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"I'm Farming and I Grow It"

It's viral, so you've probably seen it, but just in case you haven't...

Click here:


Then, take six minutes and listen to Greg Peterson's interview.  He is very humble and has some great things to say.

http://www.agritalk.com/news/agritalk/The-Man-Behind-Im-Farming-and-I-Grow-It-160542645.html

Trailer blues

I'm trying to decide.  Do we invest in a stock trailer or not?  How can I be sure it's a good one?  How do I know if it's too expensive for what I'm getting?

Should I just spend the extra money for a new one, or have Daddy restore an older, cheaper one?  We've been discussing this for several months now.

Breeding breeding breeding

We took Ayan (Brown Swiss nurse cow) to my good friend Alan to get A.I.ed awhile back.  I've got an appointment on July 6th to see if it took!  I'm praying for it, and for it to be a heifer...of course.  We're taking her for an ultrasound at Cross Country Genetics.  I can hardly wait!






Juicy (Brown Swiss heifer) should be coming into heat in the next day or so, and she will be A.I.ed too.  It's hard for me to believe that she is already old enough!  In my mind she's about the size of a six month old, but she's over a year old now.  She dwarfs the other heifers in the pasture.

Posey is due the first week of August.  I'm nervous.  Really excited, but nervous something will go wrong.

I've raised Posey since the day she was born.  It took a long time to get her bred.  She was one failure away from visiting a bull.  This calf has been a long time in coming.  I keep praying that everything goes beautifully, just like it did for Faith and her little Fara.

Planning for the Unknown

We like to plan ahead, but this year is going to be difficult.  We are going to have to wait until the last minute to see about a lot of things.  I hope it doesn't cause any problems with getting my registrations in or in overpaying for registrations.  These are the kinds of things I think about and eventually ask questions about to the people who know the answers:

Ayan is a nurse cow.  She is also a show cow.  She is nursing Fara AND the bald face bull calf, Bucko.  So what do I do?  Do I take Fara and Bucko off her and show Ayan and Fara in July at Sooner State? Would I have to sell Bucko?  Or do I just have to put Fara and Bucko on a bottle for a few days? Do I take Fara to the show and feed her a bottle there and run Ayan through the milking parlor?  Will Ayan even be in good condition to show?  Can you "milk out" a cow by putting a calf on it at the show?  Is that bad?  Can that even be done evenly/correctly?

It's possible that Posey could deliver before Sooner State.  If she does, do I take her and show her as a cow?  Will she be in good condition for it?  Would we need to leave Ayan at home and nurse Posey's calf?   Will she still be in condition to nurse Posey's?  Will we just bottle feed Posey's?  I definitely know that Posey is going to the dairy.  I have those arrangements made.

If Posey hasn't calved yet, we should just leave her at home, but then someone is going to have to check her.  That makes me nervous.   What if she has problems?  All the people that know what to do will be at the show with us.

It would be more comfortable for Posey to stay home.  That way she wouldn't have to be tied up and confined.  After seeing Faith just before she calved, I feel sorry for those poor mamas-to-be.  They look so miserable.  I want whatever is best for Posey.

That leaves Juicy.  Am I only going to get to show one animal at Sooner State?

It's frustrating to own four show animals with a possible fifth one before the show and maybe only get to take one to show. 

I still have the same types of questions for County, but the cow situation is a no-brainer.  They don't let us show cows at County.

I wonder about the barn for OKC.  I wonder how done it will be.  I wonder if they are even going to accept cows.  I hear they are not rebuilding the milking parlor.  We don't have a portable milking system.  I wonder if they will bring in a milking trailer or something?  So I don't know if I can bring Posey or Ayan to OKC.  

I also wonder what my little herd will be like by ***THE TULSA STATE FAIR***!!!

100 degrees

Summer started several days ago.  It hit 100 degrees.  Didn't seem that hot, but boy, the sweat was rolling off us today.  The breeze made all the difference.

Bought a round bale and had it delivered to the pen.
Fed.
The girls have been moved around.  One has gone to get bred.  One was moved off the east pasture to let it grow a little. 
Put some Nu Stock on some suspicious spots, just in case of ringworm.
Checked eyes.  Flies make me worried about pink eye.  I think we need to buy some pink eye medicine to keep on hand with our other medicines just in case of a future emergency.
Unloaded and stored two kinds of fly spray, but didn't spray today.  There didn't seem to be nearly as many flies as usual.
Put some bag balm on some rough spots on Ayan's udder and one of her teats.

We still need to bring a drill and screws to fix some of the feed troughs.  Two metal ones need drain holes drilled so they won't hold water after a rain.  At least one of the troughs I got from my great grandpa needs screwed back together.  It has a board popped out of the side and is putting pressure on one of the wires in the fence.  We don't want to have to fix fence.  We've got lots of other projects we could be doing.

