Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Hello 2016

I don't know about you, but I cannot believe how fast 2015 flew by. What a year we have had. While we had good harvests and praise the Lord we did! The market prices have gone down the drain making end of year harder rather than most joyful, but that cannot get a farmer completely down.

We have been really blessed this year:
- we bought some new land
- very bountiful harvests
- new babies born
- the milk herd grew by purchasing new heifers
- new equipment purchases ( sprayer, gator, farm truck, crawler, grader, field cultivater, grain drill, auger)
- great year at the Kansas State Fair, Josh won Champion Soybean Best of Show
- good moisture, so thankful for the rain
- good health

However, I would be lying if I didn't say there wasn't any hardships.
- Several calves were lost (critters, weather, just hard births)
- market price decreasing
- prices of everything (seed, chemical, feed ingredients, fertilizer) on the rise and won't stop increasing. (Insert sad face)
- passing of cows (whether they had to leave the farm for reasons or passed away)
- Josh is still looking for a farm wife

These are just a few of the things that happened in the last several months of farming that I have missed out on updating the blog! Sorry about that, another goal for 2016!

We hope you all had a wonderful 2015 and that 2016 is a bright, fun filled year too!

Best,

The Milkmaid

Monday, April 20, 2015

April Showers Bring May Flowers- Or Grass We Hope!

Ah, April.

Such a pretty month one of my favorites really. Spring is showing up, the grass is green, trees are getting their leaves and the temperature (while it goes up and down and changes every 15 minutes it seems, it is Kansas you know?) is nicer than winters but cooler than summer. Ahh. Spring. My favorite time of the year.

Spring brings new life. New life is important to any farmer. Whether it is a new baby calf, horse, sheep, goat or pig-- you choose your fancy, or seeing your wheat green and growing, corn once it is planted sprout or whatever plant you raise in the ground ready to come up and produce. It is a time for many housewives or househusbands, single ladies and gents to get their gardens started and flowers planted and to start the mowing season. Ah Spring.

Many people do not understand why agriculturists like ourselves have to burn our pastures and fields. There are many benefits to doing this for our type of work. As for many ranchers and farmers it is to keep the nutrients needed to help our animals grow and to keep weed and tree problems low.

Here are a few good posts explaining pasture burning:



All of these blogs describe why pasture burning is a necessity for farming operations. I understand that many are concerned for the environment and general safety of the public. But I can assure you that we work with EPA and the regulations in agriculture every day and we obtain our burn permits with our local fire stations and counties to help better your food. Plain and simple. We have to do things to help produce enough food for all of us to eat and these are just some of the ways we can effectively do just that. Every year the amount of food needing produced raises and even if you are a vegan or vegetarian, someone still has to produce your food and a lot of it. So next time you are eating whatever it may be, please do not just criticize us for how we do it and how you believe it is wrong. Take some time to find a farmer/rancher ask them questions and get the real advice from the person working every day to grow that meal for you to consume.  Many of you would be surprised to find out the #truth behind what really goes and on and why we burn pastures or use certain chemicals (that never reach you or I) in order to produce enough wholesome great tasting food for both of us to enjoy.






We have been blessed with some rain showers already and we were lucky enough to have all of our corn in the ground for that rain as well. A few of the pastures that were burned in our area are already turning green and beautiful with new fresh lush grass- and I can't wait to watch ours join them and the corn to sprout!

Sorry for all those that have those nasty allergies-- I know you hate spring, but as for me-- I'm getting my camera out and loving this time. Happy Spring!



The Milkmaid 


(P.S.- This is all from the beginning of April-- sorry for the late upload!)

Friday, April 17, 2015

Farming is Dangerous-- And It Can Hurt.

The other night, I was going to write this but I just could not manage too. I had a horrible headache, felt dizzy, a little nauseated and just wanted to go to sleep. So I did.

Here is the real life of being a farmer. You get hurt. And it happens-- most days in some way.

