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.....

In the words of Meghan Trianor: It's pretty clear, I ain't no size two......

.....And I never have been and never will be.  God just didn't make me that way.  It's more like a size eight. 

McCollum's are built sturdy and the other half of my gene pool, the Well's are built pretty tough too.  I don't come from a family of stick thin people.  There are many people who are made that way, but I'm just not one of them and that is perfectly fine.

Growing up I experienced what every teenage girl in America goes through.  Thinking you aren't pretty enough, thin enough, or perfect enough.  It wasn't until the past few years that I started to really love my body for everything it can do and I have the farm to thank for that.  And I suppose I should also thank my awesome trainer, Danny Johnson.  He's helped me come a long way.  You keep saying I'll thank you someday so here it is!

I started running track when I was seven years old.  Once I was in fifth grade I added basketball to my schedule.  I was always an active kid growing up and my parents encouraged me and my sisters to compete in athletics.  I tried track, cross country, basketball, and tennis.  Tennis is the only one that stuck, but I have great memories of competing in all of those sports.  When I started college I went from being active in sports and working on the farm to doing nothing but studying.  I even got a job in the financial aid office on campus that was work study so I would have more time to get my homework done and I could work in between my classes. 

All of the studying did nothing for my health.  At least not my physical health.  And I, along with most college freshman, put on that 'freshman fifteen'.  I wasn't eating a lot more or anything, but I was eating a lot of fast and quick food.  And I spent a lot more time on my butt than I ever had before in my entire life.  It was a very different lifestyle and I had to adjust my eating habits and I also started working out at the student rec center.

By the time I finished my college career I had lost my freshman fifteen, but I had a new lifestyle to figure out.  There's a big difference between working at the farm two days a week versus everyday.  I needed to gain muscle and I also had to figure out the best way for my body to get the nutrition it needed for the long and weird hours that I work.  I had continued my running when I came back home from college, but it wasn't what I really needed.  After I had been home for about ten months and working full time on the farm, our small town got a personal trainer.  Yes we do have a gym, believe it or not.  The trainer started offering work out classes as well as personal training sessions.  I started going and I started gaining muscle, which is exactly what I needed. 

I now work out four days a week.  At least most weeks I do.  I do boot camp classes two days a week, which are total body workouts.  Then the other two days I just recently started practicing yoga.  Between working out and working at the farm I have put back on my freshman fifteen.  This time it's all muscle though. 

What this has taught me is that I was built to work on the farm.  I can wrestle pigs and calves to the ground so they can get doctored.  And I am also strong enough to pull a new born calf out when it's mother is having trouble birthing.  We are all built for different things.  Some people are built to be supermodels and others are built to have thighs and asses.  We are all made differently and we have to learn how to take care of our bodies so we can perform they way we are supposed to.  I am proud to know that I can keep up with dad and Frank.  And there are days when I put away more calories than my husband does and he's at least eight inches taller than me.  I've figured out what my body needs so I am healthy and happy and I encourage everyone to do the same for themselves.  It's time for more body loving instead of body hating, especially from us women. 

Growing up Farm: Being the Oldest

My parents were married for almost four years before I made my appearance into their lives.  At the time my mom was working as a chemist and dad of course was on the farm.  After I was born mom decided she wanted to become a science teacher so she could have more time at home with me.  Dad agreed it was a good idea and so she went back to school when I was about eight months old.  While she was in school they had to rely on dad's income since mom couldn't work and be a full time student at Wichita State University.  While mom was working I spent most days at the babysitters house, but when mom started going back to school I got sent to the farm with dad more often than I got sent to the babysitters.

I was basically carted around everywhere and with almost everyone.  There are pictures of me riding on horses with dad, sleeping in the cab of tractors, and basically just being a dirty farm baby.  I have a few memories of my toddler years out on the farm.  There's a story that's told about how I tried to pet the beef cows from the truck window and they all ran away from me.  I got upset that they wouldn't let me pet them like our dairy cows do, so I cried until dad took me back to the barn and I played with one of the dairy babies.  I also liked to chew on the cubes that we feed the cows.  It was my version of a pacifier.  At least that's what dad likes to tell me. 

My mother finished her schooling after one year and then she started teaching full time.  This meant I went back to the babysitters during the week and then I normally ended up at the farm on the weekends.  When we were younger my mom was more involved with the farm so we all spent more time out there together.  Once both of my sisters made their appearances I had started school and they were at a babysitters house full time during the week.  Neither of them got to spend as much time being carted around the farm as I did.  That could be why I have such a love of the farm, but who knows. 

The memories I do have are very precious to me.  My grandfather died when I was 12 so I didn't really have too many years with him.  He was one person that got to cart me around though.  I remember being in the tractor with him while he was planting and also in the combine during harvest.  Once when we were filling up the bins with corn I actually decided I wanted to ride in the back of the truck on top of the corn.  We were only going about a quarter of a mile down the road, so they let me do it.  I thought it was the best thing ever. 

My sisters and I started officially working on the farm during my freshman year of high school.  I was 14 and I had a farmer's permit which meant I could drive.  And me driving meant that we were going to be helping out at the farm more.  We started milking every Saturday morning and Sunday night.  I would milk the cows while Aadrian and Brenda would feed the calves.  Once they were done feeding the babies they would help me finish up.  The farm was my first job making my own money.  It was the first job for all three of us.  Since I was the oldest it was my responsibility to get everyone up and ready for the two milkings we were doing.  Mom said it wasn't her job and she wanted to sleep in on her Saturday's.  I have to tell you though that waking up Aadrian and Brenda was no joke.  They were both heavy sleepers and Aadrian has never been a morning person.  There were some mornings that all we did was yell and scream at each other because they were so grumpy and grouchy that I woke them up.  Somehow we managed to get the job done without killing each other. 

Since I am the oldest I have always been expected to take on more.  I was the built in babysitter, the driver, and the errand runner.  I never minded doing all of those things, but I do realize that there is a big difference in what was expected out of me versus my two little sisters.  This led to me being more mature at a younger age and also understanding what responsibility is.  Being responsible is something that anyone who has ever hired me can tell you I am.  Even though I grew up a little faster than my sisters I am thankful for the lessons that it taught me.  Going through life being known as a responsible and reliable person is never a bad thing and I have my upbringing to thank for that.

Baby or no baby?

This post is something that's been on my mind a lot lately and it isn't something that is entirely farm related.  It has to do with me and where I'm at in my life.  My hubby and I are approaching our two year wedding anniversary and my time frame for not having children seems to have come to an end.  I get asked about having kids more than I can even keep track of.  I don't necessarily mind getting asked, I just think it's interesting that people are asking. 

