Monday

Fence line oak up in the heifer pasture

I am losing track of all the calves I swear...at least one more heifer and a cute little Jersey bull born over the weekend. I think poor Liz has twenty on buckets. 


Last time we had a Jersey bull calf we were offered the opportunity to sell him to a certain individual who...oh, never mind...it was the religion of peace and all, but the way they handle baby calves is distasteful, even if most of our animals eventually end up as beef.


 Instead we gave him to some folks who have a Jersey farm...well in the end they paid us for him, but not because we wanted them to. He was well bred and is used now on their farm to breed registered heifers. Kinda nice, because it means that Liz's herd prefix will be out there a little. This guy will probably go the same way or become a steer and go out to Fort Plain to keep a certain Percheron company. Too bad he was a bull, because he is put together real nice.

Sunday Stills....Transitions

Transitions.....from dark to dawn, from function to rusting decoratively in the forest, from trees to part of the forest floor, from winter to spring.


For more Sunday Stills.......

Sheepdog Trial

HT to Joated who absolutely MADE my St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We've been enjoying corned beef and cabbage for a couple of days now. I always cook enough for leftovers as we love it and the boss always buys some extra to freeze for later in the year.


And here is a little bit of green...not much around here yet... This is moss growing on the front steps, which are made of big blocks of worked limestone. Whenever I walk out there by them I envision carriages pulling up to discharge passengers in ornate summer costumes....

Saratoga Springs, NY Arms Fair

Today and tomorrow. The folks are there with the books. If you get a chance stop by and say hi.

Hmmmmm

Crying Wolf Video and Goat Murder

There is a pervasive culture of romanticism surrounding the reintroduction of large predators around the nation, even here in NY. Because of the way issues such as moving Canadian wolves into Yellowstone (where they went from being common to endangered just by changing their address), people who have no dog in the fight get to decide what will happens.... sometimes thousands of miles from their own personal habitats. 


Here is a blog post about a young man who lost a large percentage of his goats to a mountain lion's wanton killing spree.


And the Crying Wolf video offers a chilling glimpse into what may well be an anti-human agenda, which may be behind the Endangered Species Act and wolf re-introduction in the Greater Yellowstone area. Beck and I watched it last night and were both enthralled and appalled by much of what we saw. Whatever you believe about man's place in the ecosystem and the positives or negatives of wolf introduction, you should really take the time to view this video.


There are always two sides to everything. Here is another side. 

Danger Wolf at Large

Gil

Gil playing with a milking machine liner...a cheap and sturdy dog toy, And we have an endless supply.

Such a Starry Night

Another calving last night around nine-thirty. Booth had a heifer calf by Leadfield Columbus. It was one of those times when things went south fast. It was a good thing we knew what she was up to and Becky went over and checked after supper. 


The calf wasn't too big, no difficult presentation, but delivery slowed down right after the head was born and the baby inhaled some amniotic fluid. We laid her over a bale to drain her lungs and worked hard at stimulating her to breathe.


 Mama worked hard too, licking her and nudging her.


I thought she was a goner, but then she took a couple of gasping breaths and shook her head, always a welcome sign. We went through a lot of paper towels cleaning out her mouth and nose and a lot of hay rubbing her ribs and ears and head, but by the time we left the barn she was trying to stand up.


Booth was gobbling hay as fast as she could stuff it into her mouth and licking the baby in between bites. Hopefully they will both come through all right.


On the way back from the barn we stopped to admire the stars and planets. With Mars, Jupiter and Venus all showing their stuff each night it is quite a show. The latter two are so bright they are like a big neon sign in the sky.....I don't know what they are selling, but I had a glass of wine when we got it.....seemed well earned somehow.

Catlap

Puppy Training 101

Big brother, teaching the little guy to text, an essential skill for all youth whether canine or human.

Seems I had almost forgotten how much of life with a new puppy is all about training. Even play requires constant attention to, "No you mustn't bite so hard!" or, "Ouch that was my toe!" "Gimme back my sock!"


 Still, having a pup around is just a joy. He is definitely Becky's boy and rightly so, but doggies recognize dog folks right from the start. He greets me with pouncy, bouncy, jumpy play signals and wags of joy. My heart can't help but light up when I see him on the other side of the baby gate just bursting with doggy joy at greeting another one of his folks.


