Water... I Need Water

 This is the view out our front door today. We are again met with an additional 5" of the beautiful (?) white snow.

This is the view out our back door today. Yes, that is a hose winding its way through the snow. It reaches from the faucet on the back of our house to the heifer (young females) barn. It seems that buried water lines that are six feet underground CAN freeze. Since farmers are notorious for improvising when necessary, Farmer John brought the garden hose out of retirement so that our girls could receive their much needed drinks. Milk cows drink about a bathtub of water each day, and even though these ladies are not old enough to milk yet, you can bet they still need a lot of water. Caring for our animals is our top priority, even on snowy days!

Dairy Makes Sense

This And That Thursday - 15

A little bit of this and a little bit of that- here's what we've been up to.

Seven inches of snow today and lots of wind.

Uff-da! We were blessed with more extreme winter weather again this week. Monday and Tuesday brought -50 degree wind chills and no school across most of our state. This meant Sara and I had two more days of vacation from our teaching positions. It also meant a day off for Michael since the local television studio he works at is also located at our high school. Since we were all home, that gave Farmer John more helpers with the daily chores. Extreme weather, or not, the chores still need to be done. Take a peek at Baby, It's Cold Outside to learn about what we do to keep our animals safe and comfortable in our "winter wonderland".  

One of my favorite paintings by Minnesota's own Bonnie Mohr hangs in our kitchen.

Did you know...One cow produces 144 servings of milk per day to provide 48 people with three daily servings of milk? Way to go girls! 

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This And That Thursday - 13

A little bit of this and a little bit of that- here's what we've been up to. 

Recently our daughter Sara was visited by a friend she went to college with. As he was peering out the window watching Farmer John do his typical Saturday chores, Sara's visitor said, "Does your dad always work on Saturdays?" Yes, he does. We all do. Daily chores are just another part of farm life. Granted, if you have a larger farm with several employees, you may have a regular day off, but since we are an average size farm with only family workers, we all do chores every day. Does your dad always work on Saturdays? This question is just another example of why I write my blog...things we farmers take for granted, people not in the farming industry are surprised by. 

Farming can be a 24 hour, seven day a week job. We enjoy what we do, and love working side-by-side with family members. We consider that a "perk" of our career!

Sara and Michael

Tuesday morning we were greeted by several inches of snow. As the snow continued to fall, Farmer John began the task of moving the snow with the tractor. We not only needed to move snow to get to the barns to feed our herd, but John also needed to clear a path for the milk hauler who comes every other day to pick up the milk. 48 hours later that milk can be found on your grocery store shelf. Even heavy snowfall can't get in the way of fresh milk brought to you, and that makes us proud!

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to learn more about dairy farming and the importance of dairy in your day.

This And That Thursday (ok...Friday)

News Years Resolution:
1. Prepare blog posts 2 days before the publish date.

Revised New Years Resolution
1. Prepare blog posts  2  1 day before the publish date.

Re-Revised New Years Resolution
1. Prepare blog posts  2   1  right before I hit the "publish" button.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that- here's what we've been up to. 

   

Sara, on the right, ready for calf feeding.

As we near the end of the second week of January, I am reminded that we dairy farmers are a pretty strong bunch of son-of-a-guns! With the recent -40 to -60 degree wind chills we have been experiencing here in Minnesota, we still took on the task of taking good care of our herd so that you, and us, can continue to enjoy milk on our cereal each morning. Needless to say, we are excited about the 32 degrees forecast for today. So for the next few days anyway, it's time to peel off a layer of winter clothing and get back outside.

Did you know...

Lastly, I recently read in the December 2013 Food Network magazine that this winter Milwaukee, Wisconsin officials plan to fight icy roads with cheese. The Department of Public Works will mix rock salt with brine left over from cheese making. The new recipe stems from concern over the long term damage rock salt has on the roads and the environment. Ahhh...the power of cheese! Has anyone heard how this new formula is working? Wisconsinites speak up, please!

Is one of your New Years Resolutions to eat healthier? 

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Pass The Popcorn, Please!

If you read my previous post, Cold Enough For You? you know that we are in the middle of a deep freeze. Local schools are cancelled for a second day due to the freezing temperatures and the bone-chilling winds. Here on the farm we are still diligently working hard to keep our animals (and ourselves) comfortable in this crazy weather.

Last night as we were finishing our nightly milking, Snookie decided minus 24 degrees was the perfect temperature for delivering her calf. Actually, I don't think she had much of a choice in the ETA (estimated time of arrival)! Delivery went smoothly, and her beautiful red Holstein heifer (girl) calf is doing great! 

