This time last year...

January Snowy picture :)
Cow to the left is a heifer and the two cows to the right are Dry Cows.

This time last year I was helping out on the farm because my Grandparents went on a two week long cruise! lucky them... They always seem to disappear when the weather is at its worst. It was below zero (my nose froze before it had a chance to run! I have never experienced that before), lots of snow on the ground, all waterers were frozen, manure scrapper was frozen, and lots of cows were calving.

I dreaded waking up at 4:00 am to come over to the farm to milk and then do chores. All I could think about was I hope I don't fall with the water buckets again today. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have fallen with water buckets in my hands, getting soaked and having to turn around to get more water when I was literally at the door of the heifer barn. Oh how that was one of my biggest pet peeves but I managed and made it through.

This time last year the farm wasn't doing so hot. The farm honestly was slowly going down the drain. The milkings weren't being taken seriously, because people who didn't care nor wanted to be there were milking, calves were getting really sick in this cold because the people who were supposed to take care of them didn't know what they were doing. I had my hands extremely full in the two weeks I spent there; but that was a turning point for me when I realized I absolutely wanted to be a diary farmer!

I want to share an unfortnuate event that happened a year ago but this year it is just the opposite!!

I'm sure some of you have heard of Somatic Cell Count but most of you probably think I am speaking a different language, which is alright because I didn't learn about this either until my last two years of college. The Somatic Cell Count is a test that is done on the milk when it leaves the farm and it measures the white blood cells present and any bacteria that may be present in the milk. Just like humans; cows increase their white blood cells to fight off any infections they may have in their system. Cows udders can get sick, which is known as mastitis, one or more of her quarters becomes infected and sick and causes the white blood cells to thicken her milk trying to fight it and it makes the milk undesirable to drink.

So unfortunately a year ago this month I remember seeing a remark paper from the milk company warning the farm that the SCC was way too high. They needed to take actions to fix that number or they were going to get a visit from the Milk Inspector to take a look at the milking procedures and cleanings. 

This is the filter;
it catches any organic
 material before entering
the bulk tank.

This goes in the white filter

                                                                                 
I didn't know much about how to get this number down but I tried my hardest from what I learned in college to help out the farm while my grandfather was snorkeling and eating escargot! I know it wasn't my responsibility but I felt responsible any ways...Someone had to take action because I know the others weren't going to... I was very alert as I milked and kept my eyes peeled for cows that may have been sick. In that two week time frame I was there; I was able to help the farm lower the SCC and cancel a visit from the Milk Inspector. 

(A Milk Inspectors job is to come investigate your milking parlor and house to make sure milk is clean, equipment is clean and to make sure the facility is clean)

The filter is around the insert

Now let's fast forward to today!! On a much more brighter note..... now that I call this farm my own!! I was super excited to see the milk check this week and to see a low SCC number of  210,000! I accept the fact that many of you still may not understand this but that's alright! I hope I have taught you something and painted a picture about how much I care and how much I love with my lifestyle!! I work by toosh off everyday to keep that SCC level down. It is hard on every farm not just this one. With so many factors that negatively affect the count this can be one of the most stressful aspects of milking.

The pipe line the milk flows
 through before entering the bulk tank    

Reasons a cow may exhibit a high Somatic Cell Count...

• Fighting off infection somewhere
• Stressing over something
• Hereditary 
• Higher in spring and summer due to hotter temperatures 
• Might have ate moldy hay or feed
• Dirty milking equipment
• Not cleaning teats off properly
• Not using water that is 165 degrees to clean equipment
• Stage of lactation cows that just calved tend to exhibit higher SCC
• AND MANY MANY MORE!!!

I am still learning and reaching out to other farmers about what they do to keep their numbers low... and to hear they all have difficulties it makes me feel a little better with the way things are going here. 

Actions we can take to keep the SCC low

• Use a high quality pre and post teat spray
• Keep udders as clean as possible, this starts in bedding areas keeping them clean and dry
• Keep an eye on silo openings to make sure oxygen isn't spoiling silage
• Make sure water is 165 degrees when cleaning equipment and milk tank
• Strip (squirt out 3 squirts of milk from each teat) each cow before milking
• Treat cows with medicine if they exhibit thick milk coming from teat (ALL COWS THAT ARE TREATED WILL BE MILKED INTO A SEPARATE BUCKET TO DISPOSE OF THEIR MILK EASILY. THIS MILK WILL NEVER ENTER THE BULK TANK IF IT DOES THE WHOLE TANK WILL BE DUMPED and we won't get paid and can't pay our monthly bills)
• Some farmers will sell cows who show high SCC every testing because they are the ones who inherited the high gene; or they will milk her into a bucket and then pasteurize that milk to feed to calves.

Our milk, well any farmer's milk, is highly tested before it reaches the factory for pasteurizing and processing. Milk goes through 21 different tests to insure it's safety when consumed.

I am going to through some numbers at you... they wont make much sense but just bare with me... Us farmers have a guideline to follow and must keep our SCC under a certain number which is 750,000. If a farm reaches that number twice consecutively; their farm will most likely be shut down or their milk company will cancel their contract. Many farms will have a SCC of 350,000 or much lower. There are incentives to keep equipment clean, cows closely watched and treated, and to keep the number as low as possible. If the SCC goes over 350,000 each milk check will be deducted of $500 and if you can keep it below 200,000 then you will be rewarded $500-$1,000 so there is a nice incentive that farmer's strive to reach every month. Though I have not received an incentive yet, I am super close and won't give up!