  

PART 5 By special request: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE SHOW IS OVER?

So we've finished a stock show.  We've loaded up, gone home, and unloaded.  Yes, there's still more to do.

Just like a lady scrubs off her makeup and washes the hairspray out of her hair, dairy cattle need some cleaning up, too.

The topline adhesive needs washed out.   I use Hocus Pocus.  Work it through the topline and rinse out.

Your animal's hair is very short now, and she is likely to sunburn.  Put sunscreen on her.  Sun-Guard is what I use.  Re-apply as needed.
This is very important if you have two shows close together.  You don't want her peeling.  You sure don't want her sunburned and hurting while you're trying to re-clip her for the next show.  You wouldn't want anyone rubbing your sunburn over and over, would you?

I wish I could scrub my girls every week, but I don't have a proper place to do it.  I don't know about Ayan, but my heifers all seem to like getting washed and clipped for the most part.  Posey stamps her foot a lot.
Juicy gave a ninja kick to the side and got my mom above the knee just before the premium sale.  I think we were just brushing her off.  You just never know who is going to do what.  

PART 4 By special request: FINAL FITTING/PREP FOR THE SHOW RING

So we've washed our animals.

Did I ever tell you how the ones with white markings are done special?  Since that white hair gets stained yellow (from mud and manure), it may need some special treatment.  Just like little old ladies with white hair use a blue or purple rinse on it to brighten it up, and just like people back in the day used to use bluing in their white loads of laundry, we use blue or purple shampoo on our animals.  What few stains don't wash out, get clipped off.  So it works out. 

Okay, so we've clipped our animals.  Our advisor has clipped the topline.  Our advisor has also used a brush to style the topline with adhesive.  (It's like heavy duty hair product.)  There is a sticky powder that she brushes in.  It's a rosin.  We've already scrubbed their ears out.  Once while we washed them and once just a few minutes before or after we've changed into our white dairy show clothes. 

Put a leather and chain show halter on your animal.  Black leather for Holsteins and Brown Swiss.  Brown for Ayrshire and Milking Shorthorn.  I can't remember about Jerseys.

Before you take your animal out of your aisle and walk them to go in the ring, you brush off any stray pieces of hair or straw.  If anything is stuck in the topline, carefully pick it out without damaging the topline.  We also use a spray that gives their hair shine.  It smells good, too.

By show day, the fly population has grown.  Use a light aerosol fly spray on your animal.  You don't want them agitated by flies while you are trying to show them.

You also give their hooves a shine.

It's best if you have one person holding the halter and one person doing these final steps to make her all shiny before you go show her.

PART 3 By Special Request...Clipping

Some people don't clip their own animals.  They hire professional fitters to do that for them.  These people have a LOT more money than we have.  (Their cattle are a lot more expensive, too, I'm sure.)  We do our own clipping.  As a dairy team, we have done it different ways.  We have clipped our own animals all by ourselves.  We have broken into teams and two or three or four people worked on each animal with each person having a specific job in a specific area until everyone's animals were done.  We've done the same thing with washing.

Dairy cattle are washed carefully and let dry before they are clipped.  You take a heifer or cow and halter it with a rope halter.  Then you lead it into the clipping chute. 

I've added a picture of my dream chute so you can see what I mean.
The left side of this picture is the front.  The open end on the right side of this picture is the back.
  

The floor of the chute is plywood.  There is an optional black floor pad that you can install for the comfort of your animal.

Sullivan's Cadillac Chute

The two black bars at the front spread apart to put the head through.  Then you close them back together so she can't back her head out.  You tie the end of her rope halter on the end of that triangular piece that sticks out the front.  This will help keep her head a little more still.

The two black bars leaning at angles on the sides of the chute keep her from stepping out the sides.  The bars can be stood straight up and down or angled toward the back, too.  You can move them while you are clipping.

Some dairy cattle are calm and just let you do your job.  Some flinch and jerk.  Some stamp their feet because you're annoying like flies are.  Some kick because they want to chase you off.  Some are crazy and will flip the chute over.  Some are beyond crazy and will not only flip the chute over, but will then take off through the barn dragging the chute around them.  Be on your guard.  Be aware of everything around you.  You can get hurt really easily.

*******


You can mess up the looks of a really nice animal with a bad clip job.  I've ended up with some doozies, some from my own doing and some from the help of others.

Teaching my mom how to clip

Number one rule:  Don't cut the topline hair off.  The topline is the hair down the base of the neck and all the way down the spine to the tail.  Stay away from it.  Leave a wide margin around that whole area.  The topline clipping is to be left to people who REALLY know what they are doing.  That person is our 4-H/FFA advisor.  The top line should stand up kind of like a faux-hawk and be straight as a board all down her back.  It is supposed to enhance the straightness of the backbone. 

