MSU extension and vet visit

Kris is on the MSU Extension Advisory Board and after their meeting yesterday everyone came for a farm tour.  Farmers love seeing other farms.  It's just the way it is!  It was nice seeing everyone and talking - and nice doing a tour with Kris.  Questions from farmers are so different than questions from preschoolers ... for example, "What is your philosophy on cow size?"

We had another visit from Lindsey Sanchez, our vet.  (You may remember the surgery post.)  Josh noticed something was wrong with a cow.  We use a stethoscope on cows to listen to their insides - like their rumen.  Kris let me listen to it - it was my first time - and it sounded like far off thunder.  

We thought she might have a displaced abomasum, but Lindsey listened and palpated and diagnosed her with a mummified calf.  The cow gave birth 80 days ago to a live calf, and that calf apparently had a twin that didn't make it.  Her body was trying to absorb it, but she hasn't been able to do it yet.

Lindsey wasn't sure why this put her 'off feed' (that's the term for her not eating enough and not feeling well), but she suggested feeding her a special mix that we have for cows and giving her some medicine.

Again, Lindsey had to do all this with three boys, team members, and me watching.  I should have asked her her philosophy on people watching you at work, taking your picture, and asking a hundred questions the entire time!

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Farm, family, and friends

My Uncle Al, (my dad's brother), and his wife Delia started a dairy farm in New Mexico about 30 years ago.  My cousin Cass, his wife Dorie, and their daughter Mia farm with them.

They came to visit!  We showed them around our farm and then visited some local farms, including Glen and Jill Feldpausch's farm - Rich-Ro.  (The name of their farm comes from combining the first names of the founders, which apparently was popular.  My grandparents named their farm CarDale for Caroline and Dale.  We STILL get mail for CarDale Farms.)

My dad Jack, my Uncle Al, and my cousin Cass.  Wow, I look short.

It's fun giving tours to other dairy farmers, because their questions and interests are so different.  I also like to take pictures of times when the brothers and son all put their hands on their hips simultaneously.

Due to Kris' hand position, you can tell he's not blood related. : ) 

It also gave my dad and Al the opportunity to retell one of their favorite stories - when my dad jumped from one silo to another.  He and Al had judged the distance from the ground, and my dad was sure he could make it.  He did!  And lives to tell the tale.  I haven't told my kids this one ... I don't want them to try it themselves.  (Though really, that is pretty sweet.)

Some tour activity - here's how we push up feed for the cows:

It's a pretty low tech tool - it's a board at an angle.  It works perfectly to drive through quickly and push the feed closer to the cattle.  When they eat, they push it away from them, so this ensures they can easily reach all of it.  We do this at least every two hours during the day.

Three times a week, we scrape out all the sawdust that's currently in the barn.  We then put down lime, which kills bacteria.  After that, we put down new sawdust.  Under the sawdust we have a pad, a mattress, and another mattress pad - but the fresh sawdust provides extra cushion, plus helps keep the cattle dry.

I just asked Kris, "What do you really call the sawdust shooter?"  He said, "Sawdust shooter.  That's what it's named."  Somehow I thought there was a more technical term ... but here it is, shooting the sawdust out!

Then we went to Rich-Ro and talked with Brett, Glen, and Brianne Feldpaush.

Brett

Glen and the lovely Brianne

On their farm, they milk with timers - you can see the 120 in the picture.  When a milker begins prepping a cow, he starts the timer.  It counts up, and when it hits 90, he can return to the first cow and attach the milker.  He also gets back to the first cow before the timer hits 120 seconds.  The timer is there to make the milking process more consistent for the cows, with the ultimate goal of comfort and increased milk production.

They also toured a rotary parlor, which is like a slow merry go round - the cow gets on, gets milked, and walks off.  And of course saw the robot milker, where no human attaches the milker, because the robot does the milking for you.

There are so many ways to milk and increase cow comfort and production.  We're all working on it - all over the country and all over our gene pool.

If you want to know more, you can like my farm page on Facebook, follow @carlashelley on twitter, or get the posts sent to your email by filling out the form on the right. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Farm and off

While I was gone, Kris hosted some people from New Zealand.  They were looking at joining Cooperative Research farms and wanted to know what Michigan dairies are doing.  I was sorry to miss them, but remembered while they were there that I wanted a picture.  I texted Kris and asked him ... then, knowing he wouldn't look at his phone during a tour, I texted Aaron, our nutritionist that brought them.  He does look at his phone!  

Booties?  Check.

We also had some work done on the barn.  Since the cattle are out on pasture or in the barns, we didn't have anywhere to treat them except when they're in the parlor.  (For instance, the other day I watched Kris treat a hoof on a cow while she was standing in a freestall.  It works, but it's not the easiest way.)

So these are called headlocks.  After leaving the parlor, if a cow needs to be 'sorted' into the pen, you just herd her into here.  Kris cited the specific instance that if you need a cow to pee on a stick to check for ketosis, doing it here instead of in the parlor is much easier.  I know what you're thinking - cows are peeing on sticks?  Answer - sometimes, yes.

Last week I also had a Dairy Communicators meeting through our milk co-op, Michigan Milk Producers Association.

Many of us were recognized for various year-milestones of holding the position.  I hit five years (and got a lovely and fitting ice cream scoop) and just was thinking back to when I went to my first meeting.  I had a million questions - how to get into schools, how to get dairy promotional items, etc. Now, just five years later, it's a regular part of the schedule!

Also there were interesting people there ...

Katelyn just graduated college and went back to her family farm.  She said she's most interested in the health aspect of cows, and right now she's working on that ... as well as what her dad doesn't want to do.

Leona Daniels did a great lesson on how best to do a dairy lesson in classrooms and at other events.

And I sat with these friends, who have great farming blogs!  Check them out -

Farm Barbie - Barbara

Messy Kennedy - Ashley

One of my favorite moments of the meeting was when we all got up and introduced ourselves.  A friend at my table stood up and gestured to the newborn she was cradling in her arms under a blanket. She said, "This is Oliver nursing under here, and he's three weeks old."

Is there a more fitting place to introduce yourself while nursing a baby than at a Dairy Communicator meeting?!  Only the Le Leche League.



If you want to know more, you can like my farm page on Facebook, follow @carlashelley on twitter, or get the posts sent to your email by filling out the form on the right. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!