Recently we had an inspection of the dairy facility. Too make a long explanation short, this one involved many farms, and their total score had to be 90% or above to pass. The group squeaked by with a 90% exactly. Today we got our score-a 98%. Now most people would be thrilled with this, and normally we would be too-except for one little problem. The 2 points they deducted were from the inspection of the well that feeds the house, not the barn. They inspected the wrong well, found a problem with it, and deducted 2 points from our score. So, needless to say, we are a part of the "95%-plus-you-get-a-hat-and-not-a-plaque" club. Don't worry-I made some phone calls.
Our oldest son, the budding electrician, was trying to make a sale to our daughter today, and boy did she want this item:
She insisted I give her $10.00-which I did not. I told her to ask him what the family discount was. She came back, and said that it was $5.00. I still did not give her the money. She came back a third time, very excited.
"Mom! What if I make cookies, and sell them to Daddy? Then can I buy it?"
Okay, now I had to give her a lot of credit for coming up with that. She's 5 yrs. old and has already connected the dots on work, money, and rewards. To encourage her resourcefulness, I agreed. I did not mention to her the costs of making the cookies. We'll get to that part later on. Her excitement was just too much to dampen today.
On the farm.....
We've been offering the cows some supplemental hay. Some of our paddocks are less than stellar and do not have enough for a full feeding. We feed the hay on the feed pad at the new barn, but don't let them lay in the barn (they lay in the paddock). Tonight's paddock had an exceptional buffet of grass. It was interesting to see that most of the cows went straight out to graze after milking, without eating the balage (hay). However, about 30 cows stayed at the barn and ate the hay. This made me want to go and record their names, and sell all of their offspring next Spring. I want cows that are going to forge in the paddock and put some effort into attaining their own feed, not just stand in the barn, free-loading, waiting for it to be fed to them. Given this is an election year, I thought too many people might read too much into this observation of mine, so I almost didn't share this. From a business point of view, it makes sense. Those cows work for me, and I want them to do just that-work. I'll stop sharing now.
Great job to those who thought of creative ways to get from point A to B, and to those who were short-changed-you're great too. Your efforts might not be rewarded the way that they should be, but the truth always comes out.
Cookie, anyone?
-Terri
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