Getting ready for the spring show at county

WEDNESDAY
Bleach scrub brushes and pack them
Hook up the trailer to be ready to go in the morning
Pack Orvus soap
Pack waterproof boots and waterproof overalls
Pack blizzard proof overalls and coat
Pack lots of gloves
Set alarm for 5:00

THURSDAY
Leave house before 6:30
7:00 Load animals at Windy Hill
Unload/unhook at Ag Farm by 7:30
Mom drops me off by myself to wash until the others start showing up.
***My plan was to wash my girls in order:  Juicy, Carmelita, Prim, Stopnstare, Fara, but when Ms. Jennings got there, we divided up jobs as a team:  2 washers, 2 blowers, 3 clippers.  So I washed everybody's animals.  (It finally got above freezing after noon, and she sent me in the concession stand to warm up for quite awhile.)  I did good.  My mom was AMAZED at how clean I got Fara.  Every place that was supposed to be white was BROWN.  She didn't think it would wash out, but it did!
Sweep hair clippings
Feed
Water
Clean out all crap and straw and shavings from gooseneck trailer
Load county supplies
Break down clipping chute
Load straw, hay, showbox, and clipping chute in my personal trailer
Take trailer home to drop off tomorrow

FRIDAY
6:30 drop off trailer at fairgrounds and lock the tongue
by 7:00 feed and water at Ag Farm
Go to school.
3:15 feed/water

SATURDAY
7:30 feed/water
8:30 load animals
9:30 be at fairgrounds washing
Make beds
unload supplies
dry off animals
watch for poop
3:00 check papers/superintendents break classes
Begin toplines at 1:00 (Didn't happen because pig show ran over 3 or more hours.)
Toplines at last minute, trying to get animals to the ring on time, and dairy superintendents.

Dairy show starts at 5:00


UPDATE

- not really, it started at 5:30.
Sweet success!
All five of my girls won their classes.
Then they got:
Holstein breed champion.
Jersey breed champion.
Jersey reserve breed champion.
Brown Swiss reserve breed champion.
Ayrshire reserve breed champion
My older Jersey, Carmelita, won GRAND CHAMPION which is the only dairy heifer they allow in the premium sale.
At the last minute, I also chose Carmelita to use for showmanship.  (I did NOT practice her up special.  I did that with the younger Jersey.)  WE WON!!!  It was really cool because it is the 1st Dairy Showmanship contest that the county has allowed us to have.  So now I can say that I won the very first one!

This was the BEST SHOW OF MY LIFE...SO FAR!!!

"So milk her, maybe..."

I just finished watching an A.MA.ZING video!!!
Lil' Fred did a parody of "Call Me Maybe"  called "Farm It Maybe"!
It's totally devoted to the dairy farming life!!!  I LOVE IT!!! Everyone needs to see it, so I am going to embed it here!

If you can't see it in your browser, try a different one.

So, how did you come to be interested in Dairy? Proud To Dairy blog post: July 6, 2012

I got an email the other day suggesting a blog post:

“I'd like to know more about how you became interested in dairy. You said you live in town and your parents and grandparents weren't involved in raising livestock through 4-H or FFA. So how did it happen? What sparked your interest in dairy?”

In my family, it’s been three generations since anyone was involved in agriculture. Most all of them sold products to creameries.  Only one still farms and he only has a few beef cattle.  I’m not a farm kid.  I’m not even a country kid, but  I am a third year 4-H member with four registered dairy show cattle, with another calf on the way, and assorted pairs of orphan calves that I tend every day.  I don’t even live in the town where my cattle are.  They live at my Godmother’s little farm, so I do chores every day on the way home from school.  On weekends, holidays, and breaks, I still make the half hour trip from my house, do chores, and make the half hour trip back home again.  Even people who know my family wonder how I ended up raising dairy cattle.

I’m guessing I was just over a year old when my mom made arrangements for me to come to the FFA Week Petting Zoo at the high school where she teaches. 

My (now) 4-H leader carried me around and showed me all of the animals.  The one animal that I pet and seemed to like the best was “Daisy”.   She was a dairy heifer that one of the students had won in an essay contest.  I attended the FFA petting zoo every year for at least eight years.  


When I was about four,  I started my Pee Wee Showmanship career.  I came to the Local show and showed every species.  I went to the County show and showed beef, dairy, and sheep. 

I went to the Sooner State Dairy Show, and  I went  to the Oklahoma State Fair to do Showmanship.  The ring was almost full, and as I got ready to walk through the gate, I looked up at my Godmother and announced that I could do it all by myself.  I led that giant Holstein around the ring with no problems.  My mom still tells the story about how I was the smallest kid in the ring with the biggest animal and the only one with no help at all!  
Another year I started doing the Purdiest Cow Contest.  The little Jersey and I were "Hey diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon."
It was also around that time that I learned I could be in 4-H and have my own heifer when I turned nine.  I thought my ninth birthday would NEVER come!  After I turned nine, two very special friends decided to give me one of their Ayrshire calves to raise for my own. 