My hubby and I started dating when I was eighteen and he was 21.  I was 22 by the time we decided to get married.  This means we dated for three and a half years before he proposed and were together for four and a half years by the time we said our I do's.  Since we were together for awhile we routinely got the question of when are you getting married after we had been together for a couple years.  Of course we were waiting until we were both ready and could both be in the same place.  We were both young when we first started dating and I still think that getting married at 22 was a young age.  But I was ready and so was my hubby.  Plus he was 26 when we tied the knot.  He likes to tell people that he had to wait for me to finish school so he could marry me, which is sweet and partly true.

In my world I seem to go from one waiting room to the next in the eyes of the people around me.  First it was why aren't you married yet and now it's why don't you have kids yet.  Everyone that asks these questions means well and some of them are just genuinely curious.  For me kids are no where on my radar.  My uterus is not ready for that kind of commitment and neither am I.  It's not that I don't plan on having kids, but I do know that it will be a few years before I'm ready for that chapter of my life.  At least assuming my birth control keeps doing it's job and God doesn't have any surprises for me. 

Some people want to have children young so they can be young when their kids grow up and others want to wait until they are older and more established.  For me I've always thought of having kids in my late twenties and into my thirties and since I am currently 24 this means I've got a few more years before my plan kicks in.  The hubby and I are in a fantastic place in our lives and we love having this time to ourselves.  We can go where we want when we want and we have very few responsibilities outside of our jobs.  Our dog, Daisy is our biggest concern and she's pretty easy to take care of. 

On another level the farm is not ready for me to have a baby.  Right now there is no one to take my place or help out if I did decide to have a child.  When I decide I am ready to have a child we will figure it out as a family since the farm is family run.  But for now life is good with it being just the hubby and myself.  The point that I want to make is that everyone has their own time table for things to happen.  And things happen when they're supposed to.  For now my cow babies are the only babies I will be taking care of on a daily basis and I think it is a beautiful thing that I am able to have that choice.

H2O

We finished all of our planting almost two weeks ago! We are now on to cutting and baling hay.  And we got about a three week break from the rain.  Yesterday was our first good storm since before July fourth.  We actually needed the rain so it was excellent timing even though it put our haying on hold for a little bit.  Dad and Frank are both happy campers with the weather right now and that doesn't happen very often. 

What I wanted to discuss today was how important water is.  This past week we have officially entered our July heat wave.  Our temperatures are in the high 90's and low 100's and our humidity is through the roof.  For Kansas this is our typical summer weather so it doesn't bother me, but it does bother my milk cows. 

Once the weather heats up our milk production drops.  It does for all of the dairy farmers that I know.  If there are any dairy farmers out there who don't have that problem, my friend and I want to stalk your dairy and find out all of your tricks.  Access to water is the most important thing for all of my lovely ladies.  Our cows are out in a pasture and we have three water spots that they can hit up.  We have two out in the pasture and then one right next to the milk barn so they can hydrate right after they are done being milked. 

You have to think about how much water these cows drink.  They need more than a beef cow does because they are continuously producing milk.  During the day when the sun is at it's worst our cows have the option of hanging out under our vast amount of shade trees.  Different dairies have different ways of keeping their cows cool.  Some cows are out in a pasture like ours and others are on concrete 24/7 and only have the options of man made shade such as buildings or their stalls.  Personally I am an advocate for keeping them out in a pasture, but there are arguments for both. 

When it gets hot we also run into another problem.  The cows stop being excited to come up to the milk barn in the evenings when it's the hottest.  Getting the cows up goes from a twenty minute job to at least an hour.  This is because they not only don't want to come up to the barn, but they also have to stop at both water spots on the way.  If you're lucky you can guide them around the water spots, but luck isn't usually on my side. 

I love summertime, but my cows favorite time of year is the fall.  A cow's optimal temperature is around 52 degrees Fahrenheit so October in Kansas is usually when they are at their most productive and then again in March-May.  This summer is the best summer I've had milk production wise since I came back to the farm.  I have a good mix of older cows and young cows and I have a steady stream of babies which means fresh cows to bring back on the line.  Hopefully we can continue with the milk production we're at.  Just have to keep the cows cool, hydrated, and happy. 

My version of Sunday

For the majority of people Sunday is the wind down of the weekend.  You spend time in church, hanging out with friends and family, or catch up on things that need done around your home.  There's also the phrase "Sunday Funday" that people use to describe this start of the week.

Growing up my Sunday's were spent with my mom and sisters.  We would attend church in the morning and then go grocery shopping for the week.  Our afternoon's were spent running around the house or yard and jumping on our trampoline and mom would get ready for the week ahead of her.  My dad on the other hand spent his Sunday's at the farm because no matter what the cows still need milked twice a day and everyone needs fed and watered. 

Sunday's now mark the start of my work week since right now Saturday's are my day to sleep in.  I also am at the farm for both the morning and evening milking's. 

I don't want you to think that I don't enjoy my Sunday's because I do.  When I started milking Sunday morning's I quickly learned that there is no better way to celebrate God than to see the sunrise and spend the day with the animals that he created.  For me I feel closer to God at the farm than I ever have in any church service.  It's not your typical type of fellowship, but it is very fulfilling. 

I'm from a very small town and we are the last dairy in our county so the majority of people around here do spend their Sunday morning's in church.  When my dad grew up it was the opposite.  Most people spent their time in the milk barn and if they made it to church that was great and if they couldn't, that was okay too.  Growing up I thought that I had to be in church every week to show that I am a Christian.  Now I know that the world is filled with all sorts of people who worship in all different ways.  God made us all different and he also made the dairy cows and the dairy farmers.  He knows that we have to work on Sunday instead of treating it as a day of rest.  I've actually had more than one person look down on my father and me for being at the farm on Sunday instead of having our butts in a church pew.  To those people I would like to ask, Are you going to volunteer to come take care of our animals so I can go to church? 

The lesson that this taught me once I was old enough to understand is that it takes all kinds of kinds, to quote a little Miranda Lambert.  Without diversity life would be a lot less exciting.  At this point in my life my Sunday's are spent with the cows, the hubby, dad, and Frank.  And that's exactly where I want to be.

The Veterinarian

Yesterday we had our first two babies in the month of July.  They are also the first babies to be born for about two weeks.  It has been a long time since we've gone two weeks without any babies being born.  Yesterday morning we pulled this little guy out during the morning milking. 

 



And then during the evening milking this little one decided to make his appearance. 

 

 

When we left the farm last night everyone was happy and seemed to be healthy.  This morning things were a different story.  The black cow that gave birth yesterday evening had prolapsed sometime during the night and this is what dad and I had waiting for us this morning.  Having something go wrong overnight is something that I literally have nightmares about.  This could mean I spend too much time at the farm, but it's true.  I've had nightmares about everything from cows prolapsing, to having twins or triplets, or giving birth in a snowstorm and the baby freezing to death.  I'm pretty sure this nightmare trait is something that my worry wart of a father has passed down to me. 

