News
Staff Member
The beginning of a new year brings much promise and uncertainty to many, maybe all, farmers world wide. We continue our daily routine regardless of weather, though it may slow us down a bit. Here in Northeast Ohio it is not uncommon for the temperature to drop or rise drastically in a day. It is also not uncommon to "see all four seasons" in a day. Whether it be rain and wind, extreme cold, or an unforgiving blizzard. We are with out a doubt stuck in winter until late March with the always present possibility of a late cold snap and blizzard in April. The tedious routine of wearing layers upon layers of clothes to keep yourself warm while you toil about doing your daily chores on the farm, is the first step of becoming well accustomed to winter in a place that seems fit to make your seemingly easy tasks more difficult. Then once you are properly bundled up, you must force yourself out the door into either a foot of snow and more coming or wind chills in the -20's F, lower temps are not rare, but not typical. So go forth towards the milking parlor for the true beginning of the day. Don't forget your coffee.
The second task to be accustomed to is making sure you have heat. No, not in the house, but in the parlor and calf barn. One of the most dreaded difficulties is the frozen water pipes. Checking the furnace and water heater in the back room of the milking parlor. As well as checking the gas pressure of the well, has become an art form and a winter time hobby of my father (he now checks the furnace in the garage regularly too). We have a gas well on the property and a main line at the front of the road hooked up to the farm, so switching the gas is of regular daily basis, depending the temperature of the day and what will be at night. There is nothing like a cold milking parlor in the morning to question your livelihood and sanity. The milk hoses get a nice stiffness to them as you put the unit on the first cows. Eventually the parlor warms up enough to make your decision to be a farmer, once sane again. Having no automatic take off, which would be a welcomed luxury, morning milking goes 6:30-10:30, maybe a little later if we have new heifers to milk or if things are a bit slow. My father and I oversee the care of the cows on the farm. We both milk every morning milking and have two day time milkers and a third shift milker. During milkings my father and I will care for the new born calves and their mother, from the previous night or that morning. We will also primarily treat our cows that may have any infections in the morning, though we will treat them immediately if seen during the day.
During our milking my uncle starts the feeding of the cows and scrapes the barns. My cousin feeds and hays the little and big heifer barns with a separate TMR mixer. Most of our employees come in about the same time, ranging from 7-8 with the exception of our calf feeder who comes in at 9. The feed guy mixes batches of TMR for the post calving, older lactation, pre lactation, and dry herds. While the mechanic takes over the barn cleaning and manure hauling duties, three total in the morning. My uncle and cousin oversee the crops of our farm, so they are relieved a little earlier to tend to what needs to be done if we have field work. Though they may have other tasks in the morning such as thawing those dreaded water pipes, hauling grain to the elevator or sand to the farm, repairing any piece of equipment, or even thawing out a piece of equipment. We also separate our steers and cull cows that will be going to auction in the morning, once a month. As well as sort any cows that will be having their hooves trimmed, bred (either on natural heat or the breeding program), or checked for pregnancy. Eventually at the end of the milking everyone tends to congregate up at the parlor to help finish up with milking and cleaning of the parlor. After morning chores are finished we break for breakfast.
After Breakfast we have a various many things to do on different days. Every other Tuesday we have a herd check (pregnancy check). Typically our hoof trimmer comes every month and a half on a Friday, which is an all day task to trim 30 head. Our freestall barns are bedded with sand, which we do on non scheduled days Monday through Friday, so we shovel sand for a few hours in-between morning and afternoon chores. Move cattle, dehorn, and vaccinate. The feed guy tends to the silage bags, his cart, or general repairs to freestalls. The mechanic will be doing various tasks, repairing equipment, working on silo unloaders, etc. The milkers clean the parlor, make minor repairs, set up foot bath, and clean water troughs. Some days there isn't to much to do, so the help can take an early break before chores. When we have crop work to do it's a whole things get put on whole, much like most farms.
After lunch time. We have afternoon chores, which are much like morning chores, but with exceptions. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I milk both day shifts, though I'm always the fill in for whomever calls off sick. The calf feeder's job remains unchanged, except for bedding stalls. The feed guy cleans barns in-between feeding batches. The heifers and steers were fed for the day in the morning. More various tasks are done during this period of 4 hours. Most likely they are dehorning, vaccinating, moving cattle, cleaning, repairing, setting up a silo or any other equipment. Breeding and treating sick cattle is done during milkings, which I and my father tend to. At the end of the third herd of cows to be milked I always find my way in to the parlor and help "finish up". Milking new heifers intimidates the milkers a bit, which I guess is a good reason to keep me around. During these winter months we keep all equipment that we use on a daily basis, in the garage. The 1066 turbo hooked the manure spreader, 706 on the tmr mixer, 450 on the feed cart, big and little skid steers, and the farmall 200 scraper. Packing them in has become an art form as well and they fit splendidly, though it takes a few weeks to air out the place in the spring.