Since then,  I have saved up my stock show winnings, birthday money, Christmas money, and odd job money and bought my other animals by myself. I bought a Brown Swiss calf.  I made and paid off a purchase agreement for a Holstein yearling, and I financed my Brown Swiss nurse cow and paid her off.  I sold the Holstein and kept her heifer calf.  My Ayrshire is due in less than a month.  The Brown Swiss nurse cow gets preg checked in three days, the Brown Swiss heifer is going to be in heat any day now so she can get A.I.ed., and I have bought and sold three pairs of orphan calves for my nurse cow to raise.

“Where do you think your determination comes from to raise dairy animals?”

I guess it does take a lot of determination to raise dairy cattle.  In my little corner of the world, dairy doesn’t get much respect.  Our county only allows ONE dairy heifer in the premium sale.  They do not allow dairy to compete for money in showmanship.  They do not allow any crossbreds.  They do not allow any fresh or dry cows.  Over the winter, our STATE Fairgrounds tore down the cattle barns and rebuilt them...without a milking parlor.  There will be no cows, not even dry ones, shown at the State Fair starting this fall.

Even though dairy is treated the way it is, I keep working.  Maybe it’s because I’m stubborn.  My MawMaw looked at me on the day I was born and told my parents, “That is going to be a strong-willed child!” 

The work is hard, and sometimes I get frustrated.  Not as much as I did when I was littler.  But when I do, and I get UGLY, my mom stops me and asks me, “So what do you want to do?  Quit?  Sell out? It’s fine if you do, because it will save us a lot of money.”  She says the same thing every time because she knows that those words will shake me up and get me to straighten up SUPER-FAST!  She knows I don’t want to quit.  Quitting is like being beaten, and who wants to feel the agony of defeat? 
I know I don’t.   : )
 
Written for Proud To Dairy/Progressive Dairyman 
Posted July 6, 2012

Dairy Field Days

June is National Dairy Month and we do dairy things, like go to dairy judging events for all the major breeds.

June 6th was Milking Shorthorn field day held in Cushing.  I don't really want to talk about it because we didn't do well.  But even so...
Big thanks to Cushing for hosting us all!

We all saw Susan Allen from Dairy Max, and she gave us our new dairy t-shirts!


The next day, however, was a much better day.  We went to the Brown Swiss Dairy Field Day in Agra at Bryan Reedy's dairy.  Thank you Mr. Reedy!

Eight of us represented our school at this competition, including my friend and OK Brown Swiss Jr. Princess, Diana.  We judged five classes, and we ended up having:
the 2nd place 4-H team (that was my team!!!)
the 3rd place FFA team
the 4-H 2nd high individual (my buddy Kasey)
and 3rd high individual PeeWee (my little buddy Savanna)!
Not bad for eight kids.

Then we had a one day break.  Monday morning we met at our Ag Farm and cleaned our facility to get ready for our company.  We host the Oklahoma Jersey Field Day every year. 

Not to be too proud and braggy or anything, but we serve some pretty awesome food, AND not only does Dairy Max provide bottled milk for the day, but we also provide ICE CREAM for everyone while we are awaiting the judging contest results.  They are store-bought ice cream treats, but they are GOOD!  (I've heard wild rumors that when the Chupp family hosts a field day, they have two flatbed trailers lined with freezers of all kinds of homemade ice cream.  I hope those stories are true, and that I get to see for myself.)

Tuesday we went to Perkins for the Ayrshire and Guernsey field day.  I was 5th high 4-H individual.  I was also on the FIRST PLACE 4-H TEAM!  Woo Hoo!!!  My buddy Kasey was high individual, and our new team member Breanna was 3rd high individual!

OH! And I was re-crowned Oklahoma Ayrshire Jr. Princess!!!
GOOD TIMES!

AAAHHH!!! I'm in print!!!

My mom got a weird multimedia text from a friend a couple days ago.












It was at that very moment that we realized I had been published!








The next day we figured out that we could go online and see the actual magazine.



Oooh.  It's pretty!

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***!!!

Countdown to CALVING!

The first calf to be born to one of my heifers is due on June 2nd.  Recently, one of my friends was surprised by her calf being born two weeks early (which is a normal, healthy thing, just like for humans).

I don't want to miss this event if I can help it.  So I'm plotting on the calendar, and I'm going to start looking for signs EARLY!!!

She looks BIG.  I can't imagine what she'll look like when her time comes!

Stay tuned.  I'm not afraid of all the blood and slime.  I'll be sure to give all the gory details!  Shoot, I'll probably post the VIDEO!

If you're the praying kind (and I hope you are) please pray that everything goes right and that my Holstein has a perfect, healthy, thriving heifer calf!

365 days a year...

