Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[SageHill]

So what do you think about the robots in that they only work for the "average" cow/udder? Does that make a difference? Will breeding end up being for the average and not above average? And with less time with the cows that's less observation "so and so needs ___ or seems a little off" type of intuitive observation.
I totally understand the cost and upkeep of the machines (oh and probably replacement part$) and the farmers not having to be in the barn 2x a day.
From a not a cow person looking in from the outside - is that good for the future generations of cows?

 

[farmerjan]

The cows wear a monitor... ear tag or neck collar or ankle "bracelet"... This records so much... movement... temps.... feed intake, rumen activity... you name it... it records everything it seems. They can tell if the cow is coming in heat by the activity levels, temps will tell them if the cow is feeling bad, running below or above normal... Cows will be bred for evenness of udders... which most farmers are doing already to a great degree... but it will be even moreso. Shape of udder does not have as much to do with milking ability... but it does contribute to how long a cow will "hold up" .... the better, more even shaped udders will milk more evenly, they are less likely to get damaged as a cow gets up and down if the udders are tucked up between the hind legs more closely, things like that. Big pendulous udders do not mean more milk... I have seen cows that produce more milk than you would ever think possible from smaller udders.... it is as much in the genetics as anything... but the better shaped, the longer lasting in the milking herd.

Most farmers do not spend the time observing cattle like the old farmer with 20-30 cows... heat patches were used for monitoring cow activity for mounting... and some are missed if they have short heats at night... many farmers have been using an "electronic" heat detection system...in the 100 cow herds and such.... to catch cows that are not seen in standing heat... and catching more that are showing minimal or even "silent heats"... conception rates are up on many farms with an electronic heat detection system.
There is little room for a "gut feeling" with cows anymore... especially dairy cows. The bigger the farm, the more the electronic systems are relied on for "watching the cows"...if the monitor system, that is all tied in with the robots so all the information is compiled, says that #100 cow is "off", of any of her normal activity... then the farmer goes out in the barn and gets them and brings them in to a catch chute or something to do further "checking them out"....
The electronic monitoring systems are another "tool" in the arsenal of keeping track of everything that concerns the cow...
Just another modernization .... one thing, cows are kept in complete confinement barns with these systems... they can go eat at a bunk, they go in to be milked when they want/feel pressure in the udder... they go lay down in the bedding pack barns... rinse and repeat.....
The only access to outside will be when they are growing heifers, and then as dry cows when they get the average 60 day dry period... not my thing... but look at all the big dairies in CA and TX..... they are all confinement... and cows are constantly being monitored for their comfort... fans and sprinkler systems for cooling in the hot summers... roofs over their heads to keep off the hot sun... protecting them from rain and snow and all the weather...
MUCH LIKE PEOPLE TODAY... GOD FORBID a person has to sweat in the 80-90+ degree sun...just go inside in the AC.... or gets cold outside when it is 20 degrees... look at all the ones that work inside an office... only have to brave the cold to go from office to car or train or something... back home to their heated or AC'd homes... only work outside when it is a comfortable 60-75 degrees... OH YEAH... that is what hired lawn services and landscapers and such are for.....

 

[SageHill]

Ah - ok gotcha on that. Wow that's a ton of info I hadn't even thought was collected - but it sure does make sense.
When I moved here 35 yrs ago there were over 100 dairies in the county. Now there are only two . Housing tracts (homes on postage stamp lots), schools and freeways have done them in. The two that remain, I know one that is close by survives using a compost, mulch and landscape material/fill business they started. The cows (no idea how many - a lot to my eye) are all outside not in indoor operation (though the weather here is darn near perfect). Hence those tv commercials for California Happy Cows of the Real California Cheese campaign. Further north where they actually have winters I have no idea.

 

[farmerjan]

Ate a sandwich... it is lightly sprinkling, rainy, wet, COLD and miserable out there now. Temps in the 32-35 range... doesn't look like ice but not nice out there.
Going in to pack the samples for now...

 

[Mini Horses]

Well -- not a hands on cow milker here but, like Jan, I've lived through the small dairy times of HAND milking, progress to machines, then to larger set ups of multiples with machines at once.....now, robots

Way different.

 

[farmerjan]

Monday night. It rained/misted all night, temps staying in the mid 30's... Got up this morning, to 34 degrees, and went up to 42. No wind but just damp and wet. Had the misty rainy stuff all day...
Temps still around 43 and not supposed to get any colder... tomorrow into the mid 50's and sun in the afternoon. I will check the rain gauge tomorrow.

Did not do as much as I should have Sunday... had one of those dull headaches...