Fight Back post teat spray

My farms Milking Protocol to keep the manure/dirt and SCC level to a minimum

• Dip teats with an iodine base solution
• Wipe teats off after solution has soaked for 45 seconds or longer
• Strip each teat
• Keep milkers clean throughout milking
• Spray teats with a chlorhexidine spray (called Fight Back)

If you have any more questions about SCC or this blog post please do not hesitate to ask!! I want to be able to clear up any questions or concerns you may have!!

This is my boy, Reckless, he is a 9 month old Blue Heeler crossed with Border Collie.
When it snows this is his get away spot. You can either find him laying here or going crazy in the snow!
This little shed is where we get the high moisture corn to put into the cows feed.

~The Barn Window

Traded in my Dairy Hat for a Chicken Hat!

I traded in my Dairy Hat for a Chicken Hat!!.... I know your probably thinking, "What in the world is this girl talking about!"

Well hold on there Sally let me tell ya...

So, before I started working for my Grandfather as his herds-woman I lived with my parents on their 134 acre farm. We started out with about 50 chickens in our back yard collecting eggs everyday and somehow it has expanded to roughly about... let's say anywhere between 86,000 to 100,000 chickens in our back yard. I bet your eyes just got huge and you had to reread  that last sentence... It still boggles my mind knowing where we started and how far we have come now.

Before I get into the life of a chicken farmer and what I did this past week, I should probably explain how we got so big from just starting out with 50!!!

My step-dad is the kind of guy who researches everything before just jumping into it! Smart guy status right there!! So the 50 chickens was just a way for us to have fresh eggs everyday and one of the first additions to our new farming lifestyle, that didn't call for a lot of labor!!

FLASHBACK*** I can remember getting those chickens for the first time. Us kids who were probably 14, 12, and 10 fought over who was going to check on the chickens to see when they were going to lay their first egg. It seemed like years and years went by until one finally laid an egg! I believe it was my sister who found the first one and she was so ecstatic and could barely talk when she was trying to tell us about the egg and if I can remember correctly it didn't last long until we cooked it up to try our first farm fresh egg!!. We have never seen a fresh egg, let alone never quite understood where it actually came from until having those chickens on the farm. Then there was that brown egg... wow!!! Wait!! What!!??? Brown??!!! Yeah BROWN! Our eggs back in the city were always white!! How in the world did this chicken lay a brown one! We thought it was bad or something and then learned to realize that some of the chickens we had laid brown eggs and they were the same as the white eggs just the shell was a different color. Those days were so fun learning about what the chickens ate and watching how goofy they were. How they ate pebbles and we didn't understand, or why the rooster always chased us, or why the chickens dug in the dirt. Oh those were the fun days learning about those chickens and what it took to make an egg for our selves***

....now we are growing meat for the world!

My step-dad is a  retired police officer who has lived in the city for his whole life until about the age of 40! So he had to learn a lot before he decided what he wanted to do with his 134 acre farm. (He still can't believe he's a farmer now... even 10 years after the big ole move he still is in denial he's a farmer) We started off with turkey's and now we are at chickens... He has became a chicken expert in his short 7 or so years raising them... He may be stubborn and not want to admit it but he does know a thing or two about chickens and he may not admit this either but I think he loves them!!

So you asked... how do I know? Well he calls them his girls and talks to them when hes in the barns, just like I talk to my cows when I'm working with them. sometimes he even signs and dances for them! He doesn't even do that for mom!!! I caught him one tie jamming out to Dancing Queen! He had headphones in and he was singing at the top of his lungs and dancing as he was walking up and down the rows!! Funniest thing ever.. I wish I still had the video :)

So back to my chicken hat!! My brother went to Texas for 2 weeks to take care of a whole herd of bucking bulls for some friends of his and since he was gone I was the runner up for Chicken duty.

Being a chicken farmer is not complete rocket science but it sure does require a shower immediately after!! Some people may argue and some may agree but I would choose cow manure any day over chicken manure! JUST SAYING!!!

So everyday is kinda the same starting off with a walk through and checking water pressure, making sure feed is working properly, checking barn temperatures, and ventilation. Every once in a while you'll encounter a feed spill, which is a mountain high pile of their feed! The chickens don't mind the spill they actually love it and roll in it, climb it, play in it, eat it and just plain out make a huge mess of it!! But, that just causes a headache in the chicken farmers book.

The chicken houses are 708 feet long by about 63 or 68 feet wide and we have two of them working on getting a third one built, yikes I can't remember how wide they are so don't quote me! That's the length of almost two and a half football fields!! I sure get my workout in walking back and forth every aisle and sweating in the dead of cold because of how warm it is in their. During the walk-throughs we pick up any birds that may have died over night, keep our ears alert and eyes open for any thing that may seem off. With 46,000 chickens to one house any farmer is bound to have a couple chickens die everyday due to natural selection/causes and it is our job to pick them up so other chickens don't get the same problems they may have had.

