Gingers Gotta Stick Together

Three milking shorthorns sharing the salt lick...Northstar, Rosie and Cinnamon.

Fat Detective

(In more ways than one)

Corn for us, not the ladies

A little background:

Conventional dairy farmers are paid for their milk based upon the pounds of butterfat and protein they produce, as well as small premiums for quality.

Thus, although you want to make a lot of milk, it must also contain a large percentage of what are called components- your butterfat and protein. 

The boss has bred the herd for high butterfat test since he was a little boy and first got interested in registered Holsteins. In the past when we were able to afford to have the Dairy Herd Improvement Association stop in once a month to take samples from each cow, we often had tests as high as 3.9 or 4.0 butterfat. That would do a Jersey herd proud and we were indeed proud of our girls.

Those days are gone, (Ann and Tim, we miss you) as survival has become the bottom line, but up until quite recently we still maintained a high fat test. (Don't worry about this in terms of what you drink. Studies are showing that full fat dairy products contribute to weight loss more than low fat, but much of the fat is removed before you see the milk any how, even if you drink "whole" milk. This is to standardize what you buy.)

Not too long ago our test plummeted. I can see this both on the milk check (which is painful) and on the cooperative website, where I can look every day to see how every single tank of milk measures up in terms of fat, protein, negative tests for antibiotics, and a number of quality and cleanliness matters.

At first we laid it to early pasture. Much of the percent of protein in milk is decided in the cow's digestive tract. Lush pasture is low in fiber, a big component in butterfat production. Our cows go to grass to harvest their own food as much as possible.

Plus in the spring our too-small pipeline gets flooded by high production and the milk gets churned, kind of like homogenizing it...makes it seem low in fat even if it isn't. 

Normally we would supplement the pasture by feeding long-stemmed, dry hay to enhance fat and help the cows' digestion, but after last year's flood we were out of hay and buying, so we only fed until the boss started chopping and baling. Then they were supplemented with our own feed, but it was still early-cut and lower in fiber.

The commercial grain we feed could be an issue as well. Feed companies are scrambling to keep grain concentrate affordable, with corn supplies short and getting shorter. No way to tell how that will affect the cows.

Making high quality milk is a complex juggling act with lots of factors in play and many ways things can crash.

However, now, herd production has declined a bit, so the line isn't flooding. Grass has matured and the cows are getting chopped first cutting, which is high in fiber, and baled first cutting ditto. The problem should have cleared itself up by now and the cows should be testing at the very least 3.5 to 3.7% butterfat, yet they are way below that.

This brings us to another little issue that shows up in dairying sometimes...suspicious lab results. 

I'm not saying that it's so, but back when we were on DHIA it happened to us. Cows should have been testing great and were doing so in our privately paid for tests, but the correct butterfat test wasn't showing up in the tank or on the milk check. We had an additional independent test run, which showed our true percent of fat, shared the results with the right folks, and magically our "official" results improved dramatically.

Thus, along with tweaking this and that in the ration, we are having a sample on our bulk tank pulled and run to make sure that the problem is here on the farm......

The results might be interesting.

You can Run

But you can't hide. Fall is upon us, calendar or no. The goldenrod is barely in bloom, but the nights are chilly, mornings are sweatshirt cool, and the fog is thick as eggplant sauce. The air rings with the calls of blue jays and black-capped chickadees and the dogs are getting furry.

This week I thought the hummers were gone, wrote mental poetry to their absence, and was saddened by the lack. 

They don't usually leave without saying goodbye at the window but sometimes......

They are the court jesters of the summer porch, always clowning around and squabbling like a litter of puppies. I cleaned the feeders day before yesterday and during the hours that they were down the birds seemed to vanish. The feeders glistened in the sun, the wasps partook, but no crazy little buzz bombs whizzed and zoomed among the geraniums. It troubled me. I am a hater of winter....don't know why I live here in the frozen spaces....and I am in no way ready for anything about it, especially the shrouding of all the windows in dense, dull plastic, cutting me off from out there as surely as death.

Then yesterday noon, just one came back. I willed it to come over close to comfort me one last time......and lo and behold it did! It really did! I wished it would fly over and hover in front of me as they sometimes do and within seconds there it was. 

We contemplated one another for a moment, me in my old red chair, it suspended between beating wings like a feathered pocketbook on a strap or a heavy waisted bumblebee.It was a moment...you know the kind I mean.

It made good and sure that I saw it and knew that it had come because I asked and then was off about its business.

This morning at dawn they were back as if they had never left. I will savor every feather as long as time allows me.

