Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Teamwork is part of life down on the family  dairy farm.

While Ryan and Casey moved straw bales off the fields,

Cody was preparing to spray the fields before planting 

hay grazer and millet seed.  

Once the fields were sprayed, it was another  picture of teamwork

as Cody and Ryan added seed to the planter.

With the spring rains delaying our wheat harvest  and crop planting,

the race is on to get the crops planted while we can still

hope for a few rain showers and moderate growing temperatures.

The donkeys even seemed to be working as 

a team as they strategically moved 

close enough  to make sure we didn't have 

any feed with us!

I'm thankful for the teamwork we  experience

down on the dairy farm and for the cutest surprises  

when we least expect them!

 

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

                         Although we are happy to report that the last semi- truck load

                                     of wheat left the field to find its way to market, 

                                        the wheat harvest continues with the baling

                                                of the wheat straw left in the fields.

                                     

                               Baling the straw is much like baling hay except for the need  

                              to dry the straw.  It was raked into windrows and  baled

                              into large  round bales.  Straw is great to use as bedding in

                               the calf   hutches  or to roll out for cows to lay on when 

                                                        winter conditions occur.

                                      

Even though the early spring rains changed our plans for 

this year's wheat crop , I am thankful that we did have

a crop that can be used to care for our  dairy cows in ways that 

we hadn't planned and for the family and friends that 

have made harvesting the wheat a possibility.

                               

                                   

Wheat Harvest Saga

Our wheat harvest this year has become a saga--

a long, involved story of the wheat crop that 

was intended for spring harvest. 

Our plan was to chop the wheat when it was green and make

 silage for the dairy cows to enjoy eating. 

   Mother Nature provided a change in our plans when we

 experienced rain and cooler temperatures during the

 time we should have been in the fields harvesting the crop.

As the green wheat matured, it was decided that a new plan would

be necessary due to the decreased quality for silage making.

Spring harvest turned into summer harvest of a grain crop.

A trip to the field  verified the grain was ready for the combine

to begin harvesting the wheat.

Harvesting a grain crop requires planning, organization, and

determination to get the job done. 

Once the combine begins the job of cutting the grain,

a cart must be ready to receive the grain when the combine is full.

It was a little like a Chinese fire drill with carts of grain

moving back and forth to the farm to be unloaded.

The final step in our harvest is to load the wheat onto the truck 

for  hauling. This truck load will be sold on the grain market.

                               

                              Our wheat harvest  saga  will continue for several more days

                   as we move from field to field harvesting that beautiful golden  grain.  

                           If you get behind a slow moving grain cart or you meet one

                          on the road, give them a friendly wave and be a positive part

                                   of the hard working farmer's wheat harvest saga!

                                      

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Since 1939, June Dairy Month has been celebrated to promote 

and highlight the important health benefits that milk, yogurt

 and cheese provide and honor the farmers for their daily work that 

provides a steady supply of dairy products.

You would be surprised how many different jobs we may perform 

in one day down on the dairy farm  to make sure we are producing

the highest quality milk .

On this June day,

I was the gate woman as we sorted cattle in preparation for 

turning the next group of pregnant cows  from the 

milking herd to the dry pasture to rest for 60 days before calving.

With sunshine and dry conditions, 

we've celebrated many hours in the hay field

producing quality hay that is used to feed our dairy

and beef cows.

As we continue celebrating the goodness of dairy ,

I'm thankful for my dairy farm family that works  together 

everyday to feed and care for our dairy animals

and

for the dairy cows that produce high quality milk

for your family and mine.

Happy June Dairy Month!

 

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Our "rain, rain go away" chant  just didn't work!

For at least three weeks we have been hoping to see the

custom chopper pull into the fields for the spring harvest 

of our wheat crop but when the fields were too water logged

 for chopping it was decided that we would be cutting,

 baling and wrapping this wheat crop.

Harvest began today with the cutting of the first wheat field.

Hattie and Breck became part of the harvest crew. 

Their smiles during the tractor ride definitely provided the sunshine today!

I'm thankful for the wheat crop that is still able to be harvested

and used  to feed our cows and calves

and

                                       for the forever flexible farmers that never give up!

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

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.