Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

We had a population explosion in one night!

You might even say, Christmas came a little bit early.

Eight new calves greeted us Monday morning.

It's not unusual to find one or two during calving season but

we were a little overwhelmed to have eight new babies 

to bring in from the pasture.  

Before each calf is taken to its own hutch, we record 

information about the calf and its mother, give calf vaccinations.

dip the navel with iodine to prevent infection and provide

a warm bottle of colostrum. 

I'm thankful for our employees that

work hard everyday in helping us

care for each calf,

for our two sons that work with us

everyday down on the dairy farm 

and

even though the pandemic has caused

a lot of craziness, 

Santa still stops for milk and cookies  on Christmas Eve!

 

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Sunday was truly a snow day--

it snowed all day long. It has been 

 a very long time since we have experienced a snow day

 and like  many of our friends and neighbors,

it seemed a welcome change in our daily lives that 

have been impacted by all the changes brought to us during this pandemic.

 A snow is much more welcome

than freezing rain or inches of ice that can be hazardous

to the cows walking  and  for the farmers  trying to care for them.

It's always our daily job to make sure that the cows and

calves have plenty of feed and water to meet their 

nutritional needs. Colder temperatures with a blanket of

snow made the day's work even more important 

to make sure plenty of calories were provided for 

the stress of increased cold weather conditions.

Most of the calves were eager to drink their warm milk 

                                            but   a few needed a little coaxing to enter out into 

                                              their first   experience  with  six inches of snow.

                                       

                                I'm thankful for the refreshed feeling brought with  this first

                                 snow of the season, for the magical landscape created by snow,

                                              and the reminder of how God blesses us

with the beauty provided in nature  down on the dairy farm.

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

 

Although the Pandemic has brought many 

changes to our lifestyles and cramped our 

 social gathering plans for routine and holiday events,

it has not stopped the essential work down on the

dairy farm.

We are still milking cows twice daily, seven days a week

and providing the feed and care that the cows and calves

require daily. We are proud to be considered essential

workers to provide food for our fellow Americans.

I'm thankful that  my family and our employees have remained in 

good health and able to continue the daily tasks on the dairy farm.

All across our community, we have essential workers that

are performing jobs that we often take for granted.

With the help of Midwest Dairy, our dairy promotion group,

we are able to thank a few of our essential workers with

a token of our appreciation.

This week I wrapped up an Undeniably Dairy thermos cup and

warm stocking cap  to give to our rural mailman.

                                                 I'm thankful for every essential worker and

                                                    this week I celebrate the rural mailman 

                                                   for a job well done and much appreciated!

                                                        

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Even though it's been chilly in the mornings, 

the calves always happily greet us to drink their

warm milk  and wait on their grain feeding.

If they don't come out to meet us,

we soon find out if they are not feeling well.

It's  part of our everyday dairy farmer job to monitor the 

health of each calf and to make sure regardless of the 

weather changes that each calf eats and drinks. 

Weather is an environmental stress that can definitely

impact the health of a newborn calf.

These twenty degree temperature changes within

a few hours is rough on all of us!

 

I'm thankful for the health of our animals,

for the good health of my family and our employees

during this crazy pandemic

and

for the smiles we have had  watching

our new truck driver haul his load

of toilet paper left under the 

Christmas tree at his house.

                                                       
 

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

November has become a season of Thanksgiving as we 

pause to think of the many people in our community that

serve us throughout the year and in situations that 

we never expect  such as the pandemic.

This week it was my pleasure to present these 

community helpers with Undeniably Dairy stocking caps

and a Subway gift card provided by Midwest Dairy

 as a way to say "Thank-you" and 

express to them how much we appreciate their service.

 

I'm also thankful for the celebration of

36 years of marriage to the dairy farmer

                                       

                                          who brought me to the farm to build a life together,

                                             raise a family  and live in the   place we call home.

                                          Happy Thanksgiving...

                                from down on the dairy farm!

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

If you didn't   have a watch or a cell phone to give you the time, you

could still   estimate  time down on the dairy farm  by

 watching the cows standing in the pasture. It's obvious that like us,

the cows are creatures of habit.  

The feed wagon with silage rolls into the dry cow pasture  every

morning  around 8:30.  Today was no different and you can

see the cows are eagerly watching and  waiting  to get 

their first bite.

Dry cows receive a pellet feed that is formulated for their

metabolic needs during this time of resting and preparing to

give birth. The silage on the wagon is like dessert to the cows.

It's no wonder that there is a lot of mooing if the wagon is late!

                                     I'm thankful for  the simple daily reminders to 

                                   appreciate the predictable  and the unpredictable

                                            like an iris blooming in  November!

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Even though our daily routine stays the same,

there is never just a "normal " day.

Today we welcomed a new calf to the herd.

How we care for this new calf  prepares the

way for the production of  high-quality nutritious milk.

                              

                               Later in the afternoon, Ryan participated in a  virtual "Cheese Chat"

                             sponsored by Midwest Dairy. This was a new way to bring a variety of

                            consumers together to talk about the sustainable production of dairy

                            products, learn about cheese from the expert cheese monger

                                 and experience the taste of a  variety of cheeses produced

                                 in the midwestern states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma,

                                               Minnesota and Iowa.   

                                  

                                                  I'm thankful for this dairy farmer that was 

                                              willing to participate in a new experience that promotes

                                              dairy products and shares how dairy farms and families 

                                              work everyday to produce nutritious milk sustainably.