 

Anyway since this is something we discovered at 4:45 this morning this was obviously a time of day that most people are still sleeping.  Luckily for us we have an amazing veterinarian who answers the phone anytime of night or day.  His name is Dr. Fox.  His dad and him are both veterinarian's and they have both always been up to help us out whenever they are able to.  Right before 5am I called him up, he answered and I explained what was happening.  The vet lives about 25 minutes away from the farm so after he got everything together and made the drive it was a little after 6am when he got there.  The cow was still in distress, but she had gotten up and moved herself once.  Dr. Fox put everything back in it's correct place and stitched her up.  Thankfully he thinks she'll be okay. 

 

In our area there are three different vet's that we deal with.  You have to have more than one vet that you can work with because schedule's conflict and not everyone is willing to take a phone call at 5am.  Dr. Fox is the only vet in our area that is willing to take on the demands of our dairy.  The other vet's out here are more of the Monday through Friday, 8-5 kind of people.  When you run a dairy it is imperative to have a veterinarian who is willing to work with the weird schedule and the calving season's that you have.  The vet you work with can make or break you in a lot of cases. 

 

You may wonder why this is something we would call the vet for instead of taking care of it ourselves.  The reason why is because she is a dairy cow.  Dairy cow's are worth lots of money and when it comes to their health no expense is spared.  They not only produce milk, but they also provide you with at least one calf per year.  If you need to know what milk is worth pay attention to how much your spending on it in the grocery store next time you go shopping.  Add that to the price of being able to raise up her calf and then sell it or keep it to bring back into the herd and you have yourself a nice little pile of money.  Many large dairies will have their own veterinarian's on their payroll that only take care of their dairy cows.  Some dairy farmers feel comfortable doing all of the medical necessity's for their animals, but my dad and Frank are not those kind of guys.  They don't feel comfortable enough performing it themselves so they call in the expert. 

 

I still have seven pregnant cows that are due to pop at any moment.  With my luck they will probably all come within this week, but here's to hoping I don't have to make any more phone calls to the vet.

A Day in the Life....

I'm writing this post for my sister, Aadrian, who after 21 years of being a farmer's daughter, doesn't seem to understand everything that dad and Frank do for the farm to run smoothly.  Dad and Frank's days vary depending on the time of year.  Since it's summer I'll run through a typical day at the farm, summer style.

As I've mentioned before my day begins at 4am.  I get to the farm by 4:30 every morning and dad usually gets there between 5 and 5:30.  That's his version of sleeping in.  By the time dad gets there I will have the barn put together and if some of the cows decided to come up to the barn I'll get started milking.  Then dad will head out on the four wheeler to get the rest of our lovely ladies up to the milk barn. 

Once the cows are all up dad will go and grind feed for the milk cows.  Since it's so hot this time of year dad prefers to do it in the mornings before it heats up.  Once that is done he will usually head out to go check on our pregnant cows and check fences.  He makes his rounds to make sure everyone is where they're supposed to be and to see if we've got any new babies.  When he gets back to the farm Frank is usually feeding the calves by that point. 

Now here we have a few different things that happen.  If we are planting/harvesting dad will head out to the fields at this point.  If it's raining or too wet to get in the fields then dad and Frank will work pigs.  Another thing they have to take care of is all of our tractors, combines, four wheelers, etc.  They do all of the oil changes on all of these things plus they also change the oil in all of the trucks that are on the farm.  So different days throughout the year they will be changing oil and checking everything on the various vehicles and equipment we have out on the farm. 

Lunch time is their break time.  They'll come back to the farm from wherever they may be and eat lunch and dad might take a nap since he gets up early like I do.  Once they're done resting for an hour or so they head back to work. 

Once we hit 4pm it's time to start getting ready for the evening milking.  If I'm milking in the evening then dad and Frank will come back in time to help me since I don't normally have help.  On the weekends I can usually get the hubby to come out and help me in the evenings since my sister has been so MIA.  This means dad and Frank have a few extra hours to stay in the field or do other things that need to be finished. 

Everything I've said above is just a few of the things that they do and take care of.  There's also the matter of getting parts for all of our equipment and taking equipment into the mechanic when they need a little extra TLC. 

When my sister comes home from college my dad expects her to help out at the farm so dad and Frank have more time to get other things done.  My sister doesn't understand why she needs to help out.  She thinks that there is no point to her helping out at the farm because we can get everything done ourselves.  And it is true we can get everything done without her help.  Every single business in the world doesn't rely on one single person because that's just unrealistic.  Running a small family farm just means there's less people to help out.  My sister doesn't want to make things easier on dad, Frank, and myself.  It's a crappy view for her to have, but it's what she thinks. 

I wish I could make her understand the impact that one extra person can have on our family business.  I know that since I came back to the farm we have become more productive with our dairy and we've also been able to plant wheat again.  Before I started working at the farm full time we hadn't planted wheat for at least eight years.  With dad and Frank doing the majority of the milkings they just didn't have time to keep planting wheat.  Now we are back in the wheat business and it's a good place to be.  We sell some of it and we also mix some of it in the feed for our cows.  Everyone has a huge impact of the people around them.  I hope to leave a good impact on my friends and family.  Hopefully someday my sister will start leaving a good impact on her family instead of the negative impact she is currently leaving on all of us.

Lettin' the big wheels roll!

The last time we got rain was this past Monday night.  It was a hard and good rain too.  Lots of thunder, wind, and lightening.  This means we are now on day 3 with no rain!  And we are officially back in the fields as of today!

This morning at the farm while I was milking, dad went out to check the remaining wheat fields as soon as it was light out.  Once he decided they were dry enough to get back into the real chaos began.  While I was milking the cows and cleaning the barn dad and Frank were getting all the tractors, combines, and trucks back out and ready to get back to work.  When I left the farm this morning they were heading out to the fields and I was officially on standby in case either of them needed anything which means my phone is attached to me at all times.  So far I haven't had any phone calls and hopefully that continues.  Everyone else in our area has also been back in the fields today.  We live on a road that goes into town and all day long I've heard the grain trucks taking loads in to the co-op.  I have to say it is a very good sound to hear after not hearing it for so long. 

Growing up as a farmer's daughter I have never once heard my dad, Frank, or even my grandfather complain about the rain.  But I can tell you that they will look at the clouds and shake their heads when they would rather be out in the fields instead of stuck at home.  You never complain about the rain though because you have no idea when the next set of rain storms will come around.  June was wet and muddy and because of that we, along with the majority of the farmers in our area, are behind on the harvesting and planting.  Hopefully this dry spell will continue and we can get caught up.

As the rest of the country is excited to celebrate July 4th and enjoying a three day weekend, we are excited to be back in the fields and that's where dad and Frank will be spending the holiday.  As will a lot of other farmers around here.  I will be spending it where I spend all of my holiday's which is with the cows.  Have a happy and safe fourth of July!!