Work in a well-lit area.  If you can't see, you're going to leave stray hairs or take off some where you should not.

Large clippers are to be used on the body:  Sides, rear end, chest, brisket, and from the knee up on front legs and from the hock up on rear legs.

Small clippers are to be used on the entire head, bottom half of legs, tail (minus the switch).  While you are clipping the head, you take off the rope halter so you don't have to work around it.  If the animal is crazy, you'll probably have to use the nose tongs on it.  These tongs kind of look like vice grips with fat balls on their pinchers.  You put these inside the nose and have one person hold the head still with nose tongs and one person clip the head.  You can do the same thing with your fingers in the nose, but the tongs keep you from tiring out as easy.  Try it on yourself with your fingers, then try to turn your head and see how far you get.  Now you know what they mean by getting "led around by the nose."  

Belly hair is left on heifers.  Cows' bellies and udders are clipped clean.  Clip everything down so you can see every vein on the belly.


When you're working way down low, you can get smacked around by the tail switch.  You can take the long hair of the switch and braid it around the back post of the frame if you're working alone.  If you have one, let your partner hold it out of your way.



Take long smooth strokes with the clippers.  Lay the clippers down as level with the body as possible.  Don't leave stray clumps of hair.

Brush out the hair clippings from the clippers often.  Oil the clippers often or you will burn up the motor.  Spray them with anti-fungal disinfectant before you use them on a new animal.  Do not lay the clippers in the dirt.  Do not let the clipper blades hit anything. One broken tooth will mess up everything.

After the girls are all pretty, you have to keep an eagle eye on them to make sure they stay that way.  Another animal can swing its rear against yours and poop.  Your animal can lie down in poop.  Your animal or one next to it can paw at the straw and throw it up over their backs.  You get the idea.  So you have to watch your girls and their neighbors, too.  Ideally, you watch for their tails to start to raise and get a scoop shovel under them and catch the poop before it hits the ground.  Sadly, some of them will actually poop while they are still lying down.  You have to get it out of there fast.
This watch goes on for hours and hours.  Some shows you have showmanship one day and stock show the next.  That means you have to keep them clean overnight, too.  It's a crazy schedule.  It's not for the weak.  Dairy kids are probably the only showmen that can go to the Tulsa State Fair for five days and get a grand total of two hours out in the fair going through the carnival rides and exhibit buildings.

"Proud to Dairy"

Guess which blog was just added to PROGRESSIVE DAIRYMAN'S
Proud to Dairy "Blogs We Love" list?
Yep, you guessed it:  GodBlessDairy.blogspot.com!!! 
Woo Hoo!!!
(They also sent me two awesome hats!)  I feel special!

4-H Record book

My 4-H record book is turned in!  Today was the deadline at the county extension office, and I made it!
Wish me luck.  I am applying for:
*Gold in Dairy Livestock
*Silver in Dairy Foods
*Silver in Nutrition
*Bronze in Shooting Sports
*The Nutrition Special Award
*and The Outstanding Junior Special Award
It was over 80 pages.

Woo Hoo! A THREE-PEAT!

I am very thankful and very blessed to have been allowed to represent Oklahoma Ayrshires for a third term as Jr. Princess.  I will do my best to be a good representative and promote the breed and the dairy industry.

Another Loss

Heard some sad news on the way to our first Dairy Field Day yesterday.  A dairy teammate asked if we'd heard about her Milking Shorthorn heifer.  She said she had died.  The nearest anyone can figure, she got struck by lightning during the big storm.  They said she was post legged and had blue teats.  Of course it was one of her good show heifers.  I feel bad for her.  We all do.

Herd Expansion

I'm trying to decide my next move.  I think I want to purchase another breed.  I have Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, and Holstein.  My ultimate goal has always been to own at least one of each breed.  I'm thinking the time is just about right.  I just have to decide between a Guernsey and a Milking Shorthorn.

The reign of a Jr. Dairy Princess

Loading up for the 89er Parade 2012.

June 1st is the postmark deadline for the Oklahoma Ayrshire Breeders Association Dairy Princess applications.  With things being as crazy as they have been with animals and 4-H recordbook work, I was worried I might not make it, but I did.  Whew!

The application requires a series of answers to questions about your work with Ayrshires and your work in dairy/breed promotion.  Most of the application is a hand written essay about your experiences with Ayrshires and your plans for the future.

I have been selected as the Oklahoma Ayrshire Jr. Princess for the past two terms 2010-11 and 2011-12.  I think I have a really good strong application again this year, but I am not counting on anything.  No matter how good you are, there is always someone that's better.  So either I will be re-crowned or I will give up my crown to a new Jr. Princess.  I won't find out until they announce the winners.