He sleeps on my foot. He is learning to follow along on the leash beside me when I babysit while Beck goes to work. He carries his food dish around with him, dumps the food and eats it off the floor, a never ending source of sharp little kibbles to step on. I think I'm in love.


Life is good with a new puppy...especially since I sleep at the farthest end of the house from his crate...so I can't hear his anguished howls, "OMG, I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone.....Save meeeee......."

Bloomingdale

Is the name that came out of the naming hat...seems fitting with a mom named Broadway. Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions!

A Killdeer will Work Too

A Robin a Day

Keeps the gloom goblins away....

Sunday Stills...Parts of a Whole

For more Sunday Stills......

Gil

My first grandpuppy

It's Puppy Day

Not my puppy, but my first grandpuppy. Details and photos to follow. Meanwhile here are some pics of Broadway's new daughter who remains nameless.

Feel free to leave suggestions for names in the comments if you would. I need help here....calf name burnout going on. Her sisters are named Scotty and Rose Magnolia BTW.

Have a good one.

Yogurt and the Mailbox Price

Interesting article here, written by Sherry Bunting. Thought provoking.

Saranac Lake Farm Bill Hearings

MEDIA ADVISORY: America's 2012 Farm Bill 
Agriculture Committee Announces Witness List for New York Field Hearing

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture released the witness list and additional information for the following field hearing.

Friday, March 9, 2012 - 9:00 a.m. ET
North Country Community College, Sparks Athletic Complex
23 Santanoni Avenue, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Full Committee on Agriculture - Public Hearing
RE: Future of U.S. Farm Policy: Formulation of the 2012 Farm Bill

Visit the House Agriculture Committee's website at this link to learn more about America's 2012 Farm Bill. Also, at this link you may submit comments to be considered part of the Committee's Farm Bill field hearing record. Your comments must be submitted through the website by May 20, 2012.

There will be a live webcast of the hearing at this link. Please note that video and audio will not be available until the hearing begins.

The witness list is below. Testimony will be posted here the day of the hearing.

Panel I

Mr. Eric Ooms, dairy producer, Partner, Adrian Ooms and Sons, Inc., Old Chatham, New York

Mr. Neal Rea, dairy producer, Chairman, Agri-Mark Dairy Cooperative, Salem, New York

Mr. Jeremy Verratti, dairy and crop producer, Verratti Farms, LLC, Gasport, New York

Ms. Michele Ledoux, beef producer, Adirondack Beef Company, Croghan, New York

Panel II

Mr. Larry Eckhardt, vegetable, field crop and beef producer, President, Kinderhook Creek Farm, Inc., Stephentown, New York

Mr. Scott Osborn, wine grape producer, President, Fox Run Vineyard, Inc., Penn Yan, New York

Mr. Ralph Child, seed potato and leafy greens producer, Malone, New York

Mr. Adam Sullivan, apple producer, Sullivan Orchards, Peru, New York

###

Agriculture Committee Press Office
http://agriculture.house.gov

Self Portraits

And so...

My dear old Etrain died. She was old, but a favorite, the gentlest cow you could imagine. She has been written about here many times as you will find if you search for her name. I know, don't think, but know, that she liked me too. She looked to me specifically for food and petting and sweeping off of the old hair with the broom. If I brushed on her neighbor, Lemmie, she would swing her head at me, to let me know she wanted a turn. I am going to miss her a lot, no two ways about it. 


However, it is an incredibly beautiful day and I am going to go outdoors and look for something to do even if it's wrong, as the boss would say. 


The vet was here yesterday and she said that it has been a tough winter all around despite the mild weather. March and April are always the worst months, as the cows are the farthest away from green grass. One of our vets calls grass, "Doctor Green", and she isn't far wrong.


There were so many birds singing this morning that it took me a minute to separate out all the threads of sound to see who was who. I am so ready for spring I could capriole like a baby goat.

Caution Full Speed Rant Ahead

I was grumpy yesterday, I admit it. One of my favorite cows is doing very poorly and will probably not make it. The heifer I have been hand caring for, carrying all her food and water from the house and barn and trailers for over a week, had a dead heifer calf yesterday morning. She is still far from out of the woods herself.