Truck and tractor ready to hit the road this morning!

Got rain?

I am currently listening to thunder and watching another storm roll into our area.  We had rain Tuesday evening and it looks like we may get some more within the next hour or so.  Today is one of the days that we pull double duty in the milk barn so I am really hoping it rains like right now before I have to head back to the farm. 

 

This is the view from my back porch right now.  Got rain?

 

 

This morning instead of gearing up to head out to the fields we brought all of the combines, tractors, and trucks back to the farm and packed them in.  The wheat harvest and planting is at a standstill yet again.  We've had a few summers like this in my lifetime, but this is the wettest June we've had since I was in high school. 

 

My dad is an extremely funny man with a great sense of humor.  The one thing that makes him the most anxious is the weather.  I've said before that we live and die by the weather.  He will never complain about rain because we would rather be too wet versus too dry, but at this moment I know he is willing it to be dry for at least a week straight.  Being in the fields is my dad's favorite thing to do and right now he is anxious because he knows he is getting even farther behind.  Plus doing the whole start and stop thing gets old very quickly. 

 

Even with all the rain we haven't had to cancel any of our tennis classes so far.  Our last class of the summer is tomorrow and hopefully the rain will stay away for at least one more morning.  And then my July will hopefully be less hectic with one less thing going on. 

 

Now the big question of my evening is:  Will I be getting soaked at the farm?



Sister problems

I've been back from our vacation for about a week now.  The vacation was awesome! We road tripped and had a great time.  It was the longest road trip that my husband and my best friend Amy had ever done.  We got back and the next day I jumped right back into the swing of things. 

We finally got some dry days last week so dad and Frank were in the fields non-stop.  Planting and harvesting wheat.  It rained again the other night so we are once again at a standstill for a couple days.  The weather dictates everything in my world.  Normally I have a very peaceful and calm life.  Busy, but peaceful and I love it.  This summer has been everything but peaceful so far. 

My sisters are supposed to make things easier for dad, Frank, and myself when they're home for the summer.  Instead they have both decided that the farm isn't a real job and they basically show up when they feel like it instead of when they are supposed to.  My youngest sister, Brenda, didn't want to work at the farm at all this summer so she is working at Sonic and is no longer at the farm.  Aadrian doesn't want to get a different job, but she also hasn't been showing up when she is supposed to.  When she doesn't show up this puts extra stress on me.  When dad and Frank are out in the fields I have no one else to help me during the week. On the weekends I can luckily call my husband and he comes out and helps.  That isn't his job though and my sister doesn't seem to understand that not showing up doesn't work in the real world. 

Many people don't view my working on the farm as a real job and sadly I think this view has rubbed off on my sisters.  I love both of my sisters, but there's only so much that one person can take.  It sucks when the people that are supposed to care the most about you don't care at all.  Dad, Frank, me, and even my husband are ready for both my sisters to go back to school.  Instead of being there to help things at the farm go smoother they are just causing problems by not showing up.  Aadrian seems to think that as long as I'm going to be there why should she have to show up on time, if at all.  Obviously this mindset isn't working for anyone but Aadrian.  I love my sisters and hopefully they'll get their shit figured out, but for now I just want to go back to my peaceful and stress free life.

Mud, Tennis, and a short vacation

As you have figured out I love working on the farm, but that isn't all that I do.  During the month of June I help teach a tennis class three mornings a week.  For the first two weeks of June we have our beginners class and then we have the advanced class for the last two weeks.  My typical day still starts at 4am.  I do the morning milking and then I leave right after I'm done to be at my tennis class by 9am.  This leaves the cleaning to my sister Aadrian on these three days.  Since I'm not able to help clean three days a week during June I try to do most of the cleaning the other mornings that I am at the farm. 

Tennis is something that I began playing when I was 15.  I was introduced to the sport by watching it on television and then I found the tennis classes during the summer.  While I was in high school I did compete for my school and I was a decent player.  Bottom line, I loved playing tennis and I still do today.  When I was 17 I began helping my coach teach the summer classes.  Thankfully there's only been one summer that I wasn't able to help out with it and I happen to have a job that allows me to continue teaching. 

On the farm side of things it has been an interesting summer so far.  Technically it is still spring, but we've had interesting weather.  The last two weeks of May were extremely wet and so far June is looking to stay wet.  The mud is constant.  I'm not complaining about the rain, but when you milk cows that are out in the pasture you would kill for some dry hooves to come into the barn.  On the plus side our corn has shot up with all the rain.  As far as everything else getting planted, well we may be harvesting in December at the rate were going. 

Going from a college student to a farmer in training has been very interesting to say the least.  While you are a student your entire life depends on assignments and tests.  When you are a dairy farmer your entire life depends on the weather and how the cows and calves poop is looking.  If their poop looks weird, something is wrong.  If the weather is bad, you have to keep a closer eye on the calves to make sure they don't get sick.  Our weather has been going from hot to cold and that is never good news for the babies.  So far everyone has been doing good and hopefully things will continue to go smoothly, especially since the hubby and I are going on a short vacation.  This leaves things to my sisters.  Let's just say that they don't have the best track record of showing up on time everyday.  Dad will just have his hands full while we're gone, but everyone needs a vacation from time to time.  I love the cows, but I'll be good not seeing them for a few days. 

 

These are my twins and they turned one month old last week!  Look how big they've gotten!

 

Running with the big boys

May has finally come to a close! I enjoy the month of May, but it is by far one of the busiest months of the year.  During this month we work calves and move cattle out to grass.  With three girls we also seem to have graduations either for one of us or for family and friends.  This year the youngest McCollum girl, Brenda, graduated from high school.  Aadrian, the middle McCollum girl, also had to do her annual move back home from college.  Basically, the month of May is not only busy on the farm, it's busy in every area of life. 

We've also had a large amount of rain during the month of May.  For almost a week straight we seemed to have rain at least once a day.  Needless to say our planting is a bit behind, but our corn has started to come up! 

When Aadrian comes home for the summer she becomes an extra hand out at the farm with me.  This year we put her to work helping us work calves.  It was her first time and she did awesome! She was nervous at first which is to be expected, but now she is on her way to becoming a pro.  This leads me to my story for you guys.  Last Wednesday we worked another batch of calves and we had a crazy calf in the bunch.  I have never seen a calf act the way that this little dude did and neither has my dad or Uncle Frank.  When we first got all the calves gathered behind the shoot he was running back and forth trying to jump the fence.  His nose and mouth were all bloody from him running into the fence all morning.  At one point I was trying to separate the crazy calf from the rest of the group so maybe they would all calm down and I ended up getting knocked in the nose with the gate.  There was a lot of blood and it's still swollen and sore, but on the bright side it's not broken!

