Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

                                                     
                                           
                                        What's prettier than a new Holstein mother and baby ?
                            The answer is a beautiful red Ayrshire with a black and white calf.

                             This was an expected outcome when you use a Holstein bull for
                                    breeding the herd of cows but it's always exciting to find
                                                              a "new " look in the field!
                            The Ayrshire cattle in our milking herd  were added by our son Cody
                                                during his 4-H dairy project years and continue
                                                                to add beauty to the herd.
                       
                              Ayrshire cattle originated from Scotland and are known for low
                            somatic cell counts, ability to convert grass into milk efficiently,
                             and hardiness. The breed is known for easy calving and longevity.
                             

This new baby was born the week of our two terrific lightening and storm 

events that brought a lot of rain and destruction.

I'm thankful that we had no loss of life, human or animal, during these

storm events and for the life lesson to put no faith in surge protectors!

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.

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.

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!

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?

                           

                               

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!

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!