed this heifer standing away from the rest of the herd.

It's a pretty typical behavior of a cow or heifer  in the process of calving.

On closer examination, my suspicions were confirmed.

Within an hour, without any assistance this

heifer gave birth.

I'm thankful for the miracles we experience everyday

 down on the dairy farm.