Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

So far, January weather has just been teasing us with skiffs

 of snow and frigid temperatures that blew in from the north after

 seventy degree temperatures during the holidays.

These extreme changes of weather are a stress on all of us.

It becomes even more important to closely monitor the cows 

and calves for any sign of illness during stressful events and

provide comfort and protection as much as possible.

Blanket coats for the calves and hay rolled out for the cows to rest

on during frigid temperatures are ways we can reduce the stress 

created by  weather conditions beyond our control.

I'm thankful for the healthy calves that have been born during 

challenging weather conditions,

for our devoted farm dogs that provide entertainment

for us and the cows,

and for the warm blanket coats  for the calves and

the farmers that care for all the animals down on the

dairy farm.

                                          

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

In October we hosted a virtual farm tour for school age

children. During the tour,  we were asked if this new baby calf had

a name. Since we were using the Zoom platform for the tour,

one of the students stated that we should call the calf, Zoom.

We thought that was a perfect name and that is what we

call her. She also has her number name 3381 attached 

to her ear.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to share how Zoom is 

growing and changing and for the new ways

we have learned to use technology to provide

learning opportunities  for all of us.

I'm pretty sure Zoom knows she is a movie star!

                                  Zoom and I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas!

                                       
 

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

                           

                            It's been a week of wild weather changes from balmy

                          70 degrees  down to the  low thirties .   To go with 

                           the changes,  we have welcomed five new calves

                            this week.  I don't know   if it is scientific or just 

                            coincidence,   but full moons and   barometer

                           changes  often bring   calving action in the pasture!

One of my favorite jobs is to be the Uber driver for

picking up calves and delivering them to their calf hutch.

I am a good driver going forward but watch out for those 

trailer back up skills!

Our calves will  spend the first three months in

an individual calf hutch where they are closely monitored

and fed milk and grain twice daily.

A healthy calf is the beginning for high-quality milk.

                                       I'm so thankful to live and work down on the dairy

                               farm with my family and for the opportunity to    share 

                                         with my friend just where milk comes from. 

                                                        

Thanks from Down on the Dairy Farm

                                                Before November slips into December,

                                      I wanted to share a little bit of  thankfulness

                                                     from down on the dairy farm.  

                          I'm thankful for the new calves that we welcomed to the farm

                                              during this season of Thanksgiving,

for celebrating 37 years of marriage to an 

Arkansas dairy farmer,

for the opportunity to take my Mother to visit

her 93 year old Uncle Max in Alabama,

to watch my grandchildren lick their ice cream bowls clean,

to celebrate the beginning of Advent with my family,

and 

to share with you  about life

down on the dairy farm.

                                        

                                                     

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

We salute our Veterans.

Where would we be without their service to our country?

As we go about our daily work down on the dairy farm,

we celebrate our freedom to farm and live a most blessed

life in the United Sates of America.

Ryan's dad, Bill, served during World War II.

He was a medic stationed in Japan and returned

home to farm. The horrors of war were

too painful to talk about but you never questioned 

his love of country.

My Dad, Harral, served in the Navy

just as the war was coming to an end.

He was a man of few words but his devotion to

 our nation was unwavering.

                                             I'm thankful for the service of these two fathers who 

                         helped instill the love of country into their children and grandchildren 

                              and all Veterans across our nation that served to protect our freedom.

                                                     May God continue to bless our nation!

                                 

                                                          

Weather and Farmers

                              

                     If you have ever been involved in farming, related to a farmer

                    or know a farmer, you know that weather is a big topic of 

                     discussion especially  when planning how to harvest a crop.

                 We listen to the weather reports morning, noon and night

                        and I  have learned (the hard way) that you do not talk to

                                      the farmer during the weather report.

                 

                           We've been waiting  for "the just right weather" to begin 

                                               these last days of fall harvest.  

                                After the three inch rain last week, the ground has

                       finally dried enough to begin  the last cutting of the hay crop.

This part of the acreage is being dry baled so an extra

day was required to allow it to dry before being baled.

The other part of this fall hay  harvest was baled and wrapped.

These bales will ferment and be used as silage in the 

feed ration for the dairy cows. 

Wrapping hay is often a great way to save a hay crop

from unpredictable weather. You might say it's one of the 

tools in the farmer's weather tool box!

It's time now to catch the next weather forecast!

Zoom goes Virtual

Have you ever been on a virtual dairy  farm tour?

I have watched a few and now I can tell you that

we have hosted one  with the technical help from Midwest Dairy

  to highlight dairy and  celebrate  the Arkansas  Farm to School 

program  during October.

As stated on the Arkansas Grown  website:

" Arkansas Farm to School activities improve public health, 

strengthen the local economy and communities, improve food access

 and food abundance for all, and protect the environment."

As Arkansas dairy farmers we were honored to share  from down on the

 dairy farm where nutritious milk and dairy products

are produced for our Arkansas students and their families.

Here's the link for the virtual tour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbthCIWw0Lk

It's been my experience through the years, the favorite 

part of the dairy farm tour is visiting the baby calves in the hutches.

It was also true for the virtual tour!

On the day of the tour, this baby was two days old and drinking milk

twice a day from a bottle. The students actually named her

Zoom!

What a perfect name!  We thought it would be fun to 

share how she will grow and change over the next two months.

Just like all of our baby calves, Zoom received her mother's milk in

a bottle for the first three days. That first milk is so important because it

contains colostrum that provides antibodies to aid her immune system in

fighting illness. After those three days, we taught her to 

drink milk from a bucket.  She was a fast learner!

Zoom is now  two weeks old.

She drinks milk twice a day followed with a small

handful of sweet grain. 

If you look close, I think she's smiling at you!

                                                         

                                               The highlight of my virtual farm experience was 

                                                the gift of thank-you letters from Sheridan,AR 

                                                    written by Ms. Caldwell's 1st grade  class.

                                                       I'm so happy that Zoom went virtual!