We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
A year ago, our somatic cell count (SCC) was running in the upper 300,000s, and we were looking to make improvements. We had previously discussed SCC and measures that could help reduce it with our part-time employees (who do much of the milking), but it seemed like they weren’t overly interested, and we weren’t making much progress.
We came to the end of an era, as they say, on our farm last week. Mollie, our old faithful dog, passed away at the age of nearly 16 years. We got her on our oldest daughter Susanna’s 19th birthday in November 1999. When you think of the fact that we have lived here for 30 years, her life spanned more than half that time. While less than perfect as far as even dogs go, she was still a fixture here, and a lot of stories could be told about her.
We read R. Tom Bass’ article “100-pound herds: What are the secrets to their success?” with great interest – and fully support six of his seven observations.
They gave us white handkerchiefs and asked us to wear them over our faces for the purpose of anonymity. We were led to an idyllic fairground setting with a plank bandstand, square bales for seats and a wooden wagon in the middle.
As many of you already know from reading previous articles about our farm and family, you know that we rotationally graze our cattle. It was in the late 1990s when my husband, Peter, came home to farm with his dad. As they got into grazing, he started doing research about what breeds thrive in a grazing situation.
Sometimes it takes an anniversary to realize just how much times have changed.
This year marks the 10th consecutive year I will have attended World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.
Politics is the art of telling people what they want to hear. Truth is telling it like it was, is and eventually will become ... no hazing, hawing or beating around the bush.
RSS