Steam rises from Snookie's baby girl with the below 0 temperatures. She is only 5 minutes old in this photo, and after a rub down with warm towels, she was eager to stand up.

 

When we are finished with our chores, and have checked on our animals one last time to make sure they are safe and comfortable in these frigid temperatures, I think tonight is a perfect time to sit back, relax, put my feet up, (yep, new cow slippers, thanks to Sara)...and watch a movie. Pass the popcorn please!

Three- Cheese Popcorn

Toss 16 cups hot popcorn with 2 cups shredded cheddar, 1 cup grated parmesan and 1/2 cup grated pecorino; spread on baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheddar melts, 3 minutes. Season with salt, if desired. 

Thanks to Food Network Magazine for this recipe.

Cold Enough For You?

"Cold enough for you?" said one Minnesotan to another. 

I've lived in Minnesota all my life, (other than my four years of college down south, in Iowa) so I have heard this cold-enough question more times than I care to remember. Yes, some folks, especially those that live in warmer climates, can't image why anyone would chose to live in our bitter cold. We love Minnesota, and its weather just makes life a bit more interesting.

All Minnesota schools closed for cold weather Monday, Jan. 6

One of our interesting days is this upcoming Monday, Jan.6 when Governor Dayton already asserted his authority and declared no school due to the wind chill dipping (crashing) to -40 to -60 degrees. This means that students are jumping for joy, parents are scratching their heads thinking, "hey, didn't we just get our kids back to school?" and Sara and I and our fellow teachers will not be teaching that day. 

Farmers, however, are preparing for the Arctic blast. Some of our chores are slightly different during the winter months. You can read more about these cold weather preparations here. Our job continues each day no matter what the weather, so we are doing whatever we can to make these cold days comfortable for our cattle and for us farmers too! Today we are giving each pen a thorough cleaning, so less needs to be done when the weather turns bitter. Each cattle barn is getting an additional stock pile of feed, hay and bedding to speed up the chore process on the fast-approaching nasty-cold days. 

But no matter what the thermometer reads, you can bet our first priority is the care and comfort of our animals. Even if it means we need to toss off the blankets we have been huddled under on the sofa, bundle up in our cold weather gear, check the herd one last time before heading to bed, to start all over again at day break tomorrow. Ahhh, Minnesota, gotta love it!

 

Ice, Ice Baby!

It was a toasty 34 degrees in Minnesota today. Thanks to the sunshine, we saw a slight decrease in the height of our snowbanks. Puddles were starting to cover the layer of ice found on our driveway. Beautiful, shiny, crystal-clear icicles were forming on the barns, dripping as if they were racing to see who could be the first to touch the ground. Could Spring be far off?

Following afternoon calf feeding and before cow milking, Sara and Michael found the beautiful, shiny, crystal-clear icicles to be too tempting. It was time for some horse-play! (Is it called cow-play since we live on a dairy farm?) 

Armed with the largest icicle each could find, it was time for the duel to begin. Moving with the swiftness of a cheetah, and the precision of a trained warrior, the battle began. (I believe the true battle was who could keep from laughing the longest.) Icicles in pieces on the ground, dethroned from the roof line of the barn; the duel was declared a tie! Who knew there could be so much fun to be found in an icicle? Sara and Michael did!

Sara and her 6'6" weapon icicle.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

When our Minnesota winter weather dips below zero degrees like it has the past few days, and the wind makes it feel even colder, it is time to take serious action. I pull on my warmest hat, coat, and mittens, and I also try to stay indoors as much as possible.

Our animals do much the same as we do in this weather. No, we don't have hats and mittens for our cattle, but we do have cold weather procedures to keep our animals comfortable.

Just like us throwing another blanket on the bed, our animals get additional bedding too. Straw and cornstalks are added daily to the pens as insulation from the cold. Our cows are housed in a freestall barn which allows them to move about freely to eat and drink whenever they like. This barn provides protection from the wind and cold. 

If you read my Farming 101-1 Cow Milking post, you know that after milking each cow, its utter is treated with a sanitizer dip. In winter months we use a powdered dip that is specially formulated for inclement weather, to provide better protection from the cold.

The cows aren't the only ones to get special treatment during this cold snap. This three day old calf is modeling an insulated coat to keep her warm and comfortable. And look at all the fresh bedding she gets!

The final job of the day, no matter what the temperature, is to walk through the barns to make sure everyone is tucked in for the evening. We take the comfort and safety of our animals very seriously.