After all of that happened we took crazy little dude out of the pen and put him in the bigger pen away from the other calves so we could get the rest of them worked.  It was much easier without the crazy calf in there.  Once we were done with everyone else we had to figure out how to get the last one in the shoot without anyone else getting hurt.  Dad took a stick into the pen and the calf ran at him.  Dad hit him in the head a few times and basically wore him out enough to get him into the shoot.  After we worked him his energy level came back up because he went right back to charging at everybody.  Luckily we're all great at climbing fences to get out of the way.  We were worried he was going to give himself a heat stroke from trying to jump the fence and running at everyone, but thankfully he didn't and now he is out on grass for the summer.  Aadrian and I were so happy to be done with that calf.  The next day we were both tired, bruised, and scratched up from our time with the calves. 

Our dad was blessed with us three girls.  Since he has no sons, we were raised the way he would have raised sons.  Instead of being in the house we have always been expected to be out working the calves with the guys.  Granted there are some things we will never be able to do that boys can do.  We will never has as much physical strength as our dad, but that's okay.  We'll always figure out another way to get things done.  Working on the farm is still largely considered a man's job in a man's world.  I think it's a shame that people still see it as that.  You see things about being the farmer's wife, but never the farmer's husband.  My husband married into the crazy family business and he is the most awesome man.  He gets called into the farm to help out more than he should, especially since he has a full time job.  I am very blessed to have him in my life and for him to be willing to help out on the farm.  My sisters and I work just as hard on our family farm as many sons do to help their fathers.  I hope someday we will see more women going back to the family farm and more recognition for all the farmers, men and women.  For now Aadrian and I will continue to work like the big boys and we'll see how many bruises we come out of it with. 

We have reached Grandma status!

My Grandma McCollum is who started our family dairy.  This year marks the 52nd year that we have been milking.  Dad has always told us that they had to start the dairy because six kids was too many.  Either way my grandmother was awesome at taking care of her milk cows.  She continued milking until I was a toddler I think, then it just became too much for her physically.  Up to this point she had 150 head of milk cows and milked them everyday twice a day.  The milk man was picking up 10,000 pounds of milk every pick up which was every other day.  We get paid by pounds, but 10,000 pounds is a little over 1,100 gallons of milk.  This much milk meant we were very productive and ever since my grandmother passed away 6 years ago it has been my dad's goal to get back to that point. 

Last week we got back to that point! It is the most milk that I've ever had picked up since I came back to the farm two years ago.  I had three 10,000 pound pick up's last week and my last one was just barely under because we had a few thunderstorms come through the area.  Storms can mess with milk production since it can stress out the cows. 

The reason this is so awesome is because we are hitting that benchmark with less cows.  I am currently milking 109 cows :) I've got an excellent mix of older cows and younger cows at this point and as you can see my milk production shows that. 

So far 2014 has been a rough year.  On top of everything that I went through Josh lost his Grandpa a few weeks ago and then over this past weekend we found out that someone stole 8 of my dairy heifers that I fattened up last summer.  In some ways it's been one bad thing after another and in other aspects, like the milk production, we are kicking ass. 

May is always the busiest month of the year for us.  With my two younger sisters still in school we have graduation's.  Brenda will be graduating from high school this month and she also went to China the first week of May to compete for Junior Team USA.  Amid all the stuff going on the farm is still chugging along and at this point we are pro's at working our schedule's around milking, planting, and everything else that's going on. 

Hopefully our milk production will continue to stay as high as it is and we will get done with planting soon, assuming the weather cooperates.  When we had our first 10,000 pound pick up I texted my sisters telling them that we reached Grandma status!  Hopefully here's to many more of those pick ups!

 

These are my twin babies that are now about 10 days old and they are both still happy and healthy :) In all the bad times there are always still silver linings and happy moments.  You just have to remember to look out for them.

Saying Goodbye

Growing up I went to three different schools from the time I entered kindergarten to the time I graduated high school.  This makes it hard to make life long friends and even harder to keep them since this was all before the age of cell phones.  When I started seventh grade I was in my third school.  Junior high is hard enough since you're in that awkward stage, but it's even harder when you show up on the first day and you don't know a single soul.  Luckily for me it was this year of my life that I met two of the greatest friends anyone could ever have.  One was Amy and the other was Sara.  They were already best friends and had been for a few years so for me they were like a package deal.  You got both which was great for me since I needed friends.  For some reason they decided to be my friends and something between the three of us just clicked from the beginning.  We were always honest and able to discuss anything with each other. 

To this day they are still my two best friends.  We put our friendship through a lot over the years.  Lots of boyfriends, school assignments, drama, arguments, and hundreds and hundreds of miles.  Sara lived in Denver, Colorado for a couple years, I lived in Manhattan, Kansas and Racine, Wisconsin, and Amy lived in many various places around El Dorado.  No matter what happened or the distance between us we were always there for each other and always a phone call away.  Once we all discovered cell phones and texting it was even easier to stay in touch and to raise our parents cell phone bills.  Long before Amy and I met our husbands we had agreed for the three of us to grow old together since none of us could imagine life without the other two. 

On March 15 Amy and I lost our Sara.  She was involved in a car accident that killed her on impact.  This shocked me to my very core.  I am a Christian and I do believe that God has a plan and everything happens for a reason, but damn that is hard to trust in when bad shit happens.  Two days before Sara was killed the three of us were together at the hospital to say goodbye to Sara's dad.  He had been battling throat cancer and had sadly lost the battle.  Looking back I am so thankful that Amy and I were with her that day.  My last words to Sara were I love you.  I never expected that two days after we said goodbye to her father we would have to say goodbye to Sara.  Sara's father was the first parent that any of us had lost and that was a hard enough concept to wrap my mind around.  We're in our early twenties and no one expects to bury their parents at this age, let alone a best friend.

The first week I cried almost constantly and I hated to go anywhere where I might run into someone who would ask me how I was doing.  It turns out that when you're grieving those words become torture to hear.  I got to the point where I just wanted to tell people to fuck off.  Not nice obviously, but I went through a lot of anger with Sara's death and I am still dealing with it. 

It is officially spring time on the farm except for the cold spell we've had over the past few days.  As we say goodbye to winter I feel like I should finally be able to say goodbye to Sara.  I don't think I'll ever be able to do that though.  She is part of me and part of what made me the person I am.  I will forever carry her with me.  Part of me still expects to get a text from Sara and the other part of myself has to slap me back into reality.  I have days where I do better with it than other days, but that is to be expected.  Amy and I have both become slightly obsessive with each other.  We text almost constantly to make sure that we're both still alive and kicking.  Without her and my husband I really don't know how I would make it through all of the emotions. 

I know that Sara would want us to continue through life and to be happy.  I know that she is watching from above.  I really didn't know what to do with this blog until now.  I thought about just shutting it down because it reminded me of her.  Sara loved to blog and she loved that I had started blogging about the farm.  She would call me farmer Kodie and always asked me the weirdest questions regarding farming and animals.  I decided to continue this blog because I know she would want me to and maybe writing will help with the emotions. 