Usually it is a small wound, no doctor needed and you either just ignore it or you give in to your wife/sister/daughter telling you to go inside, clean it up and bandage it. Thankfully, we have never had to many major injuries on our farm-- but there is a HUGE chance every day. I know there is a risk at every job but folks lets be honest-- I know way to many other farmers that can tell you about personal injuries or even death of a family member from working on the farm. Did you know that in 2012 there was 374 farmers/farm workers that died according to the CDC (link here). Many more injuries and accidents occur every day-- this is a serious deal.

(Here is a good article about farm accidents and how serious they are on Modern Farmer: Death on the Farm.)

Today, I am thankful that I am alive. I was very lucky to not get more seriously hurt the other night and that I walked away with just a slight concussion. I was opening the gates into the holding pen to let the cows in for the evening milking. I tapped a cow with the gate to get her to move out of the way so that I could hook it in front of the alley way-- well apparently she did NOT like that. She kicked the gate and before I knew it this heavy metal gate went straight to my head. Right above my temple. Thank the Good Lord that it did not hit any harder or any lower and I may not be here to write this blog or spend another day alive.

However, me being me, I did not go to the doctor, I iced it for a bit made sure it was not cut opened and after 15 minutes of so went back out (lucky me, my sister is a nurse and happened to be there when this happened so she checked it over) and did the whole milking and the milking the next morning before taking the night off. I still have a few minor headaches but it could be the weather. The moral of the story is-- in the matter of seconds everything could change and it is a dangerous world. I am thankful for being alive and that it was not worse. Be thankful-- for every one and every thing.

I had thought that from my morning milking that things would go ten times better that day. I had already slipped and fell, causing a huge bruise on my hip and then a cow kicked my hand up in the panel and cut it open in two places. Minor injuries to what would happen that night. Let's just say my new nickname on the farm is proving itself more and more. "Cow Boom" started because of my many small injuries and because I started a tractor on fire-- yeah that was a fun night! (no worries the tractor is fine and running still) here is too hoping nothing worse happens!

Be thankful my friends-- you never know what will happen tomorrow!



The Milkmaid 


Here is some pictures I took-- doesn't really do it
justice but still the best I could get!
And sorry for the faces-- I didn't exactly
feel the best.


Luckily for me-- it is just black and blue now
minus the headaches

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Working Hard and Hardly Working- And counting our Blessings.

It seems as though there is always some new project going on at the farm. Whether it is fixing fence or equipment or building something to help something else. March was busy with many different activities. We had some fun, we gave back and we worked hard.

A few things that went on during good ol' March. We sprayed numerous fields, dealt with many sprayer issues (frustrating and annoying is all I have to say about that darn sprayer), moved some corn and built a few things. But we also took some time off and gave back to the community.

At the beginning of March, Josh sold his corn that we stored in the new bin on the farm, so we got to test out the unload system to empty the bin. The guys hauled several loads of corn to a local feedlot.

Inside of the bin with the sweep auger moving through the corn

Coming from the sweep auger into the other auger bottom

And finally into the semi trailer


I was so lucky to help sweep the last bit of corn into piles for the sweep auger to carry out for the last load. At least farm work has some health benefits of making you sweat and keep in shape!

We got a new sprayer, I have nothing nice to say about it. I don't like it. It makes me frustrated therefore I am not going to blog anymore about that darn thing!!! However, it did give Handyman a good excuse to get out his welder and make a stand for the shuttles so that it is easier to unload the shuttles and switch them in and out when needed.


AJ welding in our garage the new shuttle holder thing


The finished product holding shuttles


Handyman really likes welding and wants to teach me but  I always tell him, "It can wait" I will learn some day but I kind of have a motto when it comes to certain things. If I learn it and no one else is around then I have to do it and well if I don't know how to do it, I guess one of the guys has too! -- I will just stick to milking cows, managing cows and breeding cows-- that's more my thing!


