The Month of March

I haven't felt the urge to blog in a very long time, which you can tell by looking at how long it's been since I've posted.  But yesterday the cows and I had a pickup of 10,102 pounds of milk! We haven't had that big of a pick up since May of 2014.  Dad and I had a goal of hitting 9000 pounds so this is a big deal.  And it made me want to take some time to reflect on the month of March.  It has always seemed to be a big month in my life.  Life changing things have always seemed to take place during this month.  My Dad hates the month of March because you never know what you're going to get.  We could have ice and snow or warm and 70 degrees.  And I've seen both in my lifetime. 

The first big thing that happened for me in March was 23 years ago today.  I lost my only child status as my younger sister, Aadrian, came into the world.  The next big thing I can think of would be in 2008.  My grandma McCollum passed away and it forever changed the face of our farm.  My grandfather passed away 6 years before her, but it was a joint will.  Nothing changed hands until she passed.  That was also the same year that I started dating my now husband.  And then two years ago we lost Sara and her father.  And one year ago the husband and I broke ground on our house. 

So you can see that this month lives up to all the reasons my Dad hates it.  I never know what I'm going to get.  I've had amazing things happen and I've had horrible things happen.  I have no idea why this seems to all happen during the month of March, but I am happy that this year it looks like getting back to 10000 pounds is what's happening. 

Remembering that my Job is Dangerous

Where do you feel most safe?  For me and most people that would be their home.  Another place that I feel totally comfortable and safe is at the farm.  It is my second home and has been since before I was born.  The milk barn is only second to my house when it comes to where I spend the majority of my time.  I've actually taken naps in there on the chair more than once in my time and my Dad has a habit of doing it too. 

Growing up on our farm taught me about how to act around cattle.  We have our dairy cows and we have our stock cows.  These two groups of cows have very different personalities.  My dairy cows are laid back for the most part.  A few have attitude, but they wouldn't hurt a fly.  Stock cows are a bit trickier.  They aren't around people every single day so they are more mistrusting of humans.  Either way these are all animals that literally weigh a ton and you should never turn your back on them or get too comfortable around them.  You always have to be aware of their presence and your own. 

I'll be the first to admit that I probably get more comfortable around our cows than I should, but yesterday I had a painful reminder of just how damaging they can be.  We have six separate pens of cows/bulls that we feed grain to everyday.  One of these pens is full of heifers and a couple bulls.  One of the bulls is an Ayrshire and we have named him Nuts because of his personality.  He's a special kind of weird and an animal that you never trust.  Dad opened the gate and I drove the truck through and that's when it happened.  Nuts went after Dad.  I screamed, jumped out of the truck leaving the truck in Drive, jumped back in to put it in Park, and then distracted Nuts.  By this time Nuts had picked Dad up with his head and rolled him around on the ground a couple times.  Thankfully Dad is okay.  Nothing is broken, he's just really sore and bruised.  This wasn't a physically painful reminder for me, it was an emotionally painful reminder.  It was physical for my Dad obviously, who is an extremely tough man. 

I have never killed an animal.  Never have had the urge to go hunting.  I wasn't raised in a house where people go hunting.  I have nothing against hunting and my husband enjoys hunting multiple times every year.  We currently have a giant bag of deer jerky sitting on our kitchen counter from his last hunting trip in December.  I've always thought that I spend my entire life trying to keep animals alive so I don't want to go kill one.  Also I'm the girl that would cry when someone shot Bambi, so not exactly the best hunting partner.  Yesterday when I watched Nuts hurt my Dad that was the first time in my life that I could have shot an animal.  Watching someone you love get hurt and you can't do anything to stop it is the worst feeling in the world.  Nuts is going to the sale barn as soon as possible because it's never smart to keep an animal like that around.  He will make some very fine hamburger for someone.  And Nuts is incredible lucky that I don't know how to work any of my husband's guns because otherwise he would have been taken care of by now.

Thankfully what happened is not an everyday occurrence on our farm, but it did remind me that my job is dangerous.  I am dealing with 2,000 pound animals on a daily basis and if I don't keep a close eye I could get hurt.  So why do I do it?  Well I love it.  Everything in life is dangerous in one way or another.  And everyday there are millions of farmers and ranchers, like my Dad, who face the risks so we have food on our tables.  My Dad is my role model and my inspiration because of everything he does.  The man never stops working or taking care of his animals, even when one has hurt him.  To have that much love for the work that you do is amazing and that is why I do what I do.

When did bashing Farmers become okay?

That is my question.  And as social media stars like, The Food Babe, grow increasingly popular I wonder what is happening to my generation.  Did the bashing begin with us? Or did it start with an earlier generation?  From the way my Dad and Uncle Frank talk it started with us. 

That is a scary thought.  Now my next question is why? Why do we think it's okay to bash the people that put the food on our tables?  Are we too far removed from the farm?  My personal belief is that we are too far removed from the farm so as a generation we don't understand what goes into creating everything we have. 

