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Presenting a nutritionally correct diet is important when caring for a dairy cow, but to assume that it is all that is required in terms of the animal’s nutritional well-being is incorrect.
“We need to focus on what the cow does with that feed,” says Trevor DeVries, associate professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Guelph – Kemptville.
As far as possible, I always try to let the cows be cows. What do I mean by that, you may ask? Cows, by their very nature, can at times do some pretty interesting things. Being on a farm where the grazing animals are Holstein, Jersey and three-way crosses gives you a nice cross-section of all the different personalities one can encounter on a dairy.
My Wage
“I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.”
I think my dad knew I was in it for the long haul when he handed me the halter to my first Holstein heifer, Starjet.
He simply told me, “Don’t let go.” Excitedly, I took the halter, ready to lead my heifer. She was a fairly large yearling heifer, compared to my small 8-year-old body.
Several years ago, my friend brought me to her house in the suburbs. I can’t recall the rows of houses we passed to reach hers, only that it seemed indefinite because I couldn’t tell them apart.
• Dairywoman Irene Osborne, who operates Santee-Acres in Millerstown, Pennsylvania, is a new addition to the All-American Dairy Foundation Board of Trustees.
• Reinke Manufacturing Company, Inc. has recognized Farmore of Idaho, based in the town of Jerome, as one of the five highest selling dealers in the Northwest territory. Farmore of Idaho also received the Gold Reinke Pride Award.
Age: 34
Location: Whittemore, Michigan, the “Milk Quality Capital of the Dairy Industry”
My dairy’s history: I started my dairy in 2001 on my parents’ crop farm with 17 heifers that I purchased as calves. I’ve now grown to more than 230.
One of the most important things in the success of a marriage is spousal training. Many stories exist when a “cowboy type” (male or female) marries someone with an urban upbringing. Usually it is the male heir to the ranch who goes to A&M, falls in love with a city girl and brings her home.
I traded for a new horse a while back. He’s a buckskin, 11 years old by his teeth, no papers, 15 hands and sound.
It was not long after my friend Tom, had been diagnosed with cancer. It was a bad one. He was younger than me and, by outward appearances, a healthy man. I included him on my prayer list and called occasionally.
This year marks my 20th year writing for Progressive Dairyman. I began when I was 40 years old, and just a month ago I turned 60. I have written to you from a dozen countries, including some of the most challenging environments anywhere.