Those were just a couple of the things going on during March on the farm. Off of the farm, we went to Oklahoma with hubs parents and we went Spoonbill fishing. It was my first time ever catching that big of a fish! It was a lot of fun and was well worth the trip down there! I was lucky enough (and it was on St. Patricks Day! Luck of the Irish!) to catch the first fish. It only weighed 29 pounds so I threw it back and kept trolling on. I caught the second fish and it was a beauty! I kept this big fish weighing in at 62 pounds! After that I just enjoyed riding on the boat watching hubs and my father in law fish. They had a lot of fun and the best catch of the day was my father in law got a whole whooping 5 pounder! Boy, was it cute!! Overall, it was a great trip and nice to take a small break from working for some fun.

AJ and I with our catches

My father in law with one of his fish

Lastly and one of the most important days of March came where we, as a family, donated $2500, to the St. Anthony's Family Shelter in Wichita. It was a true blessing. My grandfather had his name entered into a Monsanto Grant Program where they generously give a $2500 grant in different family farms name to a place the family chooses. He was selected for Sedgwick county and my grandparents chose to give the money to a family homeless shelter. It was a privilege to be there as they presented the check and we got to tour the facilities. We are so proud that we can help others in need and it is very important for our family to give back to the community.



This program helps many families in their time of need and get back on their feet after so many different situations. I encourage you to go to your local homeless shelter or any other organization- ask for a tour, volunteer or just give back in any way possible. It is truly life changing experience helping others in their time of need. I know one of my many goals for this year is to do more volunteer work and I can't wait to get started with another program that I found in Wichita.

Many blessings to you and your family, we hope your March was a great as ours!


The Milkmaid

Thursday, February 19, 2015

The Good Ole V-Day...Bull.

By now all the Valentine’s Day candy has been ate, the flowers have died and life is back to the grind. Another holiday down and I could not be more thankful. I am not one of those big holiday people. I do not enjoy Valentine's Day at all. Even though I have one, my heart goes out to those that do not and I can remember when I was that single girl and hated the holiday even more. Luckily for me, the whole love thing grows in my heart every time a new calf is born cause who can’t resist the sweet face of a little baby calf? It just got me thinking about the change that came that first Valentine’s Day with my hubs. The one where I asked that we do not celebrate it cause shouldn’t we celebrate our love every day? Yeah. I asked him to keep it pretty simple. So we did and still do very minimal celebrating goes on for the love day but we still show it every day and take the time to go out on "dates" when we can.

Now....

This is my love. Finding a new baby calf early in the morning and showering it with love and care. Meet Miss Little Red (for now, until I think of a good name anyway) 


I found her not long after she had been born, her momma #19 did a good job and cleaned her up for the most part but had her in a bad spot. She was shivering cold and needed dried off a bit more. So for the first time in over a year (usually hubs or dad are around for this part, but it was just me this morning) I picked her up and carried her into our bulk tank room. There I placed her in front of the heater and on some used feed sacks so the concrete wouldn't be so cold. I took some towels and rubbed her down and used a hair dryer to warm her up and dry her off. She was a good calf and just laid there for me after having bawled as I carried her causing every cow to become momma cow and follow me up to the barn bawling back... Quite the chatter this morning! 


Finally she was cleaned up for the most part and by then my dad had showed up to help me with the milking. I placed a calf coat on her and went back to milking. I milked her momma to get her that nice good colostrum that every baby needs. She was a happy camper for sure and I was happy for her but had to go on and finish my chores instead of just sitting there and playing with her all morning. Work must be finished and my other R&Ws would probably get pretty jealous of me not paying attention to them. 


My dad and I were thrilled to see she was a Red and White Holstein. We purchased a R&W bull last spring and hoped we would get some out of him even though we don't have many R&W cows. Well #19 is not a R&W, she is black and white so we were beyond thrilled to see Little Red. I, however, do not like Red Bull. He is a typical Holstein bull. If you have never been warned here it is, stay clear of Holstein bulls as much as possible. I don't know why but they get pretty feisty and are not so friendly after a while. Now that is not true of all Holstein bulls, we have had bulls that we can pet and our just little sweeties. Red Bull and I have a day to day relationship. Some days he just watches me and leaves me alone to get the cows in and other days he is kicking up dirt, hollering and following me or stirring up the cows and being a pain in the bull. My dad usually gets to get the cows in on those days cause he just doesn't mess with the man in charge. Men. Hmmph. 

