The "Why" of Seasonal Calving...Even Now

Today we "dried up the cows".

Kid #3 got up bright and early at 4am to help this year! She was in charge of grouping the treatment and teat sealant.

The whole team helped out.  We missed you Felicia and Sam!

At dry off, we milk on one side of the parlor, then prepare each cow for her time spent not milking, while she finalizes growing that calf that we look forward to in the Spring.

Per tradition, we enjoy breakfast together after wards.

Being a "seasonal" producer simply means that our cow's reproduction cycles are all on the same schedule. Instead of calving the same number of cows each month, year around, we have them all on the same schedule, as close together as feasible. In April (most of them) will have their calf.  In July, we will put the bulls in for "breeding season".  Late January or mid February the cows will naturally decrease in milk production, so we "dry them off".  We take 6-8 weeks for parlor maintenance and calving prep, then we do it all over again.

Why you ask?

1.  On a pasture based system, it is common sense to have your cow's peak production time (shortly after calving) line up with the pasture's peak production. Peak grass for peak production.

2.  On a pasture based system, the most expensive time to feed a cow is in the winter.  If you have cows entering into their peak production phase during winter, you also need to meet her needs with high quality feed.  It is less expensive to spend 6-8 weeks providing only dry cow quality hay, and a mineral supplement, instead of milk cow quality hay and grain.

3.  We can manage the herd as one group, all year long.  The only time this differs is during April, May, and the first part of June, when we keep the dry cows separate from the milk cows.

4.  We are not raising calves over the winter.

5.  We get a break from milking and can focus on other aspects of the farm.

But...
What about the milk checks?

Its no secret the status of the dairy industry right now.  If you're a farmer, every other post in your social media news feed is about the price, the problem, the politics, and the people of dairy.

We operate more like a cash crop producer, except we receive income over a longer period of time throughout the year. We have to prepare ahead of time for when the checks don't come.  In normal years, we are able to put enough into our savings account to cover the costs when we are "dry".

It needs to be noted that our expenses are considerably less during this time. We are not running vacuum pumps, tank compressors, lights, etc.  We are not buying cow grain, parlor supplies....

Starting last June, after my trip from New Zealand, we began a very strategic plan of attack for how we were going to deal with the STILL low prices, in preparation for this year.

1.  We got around to selling things we had replaced. Two tractors and a PTO generator.

2.  When it quit raining in July, we supplemented the cows with hay in the pasture, so we wouldn't be spending fuel and time hauling manure from the barn.

3.  We hauled out the pit immediately following the cows.  This way, we had about 20 days of regrowth when we rotated back around, helping reduce how much extra hay we had to feed.

4.  We patched every little hole in the feed trough to reduce grain waste in the parlor.

5.  When we got rain and warm weather in October, and the pasture started to come back, we ran a poly wire off of the home farm onto the rental farm, and took the milk cows down there to graze. They are able to eat more tonnage of forage than we can harvest by machine. And all it cost us was the time spent "babysitting the cows".

6.  We checked the cows for pregnancy in early November instead of the next January. We sold our 8 open cows as soon as we could, so they didn't eat expensive feed and take up barn space when we knew they were not going to have a calf.

7.  We very carefully ordered feed and supplies so we would run the grain bins completely out right before we dried the cows off.  We also ran out of the winter teat dip one milking prior!

8.  We milked into February instead of drying off on January 31st, like the past two seasons.  This will give us a (very small) check in March.

9.  We did not replace or hire anyone additional to fill in for the employees that went back to school or on leave, or quit.  We each just picked up a few more afternoon milkings per week.

10.  We are continuing to look into niche markets, such as expanding the grass fed beef.

None of these are the "magic bullet".  But I do think it helps to be as proactive as we possibly can, and keep an open mind.  Look at things differently.  I have, and will, invest personal money into the business this year if needed, but I hope that later this year things turn around, and in the long run, pay myself back.  I do believe farming is a business and needs to be operated that way.

So now that the cows are dry......

One of our list of tasks to be completed.

The kids and I will take a break away from the farm at some point.  Another aspect of the industry right now is the stress level.  Yes, the co-ops are sending out suicide prevention letters with the milk checks.  That is not a rumor.  One of the downfalls of living where you work is never really being completely "off". Unless you're at a meeting. Does that count as having a day "off"? This break helps us rejuvenate, renew, relax and refocus.  The farm is only as healthy as I am.  And if you know anything about our story you know how important it is that I stay healthy.  A side note-other ways I manage this aspect are taking supplements of D3, Biotin, Turmeric, Emergen C, and a multi-vitamin. I try to exercise when I can, although the past few months have been challenging. I talk to trusted friends and they help me hammer out ideas. And they do a lot of listening!

How can we afford to take a break away from the farm at this point?  How can we not?

Next, I will share with you how we managed to get away. Stay warm, friends.