These are things we must take in stride, if you have animals you will lose some. Just as pets die so do farm animals. It hurts, but there is little to be done but soldier on.


However, as I was dragging the eighth pair of buckets of water up from the house, I thought about how all of us farm folks are supposed to somehow teach non-farm folks about what we do, why we do it that way, and explain to them why activists groups and food companies like Chipotle are not necessarily giving them all the information, or the right information, about modern farming methods. 


Oftentimes agenda-driven organizations are downright lying to them, but with their glitzy horror videos and sad-eyed pets, and even cartoons, they are very convincing.


But according to far too many arm chair experts, we farmers must somehow counteract their million-dollar ad campaigns with words of our own. 


No matter how frustrated we are made by the falsehoods we hear and the attacks that are made on us, we must be civil and non-confrontational. Every magazine editor, website and organization has some reason why, when farmers do attempt to follow through with ag promotion, they are doing it wrong, not doing it enough, or somehow are entirely to blame for what is going on in the anti-farming culture that dominates the media. They completely ignore the fact that every beef and dairy farmer already pays, before they see a penny from milk or beef checks, for promotion of their products by people who are trained for the job. They forget that every farmer who works at promotion, the good folks who write silly songs, put up Youtube videos and talk to folks in the grocery story have demanding day jobs that require time and effort.


And as I toted water, and toted hay, and fielded men looking for ropes..... in the house (the only ropes in the house are for the dogs) I got downright irritated at those editors and such. 


The original reason I started this blog was to do all that stuff about putting a face on agriculture. I am not sure that ever happened, but it has turned out to be an incredible amount of fun, I love the people I have met...sometimes you are the only thing that keeps me sane.....and sometimes, just a few times, I may have even made a tiny difference in how someone from the other side of the sidewalk views farming.


However the day will never come when what I say here or in the Farm Side will outweigh  what people see on slick TV ads or on billboards in Albany. Those campaigns are waged by trained professionals with deep pockets behind them.


I think making an effort should count. I think there are a lot of pretty darned cool farmers working hard on Twitter, Facebook, and just about everywhere they can, taking time that they could surely use for their day jobs, to moonlight in ag promotion. I think certain industry spokes folks should cut them a little bit of slack.


Rant over, thank you.

Singing Lessons

That mockingbird needs some! We were awakened at 4 AM by a raucous cacophony of screeching English sparrows, sick, out of tune robin, and off-key tufted titmouse. OMG, it was awful. We need some new singers to start claiming their summer territory so that grey-feathered rock star can learn some new tunes. 

Sunday Stills...Through an Opening

A constant stream of calving cows and a major winter storm affected photography efforts this week, so these are kinda lame but....

 Same view, with and without show, through the side of the stock trailer

For more Sunday Stills.......

Wally, the blue heeler, through the cattle gate

Redeux

Two calves born at the same time last night. Right at milking. Suffice to say that even with six people running around like beheaded chickens, it was just insane. 


Broadway started first. She always has huge calves for some reason. Even her first calf, Scotty, who is half Jersey, was a giant. This one was no exception and she would NOT settle and have it lying down. 


While we were watching her, Lakota started calving too. Both of them had really big calves and needed some help.


When Broadway's big, red baby finally slid out into the world the boss declared, "It's a bull."


I believed him. He's seen a calf or two in all his years of farming.


Liz is not quite so trusting and checked later. Nope, a heifer, by the Select Sire Power milking shorthorn bull, Poker. The new baby is a full sister to Rose Magnolia...and I will welcome names from you folks, who named her big sister for me.


Lakota, alas had a bull and not a real healthy one. A real shame as he is a beauty, sired by the ABS bull, Force. I am really hoping he makes it.


Anyhoo, by the time we got to the house after dealing with all the stuff new milkers need, plus milking, plus discovering that Licorice had a temp and needed some doctoring, and passing out extra good hay to all the fresh cows, it was late as heck. And of course the sick heifer I am taking care of in the green house decided that she was really, really thirsty, but must dump every single pail of water I lugged up from the house....I had to have Becky and the boss both help me take care of her.


French toast (Becky makes the best ever) sausage and bacon for dinner. Totally guilt free...I think we earned it.