My mother is a teacher and as you know my father is a farmer.  Those are probably the two most underappreciated professions.  At least from what I've seen growing up with them that is what I believe.  I was not raised to think that it is ever okay to bash anyone's way of living or job.  Everyone has a story and it takes all kinds to make everything run smoothly.  From the farmer in the fields to the waitress at your favorite restaurant, we are all doing the same thing, working.  Working to make hopefully our lives, and our world better. 

I know that I have an advantage over the majority of people in the world because I grew up seeing where my food comes from and where many household products begin.  Now I have the honor of being on the front lines of it. 

Who do you picture when you think of the farmer that provides the food in your fridge?  Is it that little old man milking his cows?  In some cases that is true, but there is a new generation stepping up.  It is people like me.  I have friends that I went to college with and they returned to their family farms as well.  We all returned because this is our Dream.  We want to be the next generation of farmers and we want to change the public opinion of farms in general.  So my challenge for people is to do your research, visit a farm, get to know a farmer.  Trust me we are pretty great people.  I've got friends that can vouch for me on that as well.  I think that we all need to get closer to the farm and remember where everything begins.  And if you do know any farmers let them know that you do appreciate everything they do because they aren't getting up at 4am for their own benefit. 

The heartbeat of our farm

As anyone can tell you growing up on a dairy farm is an extremely unique experience.  It's different from growing up on any other type of agricultural operation.  What makes it so different is the amount of time that goes into it.  No matter what is going on the cows still have to be milked at the same time morning and night. 

Our farm is a diversified operation.  We farm, put up our own hay and silage, run stock cattle, and we also have a few pigs running around.  All of these things mean that we are never relying on one thing for income.  Instead we have multiple ways of bringing money into our business.  However during all of these things we still have our dairy to tend to.  It is the heartbeat of our farm and what most of what we do centers around.  We farm to feed our cattle.  Our hay and silage is what keeps all of our cows, dairy and stock, fat and happy all winter long.  When people show up to the farm looking for someone the first place they look is the dairy barn.  The barn is where I spend the majority of my time when I'm at the farm.  And as Dad, Frank, and Aadrian go in and out doing their chores they check in on me and the cows to make sure everything is going smoothly or to just talk for a bit. 

Growing up on a dairy farm you learn at a very early age that not everyone gets Thanksgiving and Christmas off.  My Dad, Frank, and Grandparents still had to work and we planned our family dinners around the milking schedule.  The last time I had Thanksgiving off was my senior year of college which was two days before my uncle Frank was injured.  Now I spend my holidays with the cows and my family members at the farm.  And what's even crazier is I enjoy it. 

On this Thanksgiving eve as the majority of people in the country are getting ready to celebrate with friends and family I hope you remember the people who put that food on your tables.  They will still be taking care of their animals and their crops tomorrow and hopefully getting some family time in between.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and safe travels as you head to be with your families. 

The Uphill Battle

It's officially Fall which means we are in the middle of putting up silage as well as getting ready to harvest our soybeans and milo.  We've also had a very wet October which has put us behind even more than we already are with our wet Spring and Summer.  This leads me to the title of my post.  This Fall has become an uphill battle.  During our silage season we have now had two pieces of equipment break down.  This was another thing that put us behind.  It's also supposed to rain overnight tonight so that will stop us for another day.  And to make things even more fun our milking system has been throwing fits off and on for the last couple of weeks.  Thankfully we have Phil, who is the guy that fixes the barn when it breaks down.  He's probably getting tired of hearing from me at this point though.

And while all of this stuff is going on you have to keep in mind that we are a dairy farm as well so the cows are still getting milked twice a day and the calves still need fed as well.  I consider my Dad and Uncle Frank to be excellent jugglers.  They juggle all the responsibilities of running our dairy farm as well as getting all of our crops put up.  I'm happy to say that I am too becoming good at juggling.  I can even drive the tractor while talking on the phone and telling my sister which field to bring our lunch to and then calling some of our suppliers and putting in orders.  This is the first year that Dad has let me in on helping put up silage and even though it's been exhausting I am enjoying it.  I also know that we need all the help we can get since everything is so far behind.  The hubby has even been drafted to drive the tractor while my sister and I were milking.  It's basically all hands on deck at this point. 

Not all dairy farmers put up their own silage.  I've known many to buy their silage because they don't have the storage for it or they just don't have the man power or the land to do it.  It is a lot of work, but it is also what saves us money. 

In 2006 I was in high school so my sisters and I were helping out on the farm every weekend and I also had a weekend job at the local gas station.  During this time milk prices dropped to historic lows.  I remember the discussions about it around the dinner table and how Dad would speculate how long the low prices would last.  Milk prices fluctuate just like everything in the market does.  At this point the prices dropped so low that it put many dairy farms in our area out of business.  What kept us going is the fact that we do produce so much of our own feed.  Now milk prices are at all time highs and dairy farmers everywhere are thanking God everyday for that.  We also pray that those low prices never come back.

