Every week I get one morning to sleep in, because everyone needs a break. Usually my days begin at 4am. We begin milking at 5am in the morning and 5pm in the evening. Having the same amount of time between all milkings maximizes your milk production. And more milk means more money, which is the goal of every business.
That one morning where I do get to sleep in I almost always get up a little before 4 to pee. My body is hardwired for that alarm to go off. The longest I can sleep is usually about 6am and then I am wide awake, physically and mentally. I've always been an early riser so in some ways you could say I have found my calling.
The only way I can handle 4am is naps. Everyday I milk I usually end up passing out for about 2 hours once I get home. Naps are the secret to everything I have decided. Little kids have the best schedule's since they have naps built in everyday.
My grandmother, Arlene McCollum, is the one who started our family dairy. Our family has farmed and had beef cattle since the 1880's, but she is the reason we have a dairy. My dad says, "We had to start a dairy because they had too many kids to feed." She started with two cows milking twice a day and built the herd up to 150 cows. My sister's and I constantly say the woman was a beast because she did every. single. milking. The only time she had off was Sunday afternoon's when the kids, my dad and his siblings, milked. (She also took naps, so it must be the secret.)
I'm not sure that I ever want to have a herd the size that my grandmother did, but I do know she was an impressive woman with everything she accomplished. One big advantage she had was living 500 feet from the milk barn so she had a little more time to sleep. :)
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