Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Hey, @fuzzi .... sorry, thought you knew my job. I am sure somewhere I explained it but short answer.... I am a milk tester. I work for a private co., not state or fed.... I go to dairy farms and take a milk sample from every cow that goes through the milking parlor... record pertinent information about every cow including her production in the parlor, and the samples go to a lab to analyze for butterfat, protein, somatic cell count. This gets compiled into a report, goes back to the farmer and he uses this info to make decisions. It is a management tool for the farmer. Been doing this for 30+ years, among several other jobs inbetween...

 

[fuzzi]

Hey, @fuzzi .... sorry, thought you knew my job. I am sure somewhere I explained it but short answer.... I am a milk tester. I work for a private co., not state or fed.... I go to dairy farms and take a milk sample from every cow that goes through the milking parlor... record pertinent information about every cow including her production in the parlor, and the samples go to a lab to analyze for butterfat, protein, somatic cell count. This gets compiled into a report, goes back to the farmer and he uses this info to make decisions. It is a management tool for the farmer. Been doing this for 30+ years, among several other jobs inbetween...

I figured something like that from reading about it.

Didn't even realize that was a job!

 

[farmerjan]

Cold day... 27 to start, up to about 42 and then hit 50 in the sun late this afternoon (was 39 at noon). Still quite breezy out there... mostly sunny but some clouds.
Got bottles in the trays and everything in the car. Left about 1:30 to go to feed the cow, and calves in the other side... so I could turn her out... DS had put in 2 rolls of hay so they had plenty to eat. Some of the beef heifers had eaten their fill and were back out scrounging in the pasture for some grass... so the jersey should have plenty of opportunity to get hay from the roll.

Went and tested, and it went okay... only 2 in the barn and it went very smooth.... sometimes "fewer" in the barn is better... Got all the milk weights in their computer, got some ID's entered and some other stuff... and left there a few minutes after 6. Stopped and picked up 2 gal bucket of milk, from my other farmer friend, and came on home. Samples are in the house to pack, and will leave early to drop them off tomorrow and go test another herd.
It is down to 30 at 9pm... supposed to drop more to mid 20's...

I dropped my flip smart phone, a RAZR, a several weeks or maybe a month plus, ago, and it hit the concrete just wrong on the edge and cracked it... and it has been "splintering more" across the back... It has been okay but now is not wanting to work right... can't swipe across the screen sometimes... can't answer it and can't always check the messages... have to hold down on one corner and sometimes it works okay... just the last 3 days.... so tomorrow I am leaving pretty early and going to Best Buy where I originally got it... and see if the insurance I had gotten and have automatically renewed, is good.... I cannot find the paperwork, but they should have it all there... See about getting a new one I guess... Not happy but it happens... my fault it got dropped....
The farm I am going to tomorrow is closer to that area... so can come from the store back down to the farm to test... I will wear clean work clothes so don't smell like the barn... I have to put the long hoses in the car in the morning for this farm. I am going in to pack the samples from this afternoon and have them ready to go in the morning to drop off UPS.

So, I am heading in to pack the samples, go to bed early so I can get up and get going in the morning... It will be a long day and then I have to be back in the barn Sat morning at 5... so leave here by 4:10...

There is a rumor of some snow Friday eve, night... might put off Sat morning, to Sat aft if it does snow much... Then more possible snow on Sunday night....

 

[Mini Horses]

Here it's a toss up Sun night -- snow or freezing rain. With wind & cold temps roads will be a challenge. I'm planning to stay off of them

 

[Baymule]

At least people in y’all’s area know a little better how to drive on snow and ice. Here, it’s take your life and give it to some idiot playing high speed bumper cars with a one ton 4WD truck with Ranch Hand bumpers front and back. No thank you.

 

[fuzzi]

At least people in y’all’s area know a little better how to drive on snow and ice. Here, it’s take your life and give it to some idiot playing high speed bumper cars with a one ton 4WD truck with Ranch Hand bumpers front and back. No thank you.

Similar here. People who know how to drive in ice and snow STAY HOME. The yahoos that think a truck or SUV makes them experts at winter weather driving are the ones sitting in the deep ditches by the side of the roads...

 

[fuzzi]

Roads will probably be slick on Tuesday. I've run out of PTO (vacation/sick time) but will stay home anyway if the roads are icy.