Farmers Don't Need the News

Photo cred: Bo Rader, AP, USA Today, March 7, 2017

Farmers and ranchers have been battling wildfires in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and further.

Hundreds upon thousands of acres have been scorched. Cattle have been burnt and needed to be put down. People have lost their lives.

Under every photo and video on social media is at least one comment asking why main stream media isn't reporting this tragedy.

Why should they?

Farmers don't need the media to tell them what they've lost...

Farmers don't need reporters and curious people to come stand around, watching their livelihood goes up in flames...

The media doesn't need to witness farmers with tears in their eyes putting a gun to each of their animal's heads to put them out of their misery because they are burnt beyond help and it's the most humane thing to do...

Farmers don't need the media to tell them that their "neighbor" is in trouble...

The farming community is like no other.

Within hours farmers all knew what was happening to their friends, their families, their neighbors...

And help was on it's way.

Farmers loaded up fencing supplies and headed straight for the fires. They knew that farmers who still had cattle were going to need their fences fixed.

Photo cred: Johnny McMahan, Woodward News, March 14, 2017

Farmers and truckers loaded bales of hay; large convoys headed across the country from every direction.

Agriculture companies gave away products and ran fundraisers.

Farmers don't need the media to tell them when help is needed.

We know.

And we'll be there.

Because that's what we do.

We are farmers.

Sheep Farm 2017

Every year our neighbor opens their barn for visitors to see the new lambs!

There's usually a litter of piglets too!

Why stand when you can eat lying down?

Guard dog Bo-Peep doesn't care for people to be too close to her sheep; especially this lamb that is recovering from its legs being stepped-on.

It's heart-warming to see how much these beautiful Great Pyrenees love to work & take their job extremely seriously.

February 2017 On the Farm

February 1 - Hubby was up at 12:30 with an alarm; three consecutive fails on Olaf The Robot so it shut down. I went out to lend a hand.

Two and a half hours later the broken hose was finally replaced and Hubby got to sleep for another hour before chores at 4.

Farming doesn't end when night chores are finished. Sometimes a cow needs help calving, or a piece of equipment breaks. Farmers get out of bed and do what needs doing because it's our life. And, when we're not trying to get a hose back in place at 2 a.m., we actually do love what we do. 

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February 2 - Cow is ready for lunch!

February 2 - Cow is enjoying the Vermont Farm Show - especially the Lely booth

February 3 - Calf Meeting to learn more about my babies and how to keep them healthy and happy

Second presentation...This product is in some milk replacers & also works as a great feed additive that can help calves get over being sick quicker

Georgina loves to be held.
She was falling asleep in my arms as I danced to classic country while waiting for the calves to eat.

February 7 - Cow nutrition meeting - I'm here to take notes for Dad because he's at a seed/planting meeting

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February 13 - Wintery day in Vermont.

While most of the schools are closed, none of the farms are - the cows still need to be fed, milked, & cared for.

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Happy Valentine's Day from the ladies!

Pellets being delivered

Kittens get loved by everyone around here

February 17 - Getting the sleds ready for an evening run!

We have a lot of furry characters on our farm; Nala is a purr-fect example

Sunrise silhouette

February 20 - It's time for planting in Vermont!
No really, I'm serious! We're going to try frost seeding clover.

Clover only grows and re-grows in a hay field for a couple years.

Other famers' experience has shown that if planted in an existing hay field during a frost (when the ground is hard so we don't rut it up) the hearty clover seed will lie dormant until the right time.

We'll see how it works come Spring!

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February 21

Vermont Dairy Producer's Conference

Cow is attending her fist Dairy Conference

Cow has been taking careful notes

Cow got to meet Carrie Mess aka Dairy Carrie!

The venders gave us a lot of great stuff!

I think Cow has a pen & paper addiction...

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February 23 - While it's sunny-ish and 50° today, there's still a chance for another snowstorm before Spring.

When it snows on the farm, we have some extra chores to do...like shoveling out bunks so the ladies can have snow-free food.

Best Hubby Award

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February Thunderstorm

One of the crops we grow for our cows is corn.

We harvest our corn one of two ways - chop the whole plant ("corn silage") or use a combine to get just the kernels.

The kernels are dried and stored in a grain bin...then, every couple weeks, we take out a wagon-full (left) and run it through the grinder (right, behind the tractor) to make cornmeal.

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We are blessed with an awesome veterinary office & top-notch vets that help us care for our animals!
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One vet in particular, Dr. J. Drexel Wheeler, DVM has become like family to us.:) And while that might make us a little biased, we don't know anyone more deserving of the Dairy Quality Assurance Veterinarian of the Year award.

Read more at this link!