These chickens live in absolute paradise!! They are about 27 days old right now; they have an unlimited supply of food and water, they live in a constant environment temperature of about 78 degrees (That is warmer then my house!!!), they have all 708 feet to roam freely!!  They are absolutely pampered...

These chickens are Free-Range Organic broiler chickens through Coleman Natural with Purdue... Let me break that down. Alright, so Free-Range jut means when the weather outside is nice and warm enough they get the luxury/opportunity to go outside and play in the luscious green grass in their own little fenced in pasture!! Yes, they have this luxury but nope, our birds seem to rather stay inside then go outside. I mean who doesn't blame them when they have unlimited food and water and a controlled temperature and toys!!! Oh yeah I forgot to mention our chickens get toys to play with and jump on! We have active chickens :) Organic means our chickens eat only organic corn, and broiler meas they are meat birds not birds used for laying eggs.

Here are some pictures for you that allow you to step inside our Chicken Houses without needing a shower immediately after exiting! I hope you enjoy :)

For the most part the chickens like us...
I wasn't to thrilled because their wings hurt
if they try flying away. Did you know
chickens can't really fly. They can kind
 of soar/glide a couple feet or fly up
outta harms way but they can't fly distantly. 

     

If you look closely there is a wooden
square, this is one of the toys
the chickens are exposed to.
This allows the chickens to jump on
 the ledge and down into the box.
It keeps them more active. 

This picture is showing how the Chickens
 get water. They have water lines with little knobs
that hang down and the chickens peck
at them and water falls out.

This is my Step-Dad, Greg, fixing the water pressure.

Just a view of the lovely ladies in their house.

This is how their house stays a constant warm
temperature. There are about 30+ of these
 heaters along with other space heaters
 throughout the house.

Here's a short video clip of the chicken house. 

This gal right here doesn't look
the prettiest. None of them do right now.
They all are going through that stage in
 life where they are loosing their
baby fuzz and growing real feathers!

Though I traded in my dairy hat for a chicken hat for 2 weeks... at the end of the day I am always thankful and looking forward to putting my dairy hat back on and working with my girls!! 

~The Barn Winow

Winter obstacles

Winter obstacles... not the fun ones... the ones that come from below freezing temperatures... it's that time of year for Alta Vista Farms!!

The amount of work on a farm may decrease some compared to planting and harvest seasons but when things start to become affected by the challenging temperatures the work picks up again... dramatically; leaving me little to know time to blog... oooopppsss!!!

Hhmm where do I start with our challenges on the farm this past week... let's see everyday for the past five days the negative wind chills have caused the manure in the barn to freeze not allowing the automatic manure scrapper to work properly. We have an automatic manure scrapper in the barn that runs every hour, moving at a very very slow pace pushing the manure into slats at the end of the barn and into a holding tank. This manure scrapper has a sensor on it that if a cow accidently falls or doesn't feel like moving the scrapper will shut down and stop moving so it doesn't harm the animal.... so when the manure freezes it is solid enough that it triggers the scrapper to stop moving and it is unable to keep scrapping before all the manure in the barn freezes. This causes a huge mess and we have to get the tractor in to scrape out the manure and then use hand manure scrappers to get the frozen manure away from the scrapper so it can start working again.




Frozen manure causing the manure scrapper
not to work properly.



It's getting there. The tractor is hard at work pushing manure into the pit to clear up the alley.

We love this automatic manure scrapper (it's about 5 years old now... whooo weee what a great investment) it is just another cow comfort practice we take on the farm. The less manure they have to walk through the cleaner they stay and the healthier their hooves are. With cows weighing an average of 1,600 pounds it is very important for their hooves to stay strong and healthy to live a longer, healthier and productive life.

Just another pit stop....We fixed the windows in the heifer barn before this winter in hopes it would help stop the waters from freezing. It worked for all the waterers except one. Go figure... there would be atleast one that has to freeze every night. I had weaned two calves off of milk and they don't drink as much water yet as the older heifers and that's what causes the water to freeze. So everyday, I have to carry two buckets of warm water to the heifer barn and break ice! Yup, I used my hand to break the ice and then clear the ice out... whooo buddy!! I couldn't feel my hand.

With frozen hands I then had to move back the neck bar in the stalls. This neck bar stops the cows from going to far into their stall and peeing and pooping in their stalls. With the weather being so fridgged the manure freezes on the stalls and makes it very uncomfortable for the cows to step up into the stalls and lay down. So with moving this bar back it keeps the cows from moving up too far and expelling waste in the stall they now expel it into the alley.

Have you ever tried working with tools and metal when its below zero? I don't advise you to start now I honestly couldn't move my fingers anymore they were so cold. My boyfriend on the other hand didn't seem to mind it but all he kept saying was we were getting closer to getting some Hot Chocolate!! Thanks for the positive reinforcement hun!!

My boyfriend, Ethan, hammering away (without gloves!!).



Tightening up the nuts to tighten down the neck bar... 

Fun stuff happened in this ice storm this morning. The ice caused five, that's right five, different power failures in the parlor today. The lights would flicker and the milkers would fall off the cows because somewhere the ice was messing with the electric lines causing power failures. It took us an extra 45 minutes to get milking done and an extra 15 minutes to feed calves and cows. The high moisture corn silo broke this morning as well unable to get corn out to feed the cows. We had to shovel corn out of the silo until we were able to get the right amount for the TMR. TMR stands for Total Mixed Ration. Which is a recipe for the cows. Ours consists of vitamins and minerals, soybeans, corn silage, high moisture corn and haylage. Corn silage is when we chop up the whole corn stalk and put it into a silo and feed the cows throughout the year. Haylage is chopped up hay that is put in a silo (on our farm anyways) and it ferments and is fed to the cows as well.