Gathering In

As you can see from these photos the wild fruits and nuts are filling up and ripening. Above are hawthorn "apples" (not to be eaten by folks) and below are wild cherries, which I also don't eat, but the birds and wildlife do. So far haven't seen many acorns, but there is a good crop of black walnuts on the trees out front. 

Our apple trees have fruit, but it is small and gnarly and not looking very tempting. Might get some jelly just the same but not for a while yet. The tame grapes on the fruit salad tree look pretty good and not quite as high as usual. Maybe this year Alan will be home to get some for me.

Hoping to get at least one more bushel of corn to freeze and whatever else we can find. The stuff I froze last week isn't going to last long as it is as sweet as sugar and just plain tasty.

On the bird front it is almost as calm as Christmas Eve, nothing happening much. The chickadees are back though and I am pretty sure Depeche Toi and Hurry Up are still among them. They practically land on my head while I am hanging out laundry, which would seem to be an indication.

And how about the spiders this year! They like the clothesline too and are just as tame and friendly as the chickadees....erk.....I have photos of one the size of my thumbnail, but my thumb is much better looking. 

I spray and sweep the living room and the next day the Irish Crape is back tenfold. I hate sweeping the darned things down. I feel creepy crawly all day.

Well, have a good one. The pup is untying the chair cushions again and I must put a stop to that.

A Little Bit Hawkish

 I was out fencing with Alan and stopped to snap a couple of pics of this tree in the heifer pasture. It is a big favorite of mine, with lovely gnarled roots that hold a small stream in their clutches and a gorgeous shape that begs to be photographed.

Right click for a better look

Whap! This red-tailed hawk, actually HIT the tree as I was pointing and clicking. It was the work of an instant to turn the camera to capture his attempted get away from this ticked off mockingbird.

There is something so David and Goliath about a feisty little songbird routing a big old raptor like that.

There are no Strangers

In the world of purebred cattle. I happened to peek out the window just after breakfast yesterday morning. There was someone in the yard. I went out to inquire and soon discovered a lovely lady from a far away state...very far...who grew up on a dairy farm in this one, and was back home visiting.

She reads this journal of small farm life and thought she might stop in to say hi and give me a copy of a book she has written...which by the way is riveting.

Of course as is often the case, the ubiquitous Murphy had been at work. Bloomingdale had stomped me about an hour earlier and I'm sure I smelled delightful after her handiwork, and the housework was suffering from acute Murphy syndrome too. 

Never mind, life is too short to care about that stuff. I invited her in and she was brave enough to enter.

After quick introductions, the boss sat down with us and the amazement began. Her family had a farm back in the days when he was young and out to set the world on fire with his Holsteins. One of the best bulls he ever bought came from a cow born at their place that her family bred. Thanks to the Holstein database I could call up his pedigree, even though I have no idea where his registration papers have gotten to. He was Willow-Terrace Bootmaker Proud if you are interested.

They developed Citation R Maple, one of the great bulls from back in the day, and one of our favorite old ones. Now there's a jaw dropper for you. (I had to check my notebook, but sure enough my Betty heifer, who was in the yard right outside the window, is an R Maple.)

The boss and the nice lady compared notes on the cows and bulls of the decades of their younger days with great delight. Do you remember? And yes they both did. It was beyond fun to listen and marvel at the connected memories of two folks who had never met, but shared memories of the great animals of those days. I love to hear pedigrees to conjure with rolling off the tongues of folks who truly know cattle. 

I think we went around smiling all the rest of the day.

Hmmmm

Liz and Becky with Richard in his later days. 

Although he was sweet to them,

 there was still a fire in that little furnace.

To say that the weather is disconcerting is an understatement. Years ago when I was showing my late pony, Deranged Richard, we had a fall like this....and I use the term advisedly...it may be August but the feeling of summer's end is strong. Nights are chilly and mornings pearly with cotton ball fog.

Richard was a hot little Shetland that a friend bought from the kill pen at an auction as a five-year old stallion that had never even looked through a halter. This friend is an incredibly talented horseman. He quickly broke Richard to drive and showed him extensively in the area, pointing him to year-end champion driving pony soon after.

That little chestnut was a pistol! He was tough as a walnut, strong as a bull,and pretty as a speckled pup. He had a gorgeous trot that just wouldn't quit. My friend gave him to me after a couple of years of campaigning and the little bugger taught me a whole lot about horsemanship that I had been missing out on with gentle old Magnum, my original horse. At first he had me buffaloed more often than not. After a while I learned how to handle him.

And after a bit I started trying to show him myself. One fall when I had him at the show, Fonda Fair week, we got a hard frost, after several chilly weeks like this.I can remember practically freezing and trying to keep him warm enough so his coat would lie flat and shine. He turned into a regular wooly bear in the fall and you could hardly tell there was a handsome pony under there.

Anyhow, actually this early cold weather isn't at all unprecedented as the first or second week of September used to be the first frost date most years when I was a kid. Even when the kids were big enough to show cows at Altamont, there were years when that mid-summer fair was a frigid affair and washing cows became problematic.

I am hoping that at least frost holds off for another month or two to save the corn and sorghum and other tender crops. The year so far has been bad enough, although crops here are much better than in the west.

Sunday Stills Something Bizarre

 Is that what I think it is?!???

 It is!!!!

 Llamas!!

 A three-up team of llamas striding proudly down the streets of Schoharie NY

How can you not love it

I was kind of excited about this one...such an amazing margin for fun. And sure enough I went shopping with the boss, somewhat against my will I might add, and this is what we found trotting down the streets of Schoharie that fine day.

I was SO glad I went along for the ride.


For more Sunday Stills........

Canna

Number 52

No, not these two, this is a matching set of fence insulators...oh, wait....

On the Northview backyard and barnyard summer count. A cooper's hawk obligingly sat on a hay wagon in the barn yard yesterday and let me walk up within a few feet before she flew. Her crop was so full her beak was pointed up and she could barely wobble off.

Liz had time to run to the truck for her camera and got some great pics.

Spiking Cannons

We hit a couple of farm stands yesterday over in another county. They were lovely places, with a mouth-watering assortment of fruits and vegetables, all lush and lovely and tempting.

When we arrived at the first stand a very "big city" sort of fellow was giving the cashier a hard time. It was embarrassing to even witness, he was so off-the-charts rude and abusive. As we shopped for sweet corn to freeze, he and his party continued to harass the poor lady.

Then one carload took off while the other distracted her. 

They neglected to pay for some of what they took.

I think we were as upset as she was. There is no need for people driving a car that fancy to team up to steal from farm folk. There is no need to bring nasty-rude out to the sticks and spread it around thick as slurry on a hay field.

We commiserated while we paid for our veggies, then headed a ways away to another spot. And there they were again.

It took a few minutes to edge up to a managerial looking person and drop a whispered aside about what we had witnessed a few miles earlier, but I don't think they got out of that place with anything that didn't belong to them. I was irritated all afternoon though.

Book Sale

At the folks' place......

"We are having a sale with 30%-50% off our many books. We have local history, old time fiction authors, hunting, fishing, war books, gun books etc. etc.

 We also have ammo cans, fish poles, and various other items you just can't live without. 

Stop by and see us. We are open by chance, or by appointment. 

Would love to see you all!"

Yogurt Summit CAFO Regulations/Class III Futures

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo announced changes to the CAFO regulations that may help the state's dairies meet new demand for milk for yogurt. Although a good portion of NY milk goes to the fluid market, any changes that enhance the business climate for dairy farms are very welcome.

And some interesting news from the CME, where dairy prices go to die. Class III futures explode

Teh Kitteh Olympics

The sport is fencing. 

No foils allowed. 

The participant is Chain Saw, 

a domestic short hair from the USA.

 Gentlemen

Choose your weapons

 Our contestant caught in a pensive moment

 Perfect form in the "follow the farmer out to the field" event

 Sails smoothly past the "meadow hazard" with grace and aplomb

Carried victorious from the field in the arms of his supporters
*click to embiggen*

***And now, for the behind the scenes commentary....actually Alan and I went out to start....it is going to be a big job...putting the electric wire back up where the deer ripped it down. Chainsaw decided to tag along. In typical cat fashion he persisted all the way to the top of the hill and then petered out and lay around crying...."oh, I'm so tired...I, gasp, can't make it any farther.....gasp, gasp..."

So Alan carried him down. There were a lot of raptors around and he didn't want him to be eaten. Silly cat.

Yogurt Summit and Thruway Tolls

At the Egg. for the yogurt talks. This seems like an oddly appropriate venue for such a discussion. It is great that Governor Cuomo is addressing the burgeoning yogurt industry in the state by trying to ease regulatory burdens on farmers. 

****It would be even better if someone addressed the outrageous abusers of the milk pricing system who keep prices below the cost of production by selling imaginary cheese on the CME.

And there is also a hearing on the proposed 45% increase in Thruway tolls for big trucks. The governor may consider this to be "modest" but the word outrageous comes to mind for me. This will affect farms as well as trucking companies as milk trucks will be impacted.

So will everyone who eats or uses goods transported by trucks, because you can bet that transport companies aren't going to be eating that modest little increase.