I usually mosey on home around 6:30 and get all cleaned up. Get the fire going. Sit, read, and relax. Till I fall asleep in the chair or on the couch. Winter is time of bitter cold, but it sure is nice to be home at night and relax. For the coming seasons we won't get much rest.
@aggravated farmer has a thread running for suggestions for his blogs and welcomes comments and requests http://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/new-thread-ideas.40162/
The second task to be accustomed to is making sure you have heat. No, not in the house, but in the parlor and calf barn. One of the most dreaded difficulties is the frozen water pipes. Checking the furnace and water heater in the back room of the milking parlor. As well as checking the gas pressure of the well, has become an art form and a winter time hobby of my father (he now checks the furnace in the garage regularly too). We have a gas well on the property and a main line at the front of the road hooked up to the farm, so switching the gas is of regular daily basis, depending the temperature of the day and what will be at night. There is nothing like a cold milking parlor in the morning to question your livelihood and sanity. The milk hoses get a nice stiffness to them as you put the unit on the first cows. Eventually the parlor warms up enough to make your decision to be a farmer, once sane again. Having no automatic take off, which would be a welcomed luxury, morning milking goes 6:30-10:30, maybe a little later if we have new heifers to milk or if things are a bit slow. My father and I oversee the care of the cows on the farm. We both milk every morning milking and have two day time milkers and a third shift milker. During milkings my father and I will care for the new born calves and their mother, from the previous night or that morning. We will also primarily treat our cows that may have any infections in the morning, though we will treat them immediately if seen during the day.
During our milking my uncle starts the feeding of the cows and scrapes the barns. My cousin feeds and hays the little and big heifer barns with a separate TMR mixer. Most of our employees come in about the same time, ranging from 7-8 with the exception of our calf feeder who comes in at 9. The feed guy mixes batches of TMR for the post calving, older lactation, pre lactation, and dry herds. While the mechanic takes over the barn cleaning and manure hauling duties, three total in the morning. My uncle and cousin oversee the crops of our farm, so they are relieved a little earlier to tend to what needs to be done if we have field work. Though they may have other tasks in the morning such as thawing those dreaded water pipes, hauling grain to the elevator or sand to the farm, repairing any piece of equipment, or even thawing out a piece of equipment. We also separate our steers and cull cows that will be going to auction in the morning, once a month. As well as sort any cows that will be having their hooves trimmed, bred (either on natural heat or the breeding program), or checked for pregnancy. Eventually at the end of the milking everyone tends to congregate up at the parlor to help finish up with milking and cleaning of the parlor. After morning chores are finished we break for breakfast.
After Breakfast we have a various many things to do on different days. Every other Tuesday we have a herd check (pregnancy check). Typically our hoof trimmer comes every month and a half on a Friday, which is an all day task to trim 30 head. Our freestall barns are bedded with sand, which we do on non scheduled days Monday through Friday, so we shovel sand for a few hours in-between morning and afternoon chores. Move cattle, dehorn, and vaccinate. The feed guy tends to the silage bags, his cart, or general repairs to freestalls. The mechanic will be doing various tasks, repairing equipment, working on silo unloaders, etc. The milkers clean the parlor, make minor repairs, set up foot bath, and clean water troughs. Some days there isn't to much to do, so the help can take an early break before chores. When we have crop work to do it's a whole things get put on whole, much like most farms.
After lunch time. We have afternoon chores, which are much like morning chores, but with exceptions. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I milk both day shifts, though I'm always the fill in for whomever calls off sick. The calf feeder's job remains unchanged, except for bedding stalls. The feed guy cleans barns in-between feeding batches. The heifers and steers were fed for the day in the morning. More various tasks are done during this period of 4 hours. Most likely they are dehorning, vaccinating, moving cattle, cleaning, repairing, setting up a silo or any other equipment. Breeding and treating sick cattle is done during milkings, which I and my father tend to. At the end of the third herd of cows to be milked I always find my way in to the parlor and help "finish up". Milking new heifers intimidates the milkers a bit, which I guess is a good reason to keep me around. During these winter months we keep all equipment that we use on a daily basis, in the garage. The 1066 turbo hooked the manure spreader, 706 on the tmr mixer, 450 on the feed cart, big and little skid steers, and the farmall 200 scraper. Packing them in has become an art form as well and they fit splendidly, though it takes a few weeks to air out the place in the spring.
I usually mosey on home around 6:30 and get all cleaned up. Get the fire going. Sit, read, and relax. Till I fall asleep in the chair or on the couch. Winter is time of bitter cold, but it sure is nice to be home at night and relax. For the coming seasons we won't get much rest.
@aggravated farmer has a thread running for suggestions for his blogs and welcomes comments and requests http://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/new-thread-ideas.40162/
Last edited:
