Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

Maybe a light support on the right knee for a while? Just to ease the tension while muscles get back up to norm -- whatever that was.

 

[Mike CHS]

The only lambs we actually wean on the farm now are those that we are keeping but all others are on their moms until the morning they go to the sale. We used to separate the night before but we have done this so often now that we separate and go right to the trailer the morning of the sale.

 

[farmerjan]

Back from getting the heifers from the stockyard and they are unloaded at the barn. He can vaccinate them later, I left the stuff there in the fridge.
Filled the truck up at SS where the cetane is 50...... 3.89 gallon... how does $115 sound???

Took water out to the chickens and feed that I stopped and got out of the feed bin. Let them out even though the wind is blowing. Sun is out but only hit 44 and temps will be dropping again.

Made a sandwich and ate and now will probably go in and see what else I can do in the kitchen. Have to get the bottles ready for tomorrow's morning farm test; and I will probably pack the ones from last night so there aren't both farms to do tomorrow eve.

Thinking about taking out a chicken to cook tomorrow so I have something to eat this week. Also will take out some more beef. Hamburger probably. I have some "manwich" sauce in a can... might be good for a change.

 

[farmerjan]

Wellll... got up at 3:30 and left at 3:45 this morning.. it was 21 on the thermometer but the recording one said it dropped to 19 .... It is 1 p.m., now, I got home a bit ago. It is sunny and not so windy as yesterday so not as cold. Up to 42 and might go a little higher. But the sun is out nice and bright so that is a big mood lifter.

Milk samples in the house to pack later. Ate some eggs for "breakfast" (actually lunch).... and getting ready to go out and do something..... have all the hoses to take off the truck, but a farmer texted me to see if I could test this week, so will leave the long hoses on the truck for him. And of course I have to change the brackets on the meters too....they need to be at the top of the meter for this upcoming farm...Only need 10 for him.

I will go let the chickens out loose for the afternoon. Take another bucket of water out and fill the waterer more. It was about empty yesterday and I cleaned it out and put about 2 gal in it. The greenhouse/shelter keeps it from freezing too much when the nights get cold because it gets warmer during the day and takes awhile to cool down in the night. So if I carry another 2 gal bucket out there then they will be good for a couple days. Since there is rain in the forecast Tuesday aft/eve and into Wed... I will get it filled up so that I won't have to take a bucket of water out in the rain....and the feeder filled and the bucket with extra feed in the shelter with the lid on for whenever I need it. Why carry stuff out in the rain if I can get "prepared" a bit beforehand.
Besides being cold temps, this farm has no heat in the barn and I have been cold all morning...cannot seem to get warmed up. Hate when I am so chilled because of something like the barn not having any heat. The cow's body heat helps, but this farm the doors are constantly opening and shutting; the cows never get the parlor warmed up any.

I am sure I will find lots to do today. Hopefully get a little warmed up so I can go outside and do the hoses off the truck and all that. I need a nap though... I am yawning from getting up so early after only getting about 5 hours sleep....

 

[farmerjan]

Coming up to 8 pm and I am going to quit here in a few minutes. I am just tired.... not enough sleep last night, with getting up so early to go to work.

Didn't get alot done outside as it was still quite cool. But the samples are all packed to go out on the truck to drop off tomorrow on my way.... and talked to DS and he wants me to call the vet tomorrow and see what the weeks' schedule is. He and GF are going to try to get all the cattle moved from the last pasture tomorrow because now they are calling for rain pretty much Tues - Friday.... It will be next to impossible to get in that pasture to get the truck/trailer in and out, if it gets any muddier. Of course the one trailer is not usable right now... he needs to fix something on the neck where the part drops down on to the ball in the bed of the truck. Had to do it on the older trailer last year... although I don't think GF is capable of driving the truck and trailer.... but he is only going to have 1 to use and it is the shorter trailer... I have to go to work. Had all the week to do it when we preg checked the other groups back 10 days ago....

Oh well. But I have a heifer that we are pretty sure aborted and he said she still looks rough and he doesn't think she has cleaned so wants me to talk to the vet about her too. She came into the barn to eat silage this afternoon and he said she isn't looking any better. So we talked about cattle and all for a few minutes and then he said he needed to go because he was working on one of the trucks there. There is always all sorts of maintenance to be done all the time...

I did scrub out the cast iron fry pan and did a few other things so another box emptied....

Made a hamburger for dinner instead of the manwich stuff... I am not real hungry... just tired. Have a headache and I know it is from being tired, too. Emptied a few of the trash baskets in the house into a 50 lb feed bag, and will try to get any other garbage together to take to the dumpsters and some recycling stuff too. So, I am going in to take a hot shower and see if I can't get last night's and tonight's sleep all caught up. As soon as I talk to the vet and see what this week looks like I will get ahold of the farm that wants to test and set them up on a different day. That gets me mostly caught up for the month. One other has not called me back and the big 500 cow herd will get done the first week of March... they are supposed to be the last week of the month but it all got moved around with the replacements and I hope to get them back to where they should be either in March or April...

 

[Bruce]

Wellll... got up at 3:30 and left at 3:45 this morning.

That is a ridiculous time to get up ... unless you live in England but have your clock set to EST

 

[Mini Horses]

@Bruce ... Everyone should appreciate what a farmer has to do to get a glass of milk ready for you. . With my goats, we don't start that early. But. They DO WANT me to keep a schedule. . Gotta say, it can be unpleasant sometimes, when you're tired, it's cold, rain, snow...yep, still gotta do.

And still....farmers try to maintain the farm.

 

[Bruce]

Oh I DO appreciate it. But I ain't a gonna DO it!

A few weeks ago I made an appointment for car service on the 18th of March. She suggested 8 AM. HAH, I don't go anywhere "off farm" for 8 AM, I'm retired. I get to have easy, non rushed, mornings

 

[farmerjan]

Yes it is a ridiculous time to get up... but remember, the farmer is not starting milking until 5:15 or so... they only live 3 "seconds" from the barn... and starting after 5 is late compared to many that start milking between 4 and 5.... It is the travel that I have to deal with... and I had a couple that would start milking at 3 or 3:30.... so I was up at 2 a couple mornings a month. That farm is over an hour away...
The farm I went and tested this afternoon.... I used to go up and stay overnight at the house because they started milking by 1:30 a.m. Yeah, ridiculous.... but the farmer went back home and took a nap for an hour or so after eating..... then went back to the farm and did stuff. Part of the starting hours were that they wanted to be done in the evening so they could take kids to after school activities... go watch ball games, all sorts of family oriented things in the evenings. Since it used to take 4+ hours to milk... they started at times that would allow them to participate in family stuff. This is the farm that is slowly selling out... he is down from 200 to about 45 ... and has some interest in some more.... Since it is 2+ hours away, I used to go up and stay overnight at the house, they were very nice about asking me to do so... they wanted to get the testing done in the mornings then; I would go up, we would watch Jeopardy on TV... go to bed by 8:30... he would get up and make sure I was up when he left to go .1 mile to the barn... they would get the cows in and I would get there 15 minutes later and we would be milking by 1:30 a.m..... I would get everything finished on the computer and all by about 6:30-7 a.m. then go down the road to another herd that milked 20-25 and test them at 7:30-8:00... stanchion type barn that took 2 hours since they had 10 headlocks and had to kick out the first bunch to bring in the next group to milk.... I would get home around noon or 1 p.m..... talk about a long day. But then the small herd sold out so I only had the one big herd.
When they sold over 1/2 the cows, we switched to afternoon test. Which is great... but I leave here by 10:30 to go there... and with only 40+ cows, I am in the barn testing only about an hour and then do paperwork...(computer work) and then come home around 3 or so... and I lose the whole day as far as getting anything done here at home this time of year....
Always a trade off. But they are trying to sell out... and it is only a matter of time. It takes longer to travel there than it takes to milk now, but I get mileage... so, you go with the flow. No set up or anything... easy herd to do.... sad to have over 50 years of a good registered Jersey herd to finally reach the end....

@Mini Horses is right. The farmer still has to do his "regular" barn work, add on crop and field work and harvest work and whatever all else so he has to get the morning milking's done so he is not getting started at 11 to do other work. And most do want to have some sort of a family life in the evenings with their kids....

It was a beautiful day out there... ahead of the forecasted rain. Hated being inside basically all day (driving, testing, driving) ... it got up to 65 on my recording thermometer... GRRR

 

[farmerjan]

Got a call today and the transmission is done in the car and he wanted to drive it some, so that works out as I will go there sometime tomorrow.
Also found an engine for the outback... said we can talk about that tomorrow too.... YAY....

DS was working on driving posts today when I went by the farm to leave a list of the cows at the last pasture... trying to get the posts in so they can get the fence done for the bull lot... bulls are just tearing apart the fence that is not good and making things worse. Since he applied for the grant money for the fence now, he is starting this... been putting it off and they were just making a mess.... now at least it will qualify since it is in the proposal.... Got to get it done and get these guys where they should be.... got another one to come home with the cows from this last pasture.. and the bull needs to come out of the nurse cow pasture too....

I need to talk to him to make sure they got them all moved or I will cancel the vet preg checks tomorrow....

Just talked to him... they are all moved; at the barn in the one lot so they will get brought in the barn tomorrow and the vet will check them... 2:30 ... and that will be the end of going all over to feed... Just feeding here across the road, and next to my house where we have them in "winter pastures".... and at the barn; in the different fields there.... That will be good. Said one SOB went under the corral panels and bent one of the bottom bars up... and another one went under when he was standing on them to keep him from shoving them up, and him and the panels wound up out in the driveway at the farm... but he finally got the s.o.b. in the trailer on the last load...
Plus to know who is preg and all. Forgot to ask DS about the guy that is interested in buying steers direct off the farm....he was supposed to come look at them today too. Let's hope.....

So, I am going to go.... get the samples packed and ready to go tomorrow... I have to mark the ones they want to have checked for the A2/A2 milk....
PT at 11:15 in the pool... I will be done and home by 1, I hope ....Preg check @2:30.... Maybe DS will have good news about the guy wanting the steers...