Farmer's Day Off

Last week, Rick and Kid #1 took a day off.  What do farmers do on their day off?  Most likely something related to farming.  This time it was the Ft. Wayne Farm Show.  For many years now Rick has made this annual trip with some other seasoned farmers.

A day off constitutes not having to work during daylight hours, so Kid #1 helped with morning chores before they left.  He did an extra day of school during Christmas break to make up for being gone.

This year I sent the camera with them.  Along with oodles of pencils, notepads, and little gadgets, they brought home a couple of snapshots.

While they did this....

I did this.

One of our team members and I did afternoon chores.  I had a sitter for the other kids, and we all enjoyed the change in pace from our regular afternoon schedule. 

Saturday night we had a great time at the Friends of 4-H dinner.  This annual fundraiser is planned, organized, and hosted by volunteers (read :4-H parents) and is always a lot of fun. Along with a excellent meal there is entertainment, games, and a silent auction.  It is so much fun to see your former fellow 4-Hers compete against each other in silly competitions...it takes you right back to fair. So take heart current 4-Hers: if you can't beat them now, there's still time!

We went home with some neat items from the auction including some movie tickets, a food stand gift certificate, local honey, and some tools.  All very useful items-and none of them will clutter up the house! Win!

These next couple of weeks will be spent doing normal chores outside, prepping for dry-up, and finishing up all the business related tasks involved with self employment.  I'm happy to say we've got our balance sheet, cash flow projection, 2014 inventory, CSP records, and W-2s done!  Now onto 1099s, our tax appointment worksheets/summary, and finally getting a year end summary to the bank. If there was one month I would trade Employer for Employee....it would be January!

Happy Tax Season!
I think I'll start planning MY day off! :)
-Terri

The Results are In!

This morning we had our annual herd check.  The vet comes out and checks the cows to see if they are pregnant.  Today we had Nick, and we had a great time.  Yes....herd checks can be fun.  We checked 118 cows (117 of ours & "Bessie") in about 2 hours.

We use a highly sophisticated system of boards and barrels and make the vet walk the plank.  This was actually Dr. Mike's idea a couple of years ago.  Before we checked them from inside the rail, guiding one cow in at a time.  The plank is much faster!

 

 

If you didn't know how a veterinarian checks a cow...you do now.  Most of the time they can tell how far along she is by feeling the size of a particular artery inside her.  If she is not that far along, they can also use their ultrasound.  They see the ultrasound picture on those glasses Nick is wearing on his head.  It's pretty interesting!

 

 



We keep record of how far along each cow is in the "blue notebook".  Here, the blue notebook is equivalent to Dairy Comp 305.

All of our breeding records are right here on this one sheet of notebook paper.  We record each cow's name under the correct column, which range from 4 months to 7 months.  We also have an "open" column.  This drives some producers nuts.  They think we ought to use the latest software program, and know exactly which day each cow is due.   Being a mother 5 times over, I have never given birth on my exact due date....cows don't either.   All we care to know is that the majority of the cows will calve in April and May, with some stragglers in June.  If you flip this page over and view it like a bar graph, you'll see that we will have some late March calves, a whole bunch in April and May, and about 15 or so in June.  Perfect!  We don't even care which cows calve when, just as long as the majority calve in the "window".   We also take note of when we put the bulls in (June 30th 2014) and when we took them out (September 28th 2014).  We don't need a software program or a breeding wheel with stickers to know when the cows were exposed to the bull and when they are going to calve.  Either they get bred-or they don't.

6 did not! That is a great number.  We are quite pleased with this year's results.  Bessie, the cow we've been babysitting for Mom and Dad, also did not get bred.  I told Mom I would ship her for them (put her on their account at the stockyard) so Dad would not be tempted to give her another chance.....

I also took some other notes.  We had a whole bunch of cows that need ear tags replaced, and I kept track