Rain Last Night

This is another possible choice

And it is leaky today too. In theory we need it. Personally I would send it south and west if given a choice.

We are working on Fonda Fair entries now. Liz is prolly taking Diamond. For me the days of dragging ponies and horses and strings of 4-H and open cows are in the past and I am entering photographs. I will probably take this one and this one. If you have others that you like better, let me know, because it is hard to choose and I have a few days yet to decide. 

Was working on the Farm Side yesterday, darned near half nuts with all the interruptions. Phone calls, people thumping in and out in search of cool drinks and commentary.

My hair was in serious danger I'll tell you...of tearing out that is.

Then this AM with all asleep or still at their own homes or just not chatty yet, I polished it in fifteen minutes or less.

I've got to learn to write it on Tuesday, claw through all the research, get it down in rough draft (with five tabs open on ethanol and corn plus one on Facebook to protect what's left of my sanity) and then proofread early Wednesday morning. It's quiet then...somewhat...and I am a certified morning person, with acute mental decline beginning at noon and heading south from there apace. 

Anyhow, it's done and sent so I can get back on board with farm life and maybe finish painting that blasted lawn bear. I have got to quit that job this time for real. I just don't have the time to lug all the paints and stuff out and put them away again every day. If I had a workroom it might be different, but the kitchen table is no place for bears and cowboys that are taller than I am. And tacky...did I mention tacky?

Although the cowboy started out as the ugliest thing you could imagine, but once I gave him a face and a big white grin, he became kind of engaging. And it is funny to see him peering out the dining room window when I come in from the barn.

Take this Day

The Lord has given and smile at the softly creeping fog as it flows over pastures like pale molasses and pools and swirls across the creek. Take the quiet that it brings along, muffling highway sounds and silencing the trains...at least a little....and enjoy the softness of the morning. Take the sleepy sounds of daybreak, blue jay, puppy play, caterwauling cat-on-the-porch demanding instant breakfast. Hold them close to happiness somewhere at the edges of your heart.

Take the cows emerging earnestly from the eerie early mist, on their way to yard and stable, eager for the added feed they will find awaiting there. Love them, for they are lovable in the clean-cut, functional way of animals, love their secrets and their puzzles. They may not love you back but they trust you...you can love that you have earned that from them.

Take the sun struggling to find its way through low-lying clouds and then bursting through in all its glory. Love the cool and calm of dawn as it gives way to the jangling business of morning. Let it seep into your heart and make it leap for joy.

We may be facing an early fall on top of a summer of drought and disaster. There may be a hard and worrisome winter in the offing. Some folks are saying so and the signs are right for all of that bad news.

But take this day and love it as it leads you. It is still high summer yet and wonderful with it.

It's Working!

Thank you to all you dear, sweet people who helped me in my attempt to deal with Site Meter's recent failure. Just minutes before I opened the template to send it to a friend to remove the feature completely, it began working again......so I guess we are in wait and see mode for now.

But thanks so much for being willing to help and for teaching me, via your comments, more than I previously knew about dealing with HTML and the template.

Expert Needed

My Site Meter hit counter ground to a painful halt last week and finally locked up at 209,702. It hasn't moved since last Tuesday. I have contacted the company repeatedly only to receive form letters with blah, blah, blah about migrating servers and it only lasting a few hours. Yeah, at least a couple few.

I am completely disgusted and am thinking about removing the code. However, I can't find it! I have scrolled and scrolled through the HTML code and just can't see it. 

I actually put it there many moons ago, but the new template is so different from those days. Anybody know how to get rid of it? Or should I just leave the dead counter sitting there in the side bar as a sort of a monument to years of your visits? I just don't know.

Meanwhile I installed Stat Counter, which is okay I guess....I am lousy at change and have had Site Meter for years.

Thanks in advance....

Shorter and more Southern

The days that is. Even if I oversleep the sun isn't up yet when I arise. And it is coming up halfway down the side of the old horse pasture instead of up behind the neighbor's house. It is shrouded in low clouds most days and dull, not bright with summer glee. 

I am very much not ready for any of this.

Birds are gone or at least on hiatus. Instead of a tangled macrame weaving of songs out in the front yard, hard to decipher, but as interesting as an ancient tapestry of sound, it is now easy to pick out three or four calls. Great crested fly catcher, gold finch, cat bird, blue jay....there isn't much to see or hear so I don't sit on the porch much now. Used to be more interesting than reality TV. Much more. Now....nada. Where is June when you need it?

An odd, thick, bluish mist is snaking down across the heifer pasture even now, obscuring cows and damping off what sun there is.

I am not ready for this.