The winners (Princess and Jr. Princess) will not be announced until the Ayrshire Dairy Field Day on June 12.  Wish me luck!

Dairy Field Days

A promotional poster I made a few years ago.

Since June is National Dairy Month we have dairy field days in June.

We do some basic things at all dairy field days:
we judge a specific breed of dairy cattle; Dairy Max gives away t-shirts and other cool promotional items; Dairy Max gives away bottled milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream; we have a cookout; and we give awards to the top three 4-H judging teams and individuals, top three FFA judging teams and individuals, and top three adults and peewees.

This year's field day schedule is:
June 6th Milking Shorthorn in Cushing
June 7th Brown Swiss in Agra
June 12th Ayrshire and Guernsey in Perkins
June 13th Jerseys in Crescent
June 18th all breeds at OSU

Now what?

So baby Fara is finally here!  Since I don't live on a dairy farm, I have to do things a little differently than a lot of people.

                                        

                                                  Loading up to go to the dairy

Fara's dam, Faith, has served her purpose for me.  I was able to show her for a couple of years, but not with much success.  I learned a lot from her, but the best thing about her is getting Fara out of her.

Faith's first milking

Aaahh, three gallons lighter

I made a deal with a dairy to sell Faith.  She is now a full production milk cow.  The owner of the dairy was kind enough to milk her out for us the afternoon after Fara was born.  We got about three gallons of milk to take home to Fara.





I made a funnel out of an upside-down two liter pop bottle with the bottom cut out.  I used it to fill a bottle for Fara with her own mother's milk.





I hand fed her with Faith's milk and kept her in a separate little calf hutch pen for about a day.

Then I hauled my Brown Swiss bull calf (Pretty Boy Floyd) to the sale to make room on the nurse cow, Ayan, for Farrah.  Pretty Boy, which I bought for $150 and put on the nurse cow for a month or so, brought $300.

When I got home from the sale, I brought Fara into the pen and she ran straight to Ayan and started nursing.  Ayan didn't mind at all.  My friend Christy says that Ayan gets the "Mother of the Year Award".  She is the best nurse cow ever.  Farrah is her sixth "orphan" calf since October.  She just takes on whatever comes into the pen.  So we didn't have to wrangle Ayan to get Fara to nurse.  The only thing we had to do was keep Fara in the right place.  She was so excited to be there that she would spaz out and wriggle to her belly or even clear up to her brisket.  She headed to the brisket looking for milk a lot.  It's funny to watch.  So I swing her butt around and get her headed in the right direction again and she's good to go.

Ayan doesn't have to be caught up to let the calves nurse.  She doesn't even have to be at the feed trough to stand still for them.  Like I said, she's the best.

Fara

 

Fara - not even 24 hours old

Woo Hoo!  It happened!  It finally happened!  One of my heifers calved!  I now officially have my first "Bred and Owned" heifer!  That means that I owned the dam (mother) and I bred her and got a heifer calf out of her.  Some stock shows have a class in which they compete.


I'm bummed because she calved while I wasn't there, but at least everything went okay.  We've checked her all through the night for days.  The last time we checked her was at 4:00 p.m.  She was acting weirder than usual.  Mom had a feeling we should stay through the afternoon, but we had so much to do because we've been gone so much...  We were also worried because she has been wallowing out a little nest in one spot in the pen for days.  We've only seen her out of it once.

Faith - "nesting"

She stands and shifts her weight back and forth on each of her back legs, kind of doing a little dance.  The other thing we see is her lying down in that spot.  At 4:00 her vulva was about six inches away from the fence.  I was afraid that with her being so dead set on that spot and that position that she wouldn't give the calf enough room to come out. Thank goodness she moved.  From the looks of things, she moved out of her nest to calve.  My landlord found baby "Fara" around 10:00.

Fara - a couple hours old and still a little damp

They figure that she was born between 8:00 and 9:00.  Ooooh.  That baby was huge.  She's really tall.  Love her markings!  She has bigger black markings than her mother.  Beautiful!!!

One day old

Thank you, Lord for an easy delivery of this big ol' heifer calf!

St. Christy's Calving Center

I'm about plumb worn out.  My Holstein, Faith, is just about ready to pop.  We've spent several nights checking her every two hours.  The other night we watched Lonesome Dove all the way through AND worked on my 4-H record book.

Here she is in November.

This was just the other day.

She has a LOT of edema (swelling) just like a lot of pregnant ladies get.

I wish she would just hurry up and push out my little heifer!  I can't wait to meet her!  I've seen her wiggling on the ultrasound, and I saw her kicking my heifer's side, but she needs to get out here.  We need to get busy training!

I'm afraid she's going to calve when I'm not there.  This is my first heifer to calve.  I want to get it on film.  I've participated in a live birth before, but this one is special.