Unfortunately, dealing with cold calves and feisty bulls are just part of the job description. A job I wouldn't change for anything. Just sometimes you wish others could understand all that goes into being any type of farmer and how big our hearts are full of love. 

My love for my cows and job goes on twice a day every day. My cows see love every time they are milked, fed or just go out to check on them. My favorite part of the day is petting my cows Annabel and Pineapple. They are my red and whites, my prize and joy, and now this sweet little girl... Even though she looks too much like the bull! 

Until next time,


The Milkmaid

P.S. - no sweet resolution update 50 days strong! 100 more to go! 




Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Goin' Visiting!

Last weekend, we got to go on a little trip to the south and to the east to visit some good friends. It was a great time with some good laughs and learning more about where they live and plan on returning for another visit hopefully sooner rather than later but they understand how farming goes.

I was especially excited to go visit Kodie's dairy farm. I met Kodie through my husband because they took many college classes together and then since this world is so "small" she was marrying the son of my father's good childhood friend, who also had a dairy at one time. Funny how you all get connected together at some point! 

Kodie had the chance to visit our farm twice before I got to go hers and she told me her barn was set up very different than mine, boy, she was right! I love when I get to experience seeing how other dairies work. It is exciting and I always love getting tips on how to improve my dairy. 

Here are a few differences
-she milks twice as many cows as me
-she does not have weigh jars
-she has more milking units than me, but the same number of cows in a group
-she has a parallel like me but her cows slide into set position unlike my free moving ladies 
-her cows are on pasture year round vs my cows have a little outside pen but have a barn to go into whenever they want 
-her calves are in individual huts vs mine which have pens inside the barn and usually two to a pen 
-she wakes up and milks way earlier than me! 
-her cows exit out of the side they were milked on (two exit doors) vs my one exit door both sides exit out of (we can change it to be a two door exit) 

Here are a few similarities:
-we both feed in the barn
-we have high line milk lines 
-we use the same supply guy, Phil
-we both feed, silage to our cows and hay (but we feed Alfalfa too and she does not) 
-both barns are well aged and have seen many cows (Kodies was built in 1972 and ours in 1980)
-we both work for our dads 
-most of all, we love our ladies!! 

Those are just a few things, each dairy farm is unique in their own way. It is so thrilling to me to see other dairies and yes I am one of those that when I go on vacation and if I can go see a dairy farm I will stop if we can! Hubs and I just last year in January went to Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, IN. A very large dairy (which is an under statement) has interactive tours and is great to take kids too for a hands on learning and experience, check them out! 

Another goal of mine would be to visit a dairy in every state! So if you are another dairy farmer in some other state than Kansas (or even a KS farmer) I would love to be able to come visit your dairy! Luckily dairy judging practices on our way to contests have gave me a chance to see many dairies in other states. I would also love to visit an organic dairy farm and learn how your process works verse how mine does and really understand an "organic" perspective. 

If you would like to follow Kodie's blog, www.thosemccollumgirls.blogspot.com 

 Here is to good friends and dairy farmers! 

The Milkmaid

Saturday, January 3, 2015

New Year... New Me.

New Year... New Me... how many times have you heard that?

Well lets just get to it.. my new years resolution...

Lose weight.. go figure right?

Write a blog once a month.. I want one of those blogs to really hit people hard and make them think and relate.. I can do it.. I can do it!

Pray more.

Find a bible study.

Better my dairy and cows.

The list could go on and on. How come we wait til the beginning of the year to make a change in our lives? How come we let them go.. ten days in or two months? Why is it so hard to do them?

For me, I will be bluntly honest. I get LAZY. Instead, I like what a friend of mine said in her Facebook status, she knew it to be true. You make all these resolutions at once and don't do them. So she is doing a new goal each month. What a great idea!

Therefore, I will try to have a new goal every month minus the losing weight and writing a blog once a month at least.

Small update: losing weight has been going alright, I have lost some and one of my biggest goals is going 150 days with no sweets, pop, or desserts. 25 days strong! Whoohoo!

Until next time,

The Milkmaid