What this taught me is that no matter how exhausted I am I will keep up with Dad and Frank and get as much silage brought in as we can every single day.  There are no days of rest during this time of year for us and that's okay with me because I know that it will be worth it come winter when I have happy cows with silage in their bellies. 

It's been 6 months.....

This month marked the six month mark of losing Sara.  This month also had Amy's birthday, my hubby's birthday, and we are still harvesting corn.  Last week I was struggling a lot with Sara's passing.  This was the first birthday of Amy's that it was just her and I.  I took her out to lunch and bought her a sweet present from one of our favorite stores.  It was a fun way to celebrate, just different since it was only the two of us.

God knew I was struggling, of course and last Thursday I started to remember something and it was all due to the storms that blew through that morning.  Last morning the first thunderstorm rolled through about 5:30 am.  It was a nasty storm.  Extremely close lightening, lots of thunder, and rain coming down so hard it sounded like hail.  I was milking at that time and needless to say my cows went slightly crazy.  This storm cleared out around 6:30 and we had a break until about 8am, then the second storm rolled through.  Luckily I was done milking before the second one came through so I just had to clean.  It was at this point that I realized that everything bad passes.  And just like making it through the storms Thursday morning I'll make it through the rough patch and I'll be okay.  Sara would want it that way. 

On to the positive side of things though.  We had sixteen babies during the month of August.  It was basically a constant revolving door of pulling calves and bringing fresh cows into the barn.  Started to feel like a maternity ward, but we have lots of new babies now! And lots of fresh milk going into our tank.  We had our first cold spell a couple weeks ago, but then it warmed back up.  It is officially fall, but I'm not ready for the cold.  I like where we're sitting right now temperature wise and so do my milk cows. 

Our corn harvest is going much better than any of us thought it would.  It's been a few years since we've had a decent corn crop so this year it's a very nice surprise.  We even had to open up a few bins that haven't been used in awhile.  And where I live I am able to see Dad and Frank run our corn in for it to be weighed and then run it back out to put in the bins for the milk cows.  All that rain in June has paid off on our corn crop. 

It's been a busy end of the summer, but thankfully Aadrian has decided to transfer to a closer college.  Since she's transferring she is taking the current semester off and it's been very nice to have an extra set of hands out at the farm after it just being me for most of the summer. 

The hardest part about losing Sara has been understanding why and accepting it.  But like the storms, this too shall pass.  And I know Sara is always looking down on us and smiling.

The LONGEST week

This morning completed my twelfth milking in a row and it was Aadrian's eleventh milking in a row.  Now for anyone that knows me, you know I don't drink.  That being said I could have used a strong shot of something around 6am this morning.  The cows were in a mood and after seeing all of them constantly for the past 7 days I was in a mood of my own. 

Normally I only do eight of the fourteen milkings every week.  That schedule is exhausting by itself.  The reason we were handling all of the milkings this past week is because the people that work for us took a vacation.  And to make things even more fun we were also hauling hay while doing all of the milkings.  Every single day this week has been at least a ten hour work day for us.  A couple days it was more than that.  This evening our employees are back to work so Aadrian and I are getting a break.  A much needed break at that.

My week has gone something like this.  I was getting up at 4am, at the farm by 4:30, milking by 5.  I would be done milking around 7:30 usually.  Aadrian would get there around 6:30 most mornings to feed the calves and help me clean up the barn.  On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday we hauled hay after we finished in the barn.  Monday I went home around 1pm and stuffed my face and then passed out for a couple hours.  At 4:15pm it was time to head back to the farm for the evening milking.  Aadrian would milk in the evenings and I would feed the calves.  This way no one had to be on the concrete in the barn constantly.  Tuesday morning Dad and Frank brought in the last load of hay.  YAY!!  It was only about forty bales so they got it brought in before I was even done milking.  The rest of my days consisted of about the same.  Even though we were done hauling hay there were errands that had to get done among other things. 

I need to take a minute here to talk about how impressive my Dad and my uncle Frank are.  Frank just turned 59 and my dad is 55.  They hauled the majority of the hay this year and they can out throw bales better than most men half their age.  We have had multiple teenagers out to haul hay over the years and Dad and Frank are better at it than anyone else I've seen.  I'll never be able to throw hay bales like they can because I'll never be as strong as them, but I do hope that I can still go out with my twenty something year old kids and keep up with them when I'm their ages.  They are just badass.

I would not have made it through this week if it hadn't been for my awesome hubby.  We didn't really see each other a whole lot except for the 30 minutes that we would eat supper together before I would pass out again.  When I was home I was either eating or sleeping and that was about it.  He made supper for us every night.  I'm telling you marry someone that can cook, because it is awesome to come home to an actual meal after the days that I had. 

But now that the past seven days are over and we survived them I have to say thank God!  It was the longest week that I have had this summer, but we did it and everyone is still in one piece.  Now we move on to harvest season :)

This was getting ready to load up our second load of hay on Monday.  We may have been a little bit loopy from the heat at this point.....