Ayrshire Personality

What's not to love about a sweet red Ayrshire calf?

Even at three days old, this baby, that we call Red,  has a mind of her own.

Those ears are not just standing out because  she loves me!

She was letting me know that she didn't really like that

 first lesson of learning to drink from a bucket.

We transition all of our babies from drinking  a bottle of milk

 to drinking milk from a bucket when the calf is three or four days old. 

Once the calf is drinking milk from the bucket, 

we add a handful of grain after the milk is consumed.

It's amazing that most calves will drink from the bucket 

after two feedings but it's not unusual to have a calf that

 requires a little more help.

We monitor them closely at each feeding to make sure all the 

milk is consumed and give them help as needed.I'm pretty sure

 Red will be one of those that requires a little more assistance.

It may be that red hair!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

As you can see,being a dairy farm dog is a tough job.

While we were feeding calves late in the afternoon,

Lily was taking advantage of the bed of shavings.

                           
                                      I'm thankful for the companionship and the smiles that
                                     our farm dogs provide everyday down on the dairy farm.

Soul Sonshine

It's a rainy Sunday down on the dairy farm but as I took off my rain suit to get

 ready for church, I found myself humming the old hymn,"Sunlight,Sunlight".

Even on a dreary day, there's  a lot of 'sunshine in my soul.' 

We see God's love in his creation around us

 everyday down on the dairy farm

and

                       
                                                            the new life in our family.
                                               
                                                           Happy Sunday!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Cow manure may not look like it has any value, but to a farmer, it's liquid gold.

To protect the environment, the liquid manure produced by our

 dairy cows is collected in a cement pit at the dairy barn. 

Our  permit from the Arkansas Department of
Environmental Quality  allows us  to store it in this pit 

and haul it to fields for fertilization.

                           
                                             I'm thankful for this recycled liquid gold that
                                                         is used to sustain our dairy farm.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Clouds,wind and dropping temperatures made

 the morning seem a little bleak and dreary 

but

                             I'm thankful for the bright spots, black and white spots in this case,
                                                          found down on the dairy farm.

Dairy Farm Food Safety

Single digit temperatures are not our favorite kind of weather

 down on the dairy farm, but so far the calves and cows are doing very well. 

 I am  spending more time than usual observing each calf for any sign 

or symptom of illness that often occurs with the stress 

created by  extreme weather changes.

                            If  our calves become sick and require treatment with an antibiotic,
                            we follow a treatment plan that has been designed by our veterinarian.

                                          It's a fact that healthy animals are the  foundation
                                                     of a safe and abundant food supply.
                                           
                         

                         

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

The book Barns of Benton County,Arkansas became available just before Christmas. 

It was the perfect surprise gift for a native Benton County farmer.

As I looked at each page and read the history that was carefully collected

 about the barns and their owners, I found myself  filled with pride 

just thinking about the farming families of Benton County.

Little did I know that dairy barns would get their own chapter

 when I gave the authors a tour of the dairy many months

 before the publication of the book.

As our county continues to become more urbanized and more barns disappear, 

I'm thankful to the authors, Melba Shewmaker and Monte Harris,

for their dedication to documenting the barns of Benton County

and 

                       providing the history about life on the dairy farm in Benton County.