With temperatures warming up but the ground still frozen the rain/ice storm caused a big thick sheet of ice across the driveway and grass. My grandfather told me to get my ice skates ready because I was going to need them. Oh he was right because I couldn't take two steps without sliding and slipping all over trying not to spill milk all over. I walked back into the milk house and my grandfather says glad to see your still vertical! HAHA never heard that one before :)

Obstacles like these keep us farmer's on our toes and keeps things interesting around the farm. Like I have said before it doesn't matter what kind of weather is outside we are always working for our girls to keep the healthy and comfortable. I personally enjoy these unexpected obstacles and challenges that arise because there is never a day that goes by that was exactly like the last.


~The Barn Window



Just when you thought they were all farmers...

Today I got the opportunity to head back to the Keystone Farm Show. Before your like... "another date?!" No, I wasn't there on another date! This time I was there for business...

I got to spend the day working a booth for a gentleman who I met as Dairy Princess. I talked to dairy farmers and gave them my sales pitch on the product, Fight Back,  that I was promoting and selling. Fight Back is a chlorhexidine  based product that is used to clean the cows teat after she is done milking. Chlorhexidine is a compound that is used in hospitals to clean medical equipment and also used on babies naval's when born. If it's safe and productive for babies it's safe and productive for cows! This product sprays onto the end of the teat blowing away the milk droplet allowing the teat canal to be open for it to absorb to disinfect the teat.

This was the booth I was working today.

This product is also great to use on calves navels as well... it will kill any bacteria the calf may have came in contact with when he/she was born and will disinfect the naval closing and drying it up faster not allowing for different organisms from nature to enter the immune system. The neonatal calf has a very very weak immune system and is extremely prone to disease; that is why we take such precautions when calves are born to get them started off on the right track. One of the many options for cow care.

Any who more about my day... I did what I do best and talked to many people throughout the day. I talked with one couple who will be starting to milk cows in the next two months. They were a whoot to talk with. The husband dropped the F bomb in the most politest ways possible.... if that's even possible! They were going on about how excited they were and wished they started tomorrow and that they are going to start using this product. So... point for me!! ( I sold some product!)

But I think the highlight of my day; when I for sure thought I was only talking to farmers or was only going to encounter farmers throughout my day, was when I meg just the opposite.

I asked this gentleman, who was watching our video on the product, how many cows he milks. And he says, "ma'am, I've never seen a cow until about two months ago."

Not really knowing what to say, "hey well at least you can check that off your bucket list!"

"Ain't that the truth. I am 47 and have lived in New York City my whole life. My friends convinced me to move to Pennsylvania and they drug me along to this. They said you'll never believe what you'll see you gotta come."

We went on talking for a while and he was asking about the product and I told him how when after the cow is milked there is a milk droplet that hangs around onto the end of her teat and just like any other type of wet warm and moist area it is the perfect environment for bacteria to go. And bacteria that would grow causes a cow to get sick and her milk to go bad. He said that that totally made sense. And I went on and said with this product it blows the milk away and then kills any bacteria that may be hanging around the canal keeping the cow and milk healthy.

He was in awe and was asking me so many questions and I was having the time of my life just being able to answer them and then hear his responses. He was absolutely thrilled to learn.  He told me how some of the tractors he saw were bigger than his apartment and that by the looks of it animals live more luxurious then people. He said, "I mean come on water beds for cows?! Misters for pigs, back scratchers, heated housing for calves! I would trade in my shoe box apartment for all that! I had no idea there was all this stuff for farm animals. These animals live better then most people on this planet."

We probably talked for an hour about agriculture. And he told me how he was learning so much today. And how he wasn't going to come but glad he did. "My friends told me I wouldn't last but I'm learning about a whole different world."

And to think I would be able to share my story and educate someone at the "FARMERS" farm show! I was honored to have bumped into this gentleman he made my day that much more of a success. Any chance you get smile, be friendly, open minded, and share your story. Because you never know who'll you'll run into.

It's a double date day!!

The sun was starting to rise and the snow was falling just perfectly onto the faces of my precious little girls... All they had sticking out of their hutches was their heads calling for me to feed them. There is just something about the way calves and cows look in the snow. It is one, if not the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. 

The girls heading back to the barn after being milked.
Aren't they so pretty in the snow?

I was looking forward to yesterday because my boyfriend and I were going on a double date with my Grandparents! Can you guess where we were going? The Keystone Farm Show!! It's a farm show for FARMERS :)

...Doesn't sound much like a date I know I know!...

But before we could set sail we had to milk and do morning the chores and it took much longer than usual with a heifer calving, three calves drinking from bottles and my stubborn heifer calves not wanting to drink.

