Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

 Saturday afternoon was the perfect example of farmer flexibility.
You can have all kinds of plans but when the neighbor calls
to report a wandering heifer  running down the road, all plans change.

We jumped in the truck and drove up and down the road looking
for the same heifer that has been out of the pasture more than once.
After she was located in the neighbor's yard, Cody arrived with the
4-wheeler and we drove her back to the pasture. 

Of course,the heifer had no thought of going through 
the gate we had opened.She ran back to the spot where the fence
 was down and jumped over it with the grace of a deer. 
It certainly made it easy to find where the tree had
 fallen on the fence that   needed repair!


While Cody and Ryan fixed fence, all of the curious 
heifers moved in to check things out.

I loved seeing this group of bred heifers gather around 
through the timber. Each of these beauties have been raised by us
 and will give birth to their first calf in a few months.


I'm thankful that there was only one heifer that found the
way out, for our neighbors that  care enough to call
when a cow or heifer may be found wandering in the neighborhood
and for the dedicated dairy farmers committed to taking good care 
of their cows and heifers.



Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

It's corn  chopping time!
You may not get all excited when you see this picture but
to the family farmers and our dairy cows, harvest of this 
corn crop is  a real celebration.
  Raising a crop that  both  utilizes manure produced by the cows and 
  feeds our cows is part of the sustainability of our farming operation. 

The chopped corn is being trucked to the pit silo where it will 
ferment  for a few weeks and change into corn silage.
 Corn silage is a welcome addition to the cows' diet plan.

               
                                      I'm thankful for the cooperation of the weather this week,
                             for no major mechanical problems, and the safety of the trucks and
                                                           drivers on the trips to the silo.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

October Treat

Even though we can buy apples year round, there's just something special when given apples from a friend's own tree.  We don't know the name of the apple but I would describe them as a mild Granny Smith--slightly tart but perfect for baking in cake or pie.  Kicking off October with a new cake recipe that filled the kitchen with smells of cinnamon and apples seemed the perfect way to celebrate the gift of fall apples. I read through a lot of recipes posted on line and even though many were very similar to the one I chose, I trusted my old cookbook,Sassafras!

The recipe was easy to make and the brown sugar icing was finger lickin' good!
I'm pretty sure this cake will be a family favorite especially when you add a dip or two
of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon.


Alley Spring Apple Cake

                                                              Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4  teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups peeled, chopped apples
1 cup chopped pecans

Brown Sugar Icing:
 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
 1/2 cup butter
 1/4 cup evaporated milk
 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a bundt pan. In a large bowl, mix oil, sugar and eggs.
Add vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and salt.
Blend into oil mixture. Fold in apples and pecans. Pour into prepared pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes.
Remove cake from pan and cool. To prepare icing, bring brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat with a spoon until icing is cool. Drizzle over cake. Serves 12 to 15.


                                                        Happy October!

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Last week when we ran out of room in the calf nursery area,
the new babies were brought to temporary pens in the 
feed barn.  It wasn't ideal but it provided a protected, 
individualized space for each calf. 

                                  I'm thankful that we were able to wean older calves to pasture
this week and for the hard work of all the family and employees
that moved all the calves to their individual hutches in the nursery.
My world is back to normal with all the babies
in one place!


On the flip side, I enjoyed being in the feed barn when the cows 
were  eating and enjoying their feed.  


Wouldn't you love to have someone plan and prepare every meal for you?

                           
                               

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday


We've had new babies in the pasture every day this week, in fact,
some days it has been 3 or 4.  Calving heifers, those first time mamas,
are often a little more challenging but I'm happy to report all have 
calved without any problems that required  assistance.

This heifer calved yesterday. She happens to be one of the "horned heifers"
in the group that are calving this month.  Somehow these heifers did not
get dehorned  when they were small calves. 

 Dehorning is done to decrease the risk of injury to other cows, 
 farmers or other humans. "Disbudding " of non-developed horn 
buds is a fairly simpleprocedure that is typically conducted
 the first few weeks after a calf is born.

Any dehorning at this point will be done by the veterinarian using
best industry practices to ensure the comfort and safety
 of the animal through sedation or anesthesia.

                               
                                 I'm thankful that we have had no injuries to calves or farmers
                                  and for  the interesting conversations about horned heifers!

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Early this summer we had a little extra help from
our cousin Ethan.  Ethan is the great grandson of our Uncle Deric who
 worked on our farm after his retirement from the Bentonville 
Casting Company and had taught Cody and Casey
 a lot of useful mechanical skills as they grew up. 

Ethan had a lot of  new experiences 
down on the dairy farm including feeding a new calf.


Unfortunately for us, school started just about the time
we began having new calves every day!



I'm thankful for the fact that Ethan wanted to come to 
the farm and experience the day to day life  down on 
the dairy farm and for the kindness and patience of my son,Cody,
who mentored Ethan and provided a great summer experience. 

I'm pretty sure Uncle Deric and Aunt Fritz would be
extremely proud of Ethan and Cody!


Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

You know the farmers of the family are desperate for help
when the oldest son asks me to come to the field to drive
the truck and trailer while  haygrazer bales are loaded.

It's not that I can't drive, it's my following directions that
can create problems.I knew it would be interesting
 when my instruction  from oldest son Cody was
"Stop when I honk".

The honking stopped after a few stops and I figured 
that I was doing my job so well, that honking
was no longer needed.


When we arrived at the bale wrapper with our load of bales,
my next job was to watch the wrapper and push the button
to stop the machine if I had the hand signal from Cody.
Wow, hand signals and no honking!
I was feeling so proud that I was performing my jobs so well.


When all the bales were wrapped, this was how it
looked as I looked behind me.

                                                         
                                                      I'm thankful for each bale that will be
                                              enjoyed by our dairy and beef cows this winter
                                                 and for the opportunity to work beside my family.

                                             Unfortunately I did find out that my job performance
                                              may not have been as good as I thought because
                                         every time Cody honked, the red wasp would come out
                                                         of the horn in the old loader tractor.
                                                  That's how it goes down on the dairy farm!