So as this spring brings new plants and new babies into the world I will remember to be thankful for the time I did have with Sara and thankful for Amy and Sara who took a chance on the new kid.

My amazing friends, this is for you

It's hard to be my friend and I'm aware of that.  I don't live right down the road and I never have.  Anytime my friends want to hang out we have to plan things out in advance so we can all be there and I can make sure I'm not going to be at the farm.

Some of my friends I have known for many years and others I have known since college.  Either way you all put up with me and that is always challenging.  I work weird hours and I'm always the one to leave the party early because 4am comes way too soon.  You all understand how I feel about the farm and you understand that I work a lot.  I just want you to know how much I appreciate all of you and the things that you do for me.  You always consider my schedule when we make plans and you also consider my drive out to see you.  All of my friends are at least an hour away from where I live.  I know it's not easy and I don't get to see you as much as I would like.  I'm thankful that you have stuck with me through all of the years and all of the stupid things we've done as well as all the things we've accomplished.  We've gone through graduations, weddings, countless jobs and boyfriends.  I love you all and can't wait to see where the future takes us!

 

The choice is yours

When I was in kindergarten until sometime in second grade I thought everyone had a grandma's house like mine did.  Going to my grandma's meant going to the farm and the farm was basically the most awesome place ever to me when I was growing up.  In my incredibly small world I thought everyone got to go to the farm and help sort baby pigs, feed calves, and spend summer nights getting eaten alive by mosquito's on the trampoline.  Once I got old enough to realize that most people don't live the way that my family did it was kind of a rude awakening for my young self.  Once I started having sleepovers at my friends houses I learned that all of my friends had dad's that didn't work on a farm.  Most of them worked in offices. 

When I tell people what I do for a living I get a few different responses.  One that is fairly common is people telling me that their parents, grandparents, etc. used to have a dairy or a farm of some sort.  This leaves me to wonder, If none of the younger generations take an interest in farming, then what's going to happen to all of the small family farms?  This is a conversation that my sisters and I have had multiple times and I'm sure the conversation will continue into the future. 

The McCollum's have been farming out here since the 1890's.  The original house is still being used today.  I am extremely proud of my family and the legacy they have handed down.  Our family farm has survived a lot.  The McCollum's have been through both world wars, the great depression, the land crises of the 1980's, and yet we are still in the same place.  My great-grandmother was actually purchasing land during the great depression.  From what everyone tells me about her she was an incredibly smart woman with a head for business.  I never got a chance to meet her and neither did my dad.  My dad's grandparents died at fairly young ages, but I am always fascinated by the history of our family.  Everything that they did led us to where we're at today.  Some people could say that my family didn't get very far since we are still in the same place.  My question though is why is that a bad thing?  We are very lucky if you ask me.  For over a century we have been able to keep a business going.

My dad and uncle were both raised working on the farm and they were expected to continue working on the farm after they graduated high school.  If you knew my dad you would know that he had zero interest in pursuing a college education.  Frank did go to college and he works as a nurse now as well as working on the farm.  Even though college was something they could pursue their parents still expected them to be home back at the farm to help out. 

My sisters and I grew up with entirely different expectations.  The farm was something that my sisters and I loved to visit.  In the summers we would spend days and days at the farm.  The only reason we would get dragged home would be so mom could drag our butts to church and force us to finally get cleaned up.  I've been able to put a milker on a cow since I was eight years old and I've been able to bottle feed a newborn calf since I was five.  I loved every second of my time growing up on the farm.  It's where I learned how to ride a bike without training wheels as well as many other life lessons.  The huge difference between how we were raised and how dad was raised is that we were never expected to end up back at the farm.  Our dad has always made it very clear that it's our choice.  The farm is there and if we want to be involved in it we can, and if we want nothing to do with it, that's okay too.  I have so much respect for my dad.  Him giving us this decision was not easy for him because he loves the farm and it's his legacy to us.  He still wants it to be our choice to be there and not something that is forced upon us. 

I wonder sometimes that if we had been raised with different expectations if I would feel differently about the farm.  I hope to God that I would still love it, but it's hard to say.  I'm glad I was raised with the choice.  My college degree is my back up plan in case the farm doesn't work out at some point.  As dad likes to say the farm could go away, but they can never take an education away from you.  My choice is the farm.  It's what I love and what I enjoy.  Part of why I chose the farm is because I never wanted to lose the farm.  I want to know that I did everything in my power to keep our family farm alive and well.  Coming back to the farm was always my choice and I thank my dad and God that I ever had that choice in the first place.

Awkward moments.....

I may be a little too comfortable at the farm.  This leads to getting caught in some awkward situations by dad, Frank, the milk hauler, and anyone else that decides to show up unexpectedly. 

Fishing feed out of my bra, underwear, pants........
     Some of the cows like to throw their feed up in the air like they just don't care.  If you happen to be next to them trying to wipe their teats or put a milker on it will most of the time go down your shirt and into your bra.  If you have ever had feed in your bra or any other clothing you know how uncomfortable it is and that it has to come out ASAP.

Singing, dancing, basically just breaking it down.
     It's early in the morning and I have to do something to keep myself awake and entertained.  From time to time I also like to use the broom or shovel as a microphone.  I have to keep things interesting.

Getting the milker caught on your boob.
    Yeah it happens.  If you're curious about how using a breast pump would feel for when you have kids I have a pretty good idea.  Of course men don't have this issue.  I'm glad I have small boobs because they already get in the way.  I can't imagine how often bigger boobs would get caught up in that.

Having cow shit land in your mouth, on your face.......
    That saying shit happens, well it happens in the barn more often then you would like.  I've actually had a cow poop while leaving the barn and it came shooting straight back and onto me.  I totally needed to hose myself down after that.

Getting caught with your pants down.
    Sometimes you have to pee and there isn't a bathroom anywhere around so you take a piss outside.  This is a time that I wish I was a guy because they have it so much easier.  All they have to do is whip it out and piss.  As a girl you have to take your pants down and squat down.  Thank God you wear mud boots to the farm for that pee splatter.

For now these are my most awkward moments at the farm.  There are always new ones from time to time so I'm sure I'll have some more things to add.  Hope you enjoyed my best moments :)

I am a workaholic

The last week has been a busy one at the farm.  Ever since our electrical problems on Valentine's Day the milk cows have been giant pains in my ass.  They haven't wanted to come into the barn.  This means I have to chase every. single. line. into the barn.  We've got 17 lines at the moment so it gets pretty old by the time you're done milking. 