Pulling up t-posts to expand heifer pen (2011)

 

Weekdays:
Drive to Windy Hill on the way home after school.
Weekends/Holidays/Breaks/and all summer long:
Drive 25 miles to Windy Hill from home/25 miles back.
Chores:
Hook up east pasture hose.
Fill east pasture water.
Fill dog water.
Unhook and drain hose.
East pasture:  (Temporary:) Catch Posey/doctor

In the barn:
Fill Posey's bucket.
Fill Ayan's bucket.
Fill Juicy's bucket.
Fill Faith's bucket.
(All are custom portions and custom diets.)
Evaluate when to place next feed order.
South pen:
Pour Faith's feed.
Shake Juicy's bucket to get her attention so she doesn't go to eat Faith's feed.
Pour Juicy's feed.
Hook Juicy's halter to the chain.
Hook Faith's halter to the chain.
(Thieving nibbler prevention)
Hook up south pen hose.
Fill pen water.
Unhook and drain hose.
East pasture:
Pour Posey's feed.
Pour Ayan's feed and immediately stick bucket between Posey and Ayan to guide Ayan to her own feed.
Check creep levels for calves on nurse cow.
West pasture:
Hook up hose.
Fill water tank for landlord's heifers.
Grainery:
Fill two buckets for landlord's heifers.  Fill feed troughs.
Wait for Juicy and Faith to BOTH be finished eating before unhooking their chains.
Pick up rocks to fill in low spots in the driveway while waiting for them to finish eating.  (Battling wind/water erosion of the sandy ground.)

Add in show ring practice, extra chores, and unexpected problems/temporary chores (landlord's chores while out of town, wounds, flipped troughs, heat check, etc.) as needed.

Repeat DAILY, 365 days a year.

Down time:
Endlessly question and discuss with my breeder and parents...
Plan breeding schedule.
Order sexed semen.
Schedule artificial insemination.
Plot heat on calendar.
Make plans for a visit to a bull if necessary.
Schedule fetal sexing.
Order/pick up feed.
Re-configure pens.
Order hay.
Plot calving date on calendar.
Figure up how many entries will need to be paid for OKC and TULSA STATE FAIR and the total cost.
Figure up what days of school will be missed for County Fair, OKC, and Tulsa State Fair.  Work ahead in math and any other classes possible.  Get remainder of makeup work.
Decide names for new calves.
Check fence.
Evaluate show supplies.  Re-order when necessary.
And, and, and...

Spring Break Highlights

Things I did over Spring Break:

*movie, dinner, sightseeing with friends

*lots of tv
*spent the day at a friend's house
*tons of computer
*had a friend over
*"Words with Friends" x a billion
*took a friend to feed
(Got her to touch a heifer...She was TERRIFIED!)
*posted entries on my blog
*ordered two new bales of hay
*cut off the hay net/wraps

*cleaned out the creeper (creep feeder) but we call it the creeper like the big weird monster off Scooby Doo
*got my galoshes stuck in the mud
*smelled worse than I ever have in my entire life (sour feed from clean-out)

*fed/watered landlord's animals and got the mail while she was finishing up OYE
*delivered a load of trees to my MawMaw and GrandDad
*beaned my mom in the head with a basketball-OOPS!
*celebrated Daddy's three weeks of no smoking!  WooHoo!!!!
*fell asleep snuggling with my parents
*facial
*deep conditioning hair treatment
*picked up sticks in the yard
*talked and texted
*all my regular farm chores
*exchanged some jeans for my daddy (all by myself)
*made plans to order Brown Swiss semen
*watched video of my first premium sale
*bought feed

*bought some other feed
*unloaded in the rain
*moved 750 pounds of grain to storage containers a couple gallons at a time

*worked in the rain
*didn't have to run as much water because of the rain
*looked at Pinterest
*siliconed a split in the creeper hood
*set out rat bait in the barn
*spray foamed the holes and cracks in the barn...that we know about
*checked fence
*finished reading THE CAY
*read more of the Vampire Stalker
*watched more tv
*finished Vampire Stalker!  SO good!!!
*waited until time to do chores again!

Continual Observation

The health of my animals is extremely important.  I have to look them over every day; watch them; look for signs of anything out of the ordinary in their appearance or their behavior.

The Local Show 2012

Every time they are mixed in with other animals from outside their world or hauled to another place or have contaminated brushes or clippers used on them, they are at risk for contamination, infection, or infestation.  Respiratory infections, warts of all shapes and sizes, lice, pink-eye, and ringworm are just a few of the things that you need to guard against.
A few minutes of carelessness on my part or on the part of others causes me (and others) weeks of extra work and the added expense of sprays, pastes, vaccines, you name it.

I have to spend extra time disinfecting everything.  I have to make sure I bleach my brushes before I use them again.  (You never know...someone could pick up your brush and use it on their own animal and return it to your box, and you would never know it was contaminated.)  You have to be careful.

Weather plays an important role, too.  When it's cold and rainy, my animals can develop a cough which must be treated.

When we do shows during hot weather, we have to use sunscreen on their light haired delicate parts and all over the places that the sun hits hardest.  They will sunburn, they will turn red, and HURT, and peel if they not protected.

This little Holstein isn't one of mine, but I've had the same thing happen before.
= (