Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday


Our spring wheat harvest has been delayed due to rainy weather.
It has been our plan to have the wheat chopped for silage but
with the rainy weather, that has not been possible.
We did have a couple of days that allowed us the opportunity
to cut, bale and wrap  a few acres of wheat before more rain 
made it impossible to drive on these fields.

It's a Wrap!


                                        I'm thankful for the wrapping process that allows
                             us to harvest our crop when  weather conditions interfere
                                                              in our best plans
                                                                        and


for these May babies that stand out in a field
of Buttercup blooms

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Today was what we call "Preg Check Day".
Knowing if a cow is pregnant is a big deal on a dairy farm.

Thanks to science and technology, we have a 
variety of ways to confirm if a cow is pregnant.
Pregnancy checks can be done by  manual palpation , 
 milk test or blood test.   Our chosen method for 
the last few years has been blood test. Blood tests
can detect pregnancy in a cow as early as 30 days bred.

I had the easy job of making the list from our computer 
records that give us breeding dates.
Cody, Casey and Ryan had the job of collecting
the blood specimens that will be
submitted to our dairy cooperative's lab.
In just a few days we hope to be celebrating
the news of many pregnant cows!

I'm thankful for my family of farmers that  
work everyday to care for our cows 


so that we can have healthy calves
that will eventually grow up to be the
cows that give high-quality milk.


There's beauty in every season and
cycle of life.


 

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Happy Mother's Day



Mother's Day is a day of celebration and making memories with
those we love most.  My earliest recollection of today's celebration 
would be the cards we often made in Sunday School accompanied by
the flower in a paper cup to be given to Mother.


My heart is full of gratefulness for the love that has
been showered on me by my Mother and the women in my family.
It seems fitting to share the poem from a  Mother's Day
 ribbon I received at 
church when my boys were little. 

Two Temples
A Builder buildeth a temple,
He wrought it with grace and skill;
Pillars and groins and arches
All fashioned to work his will.
Men said as they saw its beauty
"It shall never know decay;
Great is thy skill, O Builder!
Thy fame shall endure for aye."

A MOTHER  builded a temple
With loving and infinite care,
Planning each arch with patience,
Laying each stone with prayer.
None praised her unceasing efforts,
None knew of her wondrous plan,
For the temple the Mother builded
Was unseen by the eyes of man.

Gone is the Builder's temple
Crumbled into the dust;
Low lies each stately pillar,
Food for consuming rust.
But the temple the Mother builded
 Will last while the ages roll,
For that beautiful unseen temple 
Was a child's immortal soul.
 ---Hattie Vose Hall


  Happy Mother's Day!
 

                                             
                                     

                                                
                                       

                                                             

                                       

                                           

                                            

                                 

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday


When my cell phone rings early in the morning before
I leave the house, it probably isn't good news.
Monday morning started with not so good news from
a neighbor on his way to work.
It seems that a car had run into the fence that surrounds the
pasture where several of our herd bulls reside.

I am thankful that even though the car was still lodged 
in the  fence row, it was keeping the bulls in place.
As the story unfolded, this wreck had occurred in the middle
of the night but we had not been contacted.
Thankfully no one was hurt from the accident and
the bulls did not get out or try to kick up their heels
and chase anyone!


                                            If you find yourself in a situation like this , I hope

                                you will find the farmer that owns the fence or at least

                                        report it to someone for  everyone's safety.




Our week was also filled with the love and laughter
of our family as we celebrated  Cody's birthday




and were blessed with smiles
of how a real cowboy  steps up to the job
down on the dairy farm. 







Friday, April 30, 2021

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

If you are old enough, you know that old saying "April showers 
bring May flowers."


Down on the dairy farm, two
new calves appeared
after receiving more than eight inches of rain in less
than twenty four hours.
Those calves were a welcome bouquet!


That much rain all at once creates flooding issues 
on and off the farm. I am thankful that  we were
able to repair the driveways and fence rows and
that no people or cattle had any injuries during or
after the rain event.


                                                  As I look back on the days of April 2021,
                                  we were also showered with a lot of happy smiles
                                     and days of creating   memories with our family
                                                      down on the dairy farm.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Earth Day is Everyday

                                    Down on the dairy farm, Earth Day is Everyday.  

                                 We don't just say that, we live it...EVERYDAY!

                                                     It starts with cow care. 

                     The carbon footprint of milk has been  reduced by 63 percent due  to       improvements in animal breeding, animal  health   programs,  cow comfort            measures   and overall  farm management   practices.


                         Everyday we feed our cows a nutritious, balanced diet.



Everyday we  follow regulations and best management practices to protect
the environment for our cows, our family and our community.


Everyday we recycle the cows' manure to fertilize crops that we
raise to feed the cows.


Everyday we strive to produce high-quality nutritious milk by caring
for our cows and the land we call home.


Earth Day really is Everyday down on the dairy farm!

Happy Earth Day!

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday



Can you guess which one is the mother?
Fortunately we found this new calf with her mother
earlier in the day so there was no guessing down on the dairy farm!
It's fairly common for other cows to try to adopt a new calf even though
they will have there own calf in a short time. 
Having too much love is never a bad trait!


This week seems to be filled with a lot of sharing experiences.
I'm thankful for witnessing the sharing of maternal instinct,


for the donated  Ginko tree  received from the 
Tree Program sponsored by the Walton Family Foundation
for citizens living in the county
and


                                      to witness  love  while sharing your favorite popsicle.

                                                     Life is too sweet not to share !