Last Wednesday and Thursday we also had 4 new babies born.  The babies are my favorite part of dairy life.  They're so cute and tiny, at least until you try to feed them and they don't want to eat.  All of these babies were first calves for their four mamas.  So the mamas had never been in the milk barn before, which leads to a lot of prodding and yelling to get them into the barn.  Then you need a lot of patience to get the milker on the cow without getting kicked upside the head.  We successfully got all 4 cows in the barn and milked without anyone getting hurt.  Overall last week was just a rough week for me.

I am a bit of a workaholic as is my dad, Frank, and both of my sisters.  Basically we are a bunch of yes people.  If dad or Frank need me to do something I automatically say yes and I make it work no matter what else is going on.  We are McCollum's and McCollum's get shit done, no matter what.  This goes back to my grandparents who were both workaholics as well.  You could say it's embedded in our DNA.

With all of us having this attitude I find myself forgetting to simply live sometimes.  I have to remind myself to take care of me.  Working on the farm is a very physical job and I can't afford to get sick or seriously hurt because there is no one to take my place.  I push myself to the limit more times than I would like to admit.  My body always has a nice way to tell me to slow down, usually by me hurting myself because I'm too tired to pay attention to everything. 

This morning my moo moo's were actually happy and well behaved.  They all came into the barn willingly.  No chasing, no yelling.  It was the most peaceful morning I've had in over a week and it made me remember that I need to slow down.  And I did just that.  I took time to look at the sunrise and dad and I spent about 30 minutes just talking.  No working and talking, just sitting and talking.  We become so good at multitasking that we forget how nice it is to slow down and take a look around.  If you don't take the time to appreciate what is around you then you can become bitter about it.  Farm life is hard and it did make my grandmother a little bitter. 

One thing that my grandparents did teach my dad and Frank to do is to travel.  Once my dad and his siblings were old enough to handle all the farm chores on their own, my grandparents started taking vacations.  None of us are world travelers by any means, but we have made our way to a lot of the United States.  Dad and Frank both take vacations once a year as do I.  You have to get away in order to miss the farm.  Everyone needs a break and luckily we have a set up that allows us to all have a vacation. 

The first time I truly missed the farm was when I moved away and went to college.  My sisters and I started working weekends on the farm when I was 15 so my weekends had always been full of work.  I had to figure out what to do on the weekends.  This lead me to going home a lot of weekends and hanging out at the farm.  Not being able to go to the farm whenever I wanted was the strangest adjustment I had to make when I went to college.  I missed it.  Missed the cows, missed the babies, missed my sisters, and missed dad and Frank.  I didn't think I would miss it like I did.  And obviously it just goes to show that the workaholic in me never stops.  It's good to miss the farm though.  If I didn't have time to miss it then I wouldn't be able to appreciate it the way that I do.


The gorgeous sunrise from the barn this morning :)

Gentlemen, Can you pass the farm test?

When my parents first got married my dad didn't want any kids, but my mom had other plans.  Almost four years after their wedding I made my debut into the world and I also had my dad wrapped around my finger.  When I was 3 my little sister, Aadrian made her appearance and when I was 5 Brenda came into the world.  Needless to say our dad was in a losing battle.  The man ended up with three daughters and to say he is overprotective is an understatement.  We are all daddy's girls and we always will be no matter how old we get. 

Having 3 daughters means that we have all had our fair share of boyfriends over the years.  Most boyfriend's worry about meeting the family, but we have a few other ladies they have to meet as well.  My sisters and I refer to it as the farm test.  Before the boy can take us on any dates they have to go to the farm and milk the cows with us. 

All 3 of us plan on being involved with the farm in some aspect throughout our lives and the guys that come into our lives have to be able to handle that and handle themselves on the farm.  Plus it's been pretty entertaining with some of the boys that we've had out at the farm.  It's something that shows a person's true character and their work ethic and it only takes a few hours. 

When they go to the farm they also meet our dad and uncle Frank.  Dad usually won't talk to the guy, but Frank will.  It's like Frank is doing the detective work so dad doesn't have to.  My dad didn't even talk to my husband the entire first year that we dated.  My husband passed the farm test with flying colors.  His family used to have a dairy when he was growing up.  After that first year of dating and Josh spending many hours at the farm my dad and Frank both love him. 

If you actually want to date one of us you have to get both sister's approval as well as dad and Frank's.  All of us McCollum's are very opinionated and we'll let you know what we think.  Aadrian and I have run off quite a few of Brenda's boyfriends because they just couldn't handle the farm.  The boys that date my sister's have a little harder time than I did because now that I'm married these boys also have to pass Josh's inspection.

It's not that we have ridiculous expectations.  Our dad and uncle Frank just set the bar very high.  We want guys who are going to be able to help out on the farm and who respect the farm and our family.  The farm is just part of the package and if that's not something you're into that's fine, we'll just move onto the next.  That's why we bring the guys to the farm so we don't waste our time or anyone else's time.  Better to know sooner rather than later. 

No V-Day Love on the Farm

My Valentine's Day started promptly at 6am with a phone call from my sister, Brenda.  She was milking that morning and something horrible had happened.  I actually have what I consider nightmares about things going wrong in the barn.  That probably means I spend too much time at the farm, but it's my job.  The milk barn had an electrical failure in the feeder system.  It shocked the twelve cows that were in the barn at the time and all the cows fell down.  They were all able to get up and were fine, but they sprinted out of the barn and the rest of the cows in the holding pen sprinted out as well.  They were freaked, as we all were.  Brenda only got 6 lines out of 17 finished.  We had a bigger problem to worry about though.  Our feeders were out of order and we needed to get them fixed before the evening milking.  If we couldn't get them fixed that would mean we have to pack feed which is not fun or enjoyable for anyone. 

I had to wait for the rest of the world to open up at 8am so I could start calling electricians.  After calling ten different phone numbers I finally found someone who could come out and possibly fix the situation.  The electrician was coming from about 45 minutes away.  I headed to the farm to be there when the electrician got there to see what could be done.  Once he got there he took a look around and what he said was the most disappointing thing ever.  He basically told my dad and I that he could fix the problem, but it was going to be more work than what he wanted to do.  Needless to say I would not recommend calling this person.  He left and we began the process of going through all the wiring.  Thankfully we got it fixed and the feeders were a go for the evening milking. 

Growing up on the farm I was always expected to work hard and finish the job you were asked to do.  One thing that has been shocking to me as I got older is how hard it is to find people to do work out on the farm.  The electrician's response to a farm problem is not the first time I've heard that.  Farming is messy and dirty and it's too much for a lot of people to handle.  Dad and Frank have had to learn how to do most repairs themselves.  My husband is very handy as well and he has even done some repair work around the farm.  It's just part of owning your own business and it's what I have grown up around.  My grandfather was very handy as well and he is the one that taught dad and Frank a lot of what they know. 

My father has always expected a lot out of my sisters and I.  Of course I expect a lot out of myself as well and the people around me.  That's a problem that I have when it comes to dealing with people in a business aspect.  I expect a lot from them and most of the people we do business with are fantastic and very hard workers.  It's just when you get someone like the electrician that you start to wonder about what is happening in the world. 