This snowy weather has the baby girls all sorts of outta whack. They were confused because they never saw snow before. They didn't want to come out of their hutches... I mean heck, I wouldn't want to either knowing how warm they are! They were adorable though, all I could do was just stare and smile in awe. The way they stepped one foot out of the hutch and when they stepped on the snow they quickly brought it back in the hutch. They did this a couple more times before they realized the snow wasn't going to bite them anymore then a little chill. 

One of my calves, "Star" who is about 2 weeks old, she was not wanting to eat yesterday morning. She wouldn't come out of her hutch either. I was coaching her along and calling to her... "Come here Star. Come on baby!" and she eventually came out but wouldn't drink. This calf drinks from a nipple bucket, which is a normal bucket that has a calf bottle nipple on the side of if. Some calves are slower learners than others and some are just really picky. But with it being this cold out I make sure that no matter how long it takes the calves to drink they drink all of their milk. Their milk provides them with the proper amount of nutrients and protein to create more energy which converts into heat during the winter. 

I had to help her drink along with another. It was so cold; the wind and snow hitting the only bare skin showing, my face. And when you wear glasses the snow sticks to them and makes it hard to see... I think I need to invest in some wipers!

This is Star and her nipple bucket. If I wasn't holding my
hand under her chin she would not drink for some reason.

But knowing that their bellies are full with warm and delicious milk makes the longer hours in the snow all worth it. And having a beautiful and healthy heifer calf born yesterday morning as well topped the morning off to our adventurous double date day! Coming in from the cold into our warm milk house my glasses fogged up and my grandpa said you need some defrosters on those things! So it looks like I'll be investing in some one of a kind glasses for the winter!

So all chores are done and babies tucked away in their hutches, our bellies are full and we are bundle up to set sail for our double date to the Farm Show!!!! This Farm Show is a vendors show that exhibits over 600 Agricultural businesses from, calf care, feed, cow comfort, animal housing, crop insurance (That's right insurance for our crops. Many farmers rely on their crops to feed their animals or sell for a living. If mother nature decides to make the seasons tough on the crops damaging the yields, then we could be helped by an insurance company). Pretty neat I thought because I thought their was only insurance on cars and houses and health.. but there's insurance on EVERYTHING!

Just a sneak peak of all the pamphlets and information I got yesterday!
Reading material for days!!

We went into the first building of 8 and you wouldn't even believe how long it took us to get through that building. It took us about 3.5 hours! We cannot take my grandfather any where with out him knowing someone and talking and if he does't know them before he starts talking he'll make sure they know one another by the time they are finished. He's a man who's involved in everything... Farm bureau, farmer's forum, conservation district, milk co-op board, Ag business council and much more! So yeah he's bound to know someone! And you know that saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? Well someone in our little date group of four was just as bad... Yeah just as bad!! I'm not sure if I should admit it but it was me. I must have inherited his talking genes because I couldn't walk by a booth either with out knowing someone or meeting someone new... it made the trip very enjoyable though!

My goal yesterday was to hit up as many calf nutrition and care booths as possible to gather information on different products that I could potentially use to provide my girls with the best nutrients and probiotics possible for a healthy life. I talked to many nutritionists, vets, and calf specialists about their products and lets just say I have a lot of studying to do now! 

We spent about five hours at the show and had to cut it short because we had to make it back in time to milk and feed calves! We don't get to go on many dates as farmer's but when we do get away from the farm and spend time with our better halves; whether it's dinner or a movie or most of the time related to work... yup it's a date!! My dates usually consist of spending alone time with my boyfriend as we ultrasound cows, breed cows, and do other farm work together, The time spent together is cherished, it may not be the typical date but it's the perfect date in our books!

~The Barn Window

Nothing like a nice "cold sweat"

BBBBRRRRRR!!!!! The wind today was B-it-ter!

Rewind to 10 years ago... same time of of year and same weather... gusty and cold! Just picture me, a 13 year old who complained about the cold, sitting in front of the wood stove, eating grilled cheese and tomato soup (perfect winter time food!), snuggled up in pajama fleece pants and a blankie. .. oh yeah don't forget the hot chocolate and marshmallows. I would not go out side to play unless there was lots of snow... but probably not even then.

Now fast forward 10 years to present day, TODAY...

I was excited to go outside to take on today's task.... cleaning calf hutches, bedding down calf pens and Calf-tel hutches, and moving around heifer calves. I knew that these next few days are going to be rough weather for the calves. Us farmers take pride in the way our calves look, we care about how warm they are staying and how healthy they are because our care towards them today reflects on their health, performance, longevity,  and strength in the future when it becomes breeding time and then time for them to produce milk for the community.

**** Calf-tel is the brand of hutches we use :)

So first, I took on the challenge of emptying an old metal wheel barrow that had been sitting out in the rain for the past couple months and had a flat tire... Did I mention it was still full and had a flat tire?! I bet you can only imagine how heavy and hard that was to push through a very, I mean very saturated ground. Oh my... I'm sure I gained about 5 pounds in muscle just trying to pushing that wheel barrow just to empty that first load.... that's not even counting the 25 other loads I had. Yes, I have a skid steer but the rain made the ground too soft the tires just spun and tore the grass up so that didn't long last. At least I got my workout in! We can always find a positive...

This calf hutch is so warm!!!
 Even I would take a nap in it!
Clean, fresh and warm straw for my babies!!