Samples got packed. This morning I got bottles in the trays for the herd I did this afternoon. Went up to the pasture, fed the cow then put her out and took the coats off the calves again. Got to put a regular sized one on the jersey bull calf..... the small is too small for him. Put grain in for the calves and they went right to it. I have stopped the supplemental bottle as the holstein seems to be getting enough. It has encouraged them to both go to eating more grain... Not trying to starve him or anything.. but he goes right on the cow when I bring her in, and doesn't try to butt me too hard when I don't take a supplemental bottle with me, up there either. It might slow their "optimal growth" a tad by not adding more milk... but they are eating good so there is that. I have no intention to try to wean them any time soon... so it's good. It looked like she was coming back in heat... telltale discharge... I am hoping that she will breed and settle.... she is working out really good overall as a nurse cow... and maybe when she comes fresh, her production will be decent. Time will tell. She will get the winter there with the calves... and when it comes time to preg check the heifers, she will get checked too. Not going to worry about it now... I am pretty sure she is not pregnant, so not needing to dry off anytime soon.
I plan to start letting the calves out loose with her, once we get the 2 holstein heifers and the bigger black steer, that is still on the longhorn, moved to the barn...he needs weaning anyway. Then there will only be the smaller hol bull calf, and the little black bull calf in there; he is on the heifer that calved, that was bred 6 months further along than I had planned... so these 2 smaller ones can go out with those 2... those 2 come in the barn in the creep gate... so the 2 on the cow will learn too... I will do it when we have a few days of decent... dry... not rainy cold... weather... so they can learn to come in with her and then figure out the creep gate too. Do not want the 3 big ones still in there as they can be a bit of bullies to the 2 smaller ones now... once they are gone, these 4 ought to do just fine, together. I figure DS will get them moved in the next week or 2...

It is later than I thought... going in to get some sleep so I can get things done in the morning and leave for testing....

Went through town and dropped the samples at UPS... long line, I just left them as they are prelabeled and all that. Traffic was heavy and it took about 20 minutes longer to travel than usual. Got to the farm okay....started right at 3 pm.
They are back up to nearly 120 cows... takes awhile... but at least it went pretty smooth and finally left there about 7:30 to come home after all the paper work...
Samples in the house and got the boxes with bottles in to put in racks for tomorrow's 200 cow herd. They start 1:30, and I have to set up 16 meters so try to get there by 12:30 or so...


I want to leave early, and go by Sharp Shopper as I am out of bread completely... and some days I just want a real sandwich... I have been limiting the bread intake and for me that is not a big deal since I don't eat much bread anyway... a loaf can last me over 2 weeks and sometimes I will stick part of it in the freezer so it doesn't get moldy or anything. Couple of other things I want to look for.... and Tuesday is bread delivery for the discounted stuff.. It will depend on how fast I get going, doing the cow and all that.
There is the bred cow sale tomorrow night... If I get done fairly early... and usually do, but have to pull the meters and all out of the parlor after the wash cycles... I will stop on the way down through town. Wanted to go and see what prices were doing... cattle overall were the same or higher last Friday at the sale...
Talked to DS for a few minutes earlier... he was taking the gate panels to set up to get the cows out of one place... they have larger calves on them that have got to be weaned... already preg checked and we put them up there since there was still grass a month or so ago.... time to get the calves weaned, the cows need a break... calving in Mar/April I think.

Then we will get the ones with the smaller calves (born this past spring so not real small) out of the big pasture brought to the barn and preg check all them... some of those calves are like 6-8 months old and will be able to be weaned too.... hopefully the whole bunch is bred back... some didn't calve and get put out there until June so won't be as far along as the rest... but there was plenty of grass so maybe they "backed up" and got bred back sooner than not...They still have another month of grass where they are, DS just moved them back into the 1st field where we normally rotate them back to to load out.
It has been good to be down a bit in numbers, as we have had grass for everyone... and pastures are not eaten down to the dirt... and the pastures will grow in the spring because they have not been damaged even with the drought conditions... NOT overgrazing is a BIG PLUS.....

 

[canesisters]

Lol - 'going to bed' then types another page. I do the same thing.

 

[farmerjan]

Tuesday morning... temps never went below 45 last night... just hit 60.... at 10 a.m. Supposed to drop off this evening though, about 38-40.
No lined jeans today....

Getting samples packed and had to answer phone, in at the desk.... from lab.... forgot I had laptop on from last night uploading the herd and printing out the reports to drop off when I go test near there this afternoon.

For once, the problem at the lab was not "me"... they actually did not see the added paper I had put in with the list... so that was easily remedied.

Back to packing the samples... get things in the car to go early after I go up to the cow and calves, drop off samples and then, go by the other farm on my way.