The farm has taught my sisters and I a lot about work ethic.  I pray to God that the farm will still be around whenever I decide to have some kids of my own.  I want them to be raised the way we were so hopefully they have a good work ethic and respect for farmers.  It's a way of life that isn't as prominent as it used to be.  Some of the kids my sister goes to school with make me sick to my stomach when I see how they act.  Basically I think the world needs more farm kids in it.

So why'd you go back to the farm?

That is a question that I get more than I would like to admit.  I grew up in a small town where most people are farmers, but we are the last dairy in Greenwood County.  Where I grew up it is the general thought that you go to college to get away from the small town and family farm.  My own mother even asked me if I just couldn't find a job.  I graduated from K-State with a degree in Agribusiness because I always planned on going back to the farm at some point.  I'll be honest though, I didn't think it would be right after graduation.  I thought it would be down the road when my dad and uncle were ready to slow down. 

The summer of 2011 I interned with Case IH in Racine, Wisconsin and at the beginning of that fall semester I thought that's where I would be headed for a job.  Everything changed two days after Thanksgiving that year.  I was at a Thanksgiving dinner with Josh's, my fiancé at the time-husband now, family.  Since we were at dinner I had set my phone on silent and left it in my coat pocket.  At one point I went to look at it and saw I had about a dozen missed calls and texts from my mom and sisters.  I listened to the voicemail and read the texts to find out that my uncle Frank had been in a horrible accident.  I immediately called my mother back and asked what was going on.  She and my dad were headed to the hospital in Wichita that Frank was being air lifted to.  Frank had gotten his sleeve caught in the PTO on the manure spreader.  This got ahold of his arm and ripped off most of the skin and muscle on his left forearm.  He was at the farm by himself at the time, which my dad still beats himself up about, but he called 911 and the ambulance came and got him.  Going to the hospital was the scariest time of my life.  We didn't know anything about what they would be able to do for Frank.  All we knew was that he had lost a lot of blood and could possibly lose his arm or his life.  Frank doesn't have a wife or kids of his own, and my sisters and I have always been like his kids.  We grew up around him at the farm and he's been there for everything in our lives.  He walked me down the aisle with my dad at my wedding. 

Once we got to the hospital he was in surgery and they were bringing in a nerve specialist to see if they could save his hand.  He was in surgery for about 6 hours that first day.  They were able to save his hand and his arm by some miracle.  He spent the next three and a half weeks in the hospital in and out of surgery.  Frank underwent multiple muscle and skin graphs to build his forearm back up.  Luckily he was able to come home 4 days before Christmas so we didn't have to have Christmas in the hospital.  We were prepared if it came down to that though. 

This tragedy was devastating for our family farm.  Frank did most of the milkings at the time as well as numerous other chores.  Since he was not able to be at the farm for months this left dad to do everything by himself.  My sisters and I made a decision among ourselves that we would do everything we could to help dad keep the farm running.  Aadrian and I were both in college at the time and Brenda was still in high school.  She already helped out on the farm over the weekends, but obviously dad needed all the help he could get.  From the time Frank got hurt I went home every weekend and Aadrian came home every weekend she didn't have a track meet.  She was on a track scholarship.  Since we were both in college we had about a month and a half off from school for Christmas break.  We decided to spend every moment we could at the farm to help dad.  We handled the majority of the milkings and helped out with whatever else was needed, including working pigs and calves. 

Fast forward to March 2012 and Frank was finally allowed back at the farm, granted he couldn't do much because his arm was heavily bandaged and strapped down to his side.  He had been a horrible patient during his time of physical therapy.  Frank would show up at least once a day at the farm and dad would chase him away because he wasn't supposed to be there.  That following spring he did a lot of the planting since driving a tractor is something he could do that the doctor was okay with.  And today he is back to doing everything he could before the accident.  His arm isn't as strong and it probably never will be, but it's a miracle that they were able to save it. 

So long story short this is what led me to come back home to the farm.  My last semester I was already coming home every weekend to help out and dad was relying heavily on me for a lot of things.  It just made sense.  After Frank got hurt I flushed all of my out of state job leads down the toilet and tried to find something closer to home.  I found some things, but in reality I needed to be at the farm full time.  I asked dad what he thought about it and almost two years later here I am.  This is where I'm meant to be at this point and I am more than happy with it.  I love being able to work with my two favorite farmers and I'm also able to be more involved with both of my sisters activities.  This wasn't my original plan, but I think God put me here for a reason.  I'm taking things day by day and seeing where God leads me. 


Us with Frank this last Christmas.  Two years after his accident!


Frank and dad walking me down the aisle almost one year after his accident.  They clean up pretty good :)

Can winter be over yet?

I HATE SNOW. I mean really can not stand it.  When I was younger I liked snow because it meant no school and sledding.  Now snow just means that my job is going to be twice as difficult.  Cows don't like snow.  And if there's snow on the ground, that means all the water sources are frozen.  This means I have to break ice.  Usually I can break the ice open with a rock or my foot.  The coldest temperature we've had this winter was -13 and that was a day that the axe had to be brought out to break open the ice.  Breaking ice with an axe is my youngest sister's, Brenda, favorite thing to do.  I think it's just because dad trusts her with an axe, but at least someone enjoys it. 

We have now had snow on the ground for 6 days and the temperature hasn't been above freezing for just as long.  To make things even better we got 3 more inches early this morning.  Normally in Kansas the snow doesn't stick around this long because it warms up.  I'm starting to feel like my good friend Liz who lives in Wisconsin and has more snow than she knows what to do with.  Brenda had two snow days last week and she got today off too.  For her this means she got called into the farm to help out with everything.  She lives with my husband and I.  My awesome husband brought her out to the farm on his way to work. 

A lot of people don't realize that farmers have to be out in all kinds of weather.  I've actually been asked if I get snow days.  The person that asked just didn't quite understand that the cows still need milked even if the only way to get to the farm is to put the truck in four wheel drive and try to find the roads that haven't been drifted shut yet.  Farmers are some kick ass people to get out in all kinds of weather. 

I do think that snow is pretty.... At least until I have to go outside into it.  And once it gets below 20 degrees outside it's just too damn cold.  I'm a much bigger fan of winters where it never gets below 30 degrees, but sadly that doesn't happen here.  I'm a person who is much better at sweating my ass off.  If I can pick between 100 degree days and 5 degree days, I'm going for the 100 degree weather.  My friend Liz is from Wisconsin so she is much better equipped for the cold than I will ever be.  Basically my chant until spring shows up is, "Let's move to Florida! Or anywhere else that it never snows."  Below is a picture of all this awful snow in our milk cow pasture.  Which is proof that the snow can be beautiful no matter how much I despise it.