Usually we don't clean out the hutches every time we move a calf out, we do however let the previous bedding dry in the sun and add fresh thick bedding on top and it's good as new :) But, this winter I am doing everything I can to fight the winter bugs and that means cleaning out the bedding pack of three hutches that I took calves out of today. (I'll do the other seven hutches when those calves are old enough to move to the heifer barn... our calves are in hutch and drinking milk until about two months of age or a month and 3/4 ' s and eating grain on the daily).

Though it was freezing and brutally windy this girl broke out into, what I like to call a "COLD SWEAT!" My boyfriend never understands what I mean when I say that.

He's always like, "Toots, how can you have a cold sweat? If your sweating then you're hot, not cold!"

Welp, I gotta tell ya... a cold sweat happens quite often when your busting your booty outside in the cold! Pitch forking heavy packed bedding and pushing a heavy wheel barrow with pretty much no tire, if that doesn't make you break a sweat I don't know what will!!

And let me tell you a guilty pleasure of mine!!... I love "cold sweats"!!! Actually I just like to sweat in general (when I'm working that is) it makes me feel like I'm making some progress and actually working hard which happens often and I most certainly did today.

Even walking the calves on a halter made me break out into a "cold sweat"! The calves aren't used to something around their head/face let alone a rope halter and they aren't quite sure how to react to it. Some tend to play dead and fall over, some just go backwards, others plant their feet and won't move at all and my favorite... they run, kick and have fun with this strange thing on them! The halter doesn't hurt them it is like a collar and leash for a dog but the calf ' s halter goes around the nose and behind the ears of the calf rather than around its neck.

I had a blast today teaching six calves to get used to the rope halter. Some were a success and others not so much, some took me for a ride and some took a spill in the grass... no worries they didn't get hurt they got back up shook off and started running around the yard as they pulled me behind, kicking and jumping everywhere!! That's a happy and healthy calf right there, if I do say so myself!

 

This is a video of my Heifer calf, Butch. She is an example of a calf that 

takes you for a ride and runs and kicks... She loves it!!! She was a very 

stocky beefy like calf when she was born and "butch" came to mind 

when I named her. It's straight from the heart no worries!!! 

                                

 And this tiny thing is "Tink," she is one who hates the feeling of the 

halter she acts like it's throwing her all over the place... or she's drunk!!

 There's slack in the rope but yet she acts like this... she's a cutie. 

                                 

And here's "Ginger"!! Stubborn and hard headed calf she is!

 She wanted to plant her feet and walk backwards the whole time.

 She found the saturated hill though and took a little ride. Isn't she adorable though?!

~The Barn Window

Not the New Year's Resolution your thinking!

This time of year is filled with lots of what?.... RESOLUTIONS!! and guess what approximately only 10% of them last all year. So who's in it with me to increase that statistic because I think we should prove it wrong!! 

Normally I won;t make one because I know I am not a part of that 10%!

So let's take a second to think of all the New Year's Resolutions that people make... Are you thinking?! Good... So what did you come up with? I bet you can't guess mine!! And if you do just pat yourself on the back for me :)

I would bet anything that you instantly thought of, "To loose weight and workout". 
Because that would be my first guess for anyone who would ask me if I knew what theirs was. Though it wouldn't hurt me to shed a few pounds, that's not mine!

Hhhmmm what else?

Quit smoking... nope don't smoke
Make money... nah, I mean I could use a little extra but it doesn't create happiness in my books.
Get a better job... heck nooo!! I LOVE my job. I don't even consider it a job that's how much I love it.
Take a trip... Yeah I'd love to visit New Zealand but that's not happening this year so I checked that off the list

Alright I'll stop listing resolutions and just tell ya mine!

Are you ready for it?!

!!!!!GO TO CHURCH MORE OFTEN!!!!!

What a perfect resolution I thought... I mean I have gone to church in the past but it seemed like only in spurts. Go for a couple weeks take a couple months off and then repeat but I want to defeat my goal and do this for myself and become closer to God. 

My grandparents never miss church, unless they are sick, and I idolize that!! They are just the cutest. Sorry I have to share a little dialoge story with you that happened this am between them. (Thank goodness they aren't from the technology age!)

Setting the scene.. We are sitting at the table eating our cereal.

Mommom, "OOOHHH, Harry!! It's communion at church today."
Poppop, "No Beth that's next week."
M, "No it's today!!!!!!"

(When my Grandmother talks she yells, that's why I have a lot of !!!!)
P, "Oh well I guess your right. I get to wear my suite today!"
M, "Oh how I love that bread they give us, but I wish it wasn't such a small piece."
P, "I just wished they'd give the juice with the bread, it makes my mouth so dry."
M, "Oh well"
M, "How much you want to bet they will have us sing 'Three Kings'!!!!"
P, "Yeah there's no doubt!"

Guess what?! We didn't sing 'Three Kings'!! Oh they were too cute you had to be there!

So like I mentioned Communion was today... the first Sunday after New Year's how perfect was that? It was a great service, though we fist bumped, blew kisses, winked, and waved to one another instead of greeting each other with a handshake!! That darn flu bug is all around our area and this was our way of saying "Hi" this morning, It was fairly entertaining because no one knew what the other was going to do!

It may be a Sunday but some farmers (farmers with animals (: ) still have to farm! Well I still have to milk twice a day, 5am and 3:30pm. Just because it's Sunday doesn't mean the cows are off for the day and not milking today so they can attend church too.

I'll let you in on a little something... Most of us farmers no matter the type, follow the Sunday is a Day of Rest rule. It's not really a rule just a way we are all brought about. It's a day for church. to praise God, a day to spend with family, a day to just relax and give back. In this farmhouse we tend to watch a lot of American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Law and Order, and oh yeah every time available for the News, that pretty much ummed up a LAZY day. My church is very small and I am about 99.72% that everyone in our church is or was a farmer. You won't see tractors in the fields (yeah after this down pour last night I would hope not they would be making some big ole ruts!) today!

So, every Sunday unless I'm sick I will be attending church! But don't forget before church, us Dairy Farmers aren't sleeping in we still have to milk the ladies. We milk about 60 cows right now, I feed milk to about 15 heifer calves and 2 bull calves under the age on two months, feed grain and hay to about 27 heifers ranging between the ages of 3 months and 15 months. feed silage to about 15 bred heifers and 8 Dry Cows. (There's that word again, Dry Cow, do you remember what that is... oh I hope so... or I should just delete my blog!!!)

So a heifer is a female cow that has not yet had a calf.
A bred heifer is a pregnant heifer.

Hey those two words may be foreign to you and that is okay!! I know about 8 years ago I would have made a funny face while reading that and I would be scratching my head as I tried to understand! I get it!!

So what's your New Year's Resolution?!?

~The Barn Window

Sleeping in... what's that??

Saturday mornings for most people are exciting because we get to sleep in just a tad bit... or if your like my mom a few hours is a tad bit! I know your reading this mom... you deserve to sleep in, love you :)

But not for me... I wake up every morning, whether it be below zero, snowing, raining or what ever mother nature decides to bring that morning, at 5am. Luckily for our farm 5am isn't all that early to start milking but about six months ago I was that person who slept in until about 9am every morning if I didn't have to wake up for anything and I am still adjusting to 5am! When I was in college I did however have a part time job milking cow and I was the lucky one milking on Tuesday or Friday mornings at 2:30am let's just say I pulled many all nighters when I had to milk!

Usually, I will take a cat nap for about 30 minutes sometimes an hour, after breakfast but not this morning and I was so looking forward to a nap too because my lack of patience and excitement of my new blog got the best of me last night and I didn't go to bed until about midnight! oh well you can sleep when your dead, right? 

One of our Dry Cows was missing during feeding time this morning and come to find out that she was hiding under the barn because she just calved, even though she wasn't due for another couple weeks! Oh before I keep rambling on a Dry Cow is a cow who usually stops milking 2 months prior to calving so she can conserve energy, relax and build up a nutrient and antibody packed Colostrum. That's a strange word isn't it? I had no idea what that meant until I went to college and sat in Animal Science 101, BEST CLASS EVER!!! Colostrum is the absolute first milk the mother (of any mammal) produces and is filled with essential antibodies and nutrients to get newborns started off on the right track. 

So like I said, my cat nap didn't happen this morning because a cow had just calved. I always get way overly excited when calves arrive... I want to know the gender, their markings so I can come up with a name, how spunky they are, and determine just how recent they were brought to the farm and most importantly I want to make sure that this new baby gets the best jump start possible. If that doesn't scream I care then I don't know what does :)

At the breakfast table I can look to my left and see right out into our Dry Cow pasture, which is perfect so I can see what is going on. 

And this morning I said to my grandfather... "I'm not sure if that's a rock or a new addition." 

Grandpa, "Then go get the binoculars and check it out."

I go get the binoculars and look through them but I always have the worst luck getting them to work, I always see double.. not sure if its because I have four eyes (glasses) or if the binoculars are just smarter than me!

Me, "I see two calves! Oh my twins again!! Just kidding I can't get these things to focus, you try."

Grandpa, "Yup that's a calf alright! hhhmmm I knew someone was looking a little bagged up but I didn't think she was that close. I guess we will have to go out later and bring them in."

So, when I usually go up to my room after breakfast, I shut my curtains so it's dark, set my alarm so I don't sleep until supper time, and turn on that heated blanket... Man that sounds so nice right about now! but today Right after breakfast I put back on my three sweatshirts, bibs, and winter hat and got my neonatal protocol items such as a new calf blanket, a shot of vitamin B, and a First Defense bolus. 

The white thing with the blue pill is the First Defense Bolus. (The white thing is called a pill gun and you gently put that into the calf's mouth and push in the little handle and the pill gets pushed out and lays on the back of the calf's tongue causing him to swallow the medicine) he calf jacket is maroon and the shot is his Vitamin B :)

Tried not to break an ankle as I walked through the frozen pasture. If you have never been in a cow pasture in the winter time it is challenging to walk through to say the least. The cows seemed not to mind it but if I'm not looking at the ground when I step I would most likely be face first in no time. That actually happens quite often in the summer time near the swampy parts of the field where the swamp tries eating my boots!! Grandpa always gets a laugh!

Back to this calf that was just born... I gave him a shot of Vitamin B which helps with appetite, the First Defense Bolus which is a calf pill that will help fight off bad bugs and help prevent certain sicknesses, just makes the calf's immune systems stronger faster. Just like when we are babies and need some boosters to help us, calves need more because their mothers placenta is so thick that it is almost impossible for the mother to transfer antibodies and white blood cells to the calf via the umbilical cord so that's why colostrum and calf protocols are essential for any neonatal calf!!

Since I was already outside this am I decided to put the calf blankets on all my calves that are on milk. I have about 15 calves on milk for our size dairy that's an awful lot but you won't hear me complain... I LOVE IT!! Yesterday, I bought calf jackets and I am super excited about them! It may not seem too exciting to some because I know if you asked me 10 years ago even 6 years ago I would not care nor would I know why they needed them, it's an animal.

 I care about my calves so much and I know how important their health and comfort is to our farm in the present and future that I keep their hutches packed with straw for a warm bedding and this am I gave them a late Christmas present which was a calf jacket! I think they look rather spiffy and I believe they like them already because they were running in and out of their hutches and kicking their legs to the side right after I put the jackets on. Too Cute!! Shoulda took a video but I was lost in the moment :)

New Calf Jackets on all my girls!!

Here he is... looking all handsome in his new maroon jacket :) Them ears though!!!!
 He needs a name, any suggestions?

My early bull calf definitely received lots of loving this morning... he's lucky I care more about him and his future than my beauty sleep!!

~The Barn Window

Before... looking through The Barn Window

Before I get started with my sole purpose of this blog, The Barn Window, I feel it's necessary to share my background with you. (This will probably be my longest one so bare with me (: )

Don't look through that barn window just yet... you'll understand shortly.

My name is Gabrielle and I am a 23 year old Farmer's Granddaughter. That's right "Granddaughter" not "Daughter". My pops is a plumber in the big ole city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! My parents split when I was 6 but life is great, both sets of parents get along, step-parents are more than I could ever ask for, and my half siblings... well they are almost 12 and 14 so I'm sure you get that picture and my full siblings our bond gets stronger as the years go by.

I was born and raised on the outskirts of Philadelphia and knew slim to nothing about agriculture and where my food came from. I knew mom went to the grocery store once a week and brought home food, so needless to say I didn't know if machines made it all or heck maybe elves or something made all the food behind those doors we weren't allowed though in those bog ole grocery stores. Who knows nor did I even care at the time. I wasn't thankful for the hands who grew my food and I was ignorant about agriculture. I didn't think it pertained to me but I soon came to realization that it pertained to me more than anything else in this world. 

At the age of 13 and with no say on this life changing event, my mother and step-dad sat us three kids down and told us we were moving to the country. Silence for a few moments then the questions started rolling!! They had this look in their face that something wasn't right and that sparkle in the eye from a few tears not from being happy. They told us that our Grandparent's needed all of our support on the farm to help lift them up through this very difficult chapter in their lives. I honestly had know idea what to think or say I was dumbfounded (I didn't know that word then).

My Grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer and that was my mother's calling to head back to the farm life after 20 plus years in the city. I was not happy at all about this transition I quit the swim team, I was scared I wouldn't make any friends because I was a city girl showing up to this little school surrounded by nothing but fields. The first couple years were rough but I was old enough to suck it up and help my grandparents on their Dairy Farm. I learned to milk cows, feed calves, I learned what responsibility and a good work ethic was but most importantly that's when I started realizing that those beautiful gentle cows and that hardworking and dedicated farmer I called Poppop they.... THEY were and ARE the reason I was able to have ice cream before bed, milk in my cereal before school and a cheese stick as an after school snack. I had no idea there was that much time, money, sweat, and tears put into just one glass of milk. 

With the move, my grandparent's were able to have my mother and stepfather's support and help from the whole family to guide them through this rough time in their lives. I am very thankful, everyday, to say that she is now cancer free but there's always that fear of it coming back. 

Like I mentioned earlier I am 23, so 10 years has gone by since I became a country girl and so many events have led up to me creating his blog.
Such events include....
My grandfather being my inspiration and role model
Joining the Dairy Princess Court
Becoming The Pennsylvania Dairy Princess
Traveling the states to tour different commodities in AG
Attending Delaware Valley College 
Attending numerous conferences and seminars
Understanding how misconceptions erupt
Knowing and being on both sides of that table
...And much more...

I graduated from college in May of 2014 with a BA in (are you ready for it the tittle is looong!!!) Animal Science specializing in Livestock Sciences and Management and minoring in Dairy Science (whooo don't try saying that in all one breath) and I have grown to love (and when I mean love I mean favorite animal is a cow, I have lots of stuffed cows, cow blankets, cow coffee mugs, pictures, necklaces, earrings, I collect milk bottles and butter churns... OKAY you get the picture) and have so much passion for dairy cows and the industry that in June 2014 I became a full time Dairy Farmer working for my Grandfather as his Herds-woman/manager. And I absolutely love it this was my calling :)

This blog, "The Barn Window", will be about my life on the farm, from my eyes to your ears. I know what the disconnect feels like I was once in many people's shoes and now I know the truth and I want to be able to share it with you. Just thinking about what I just typed gives me goose bumps because that's just how much I care about you all knowing the truth and nothing but! I love educating the community, I love sharing facts and talking about what us farmers do and I really hope you enjoy and and share what you hear and see through THE BARN WINDOW. 

Enjoy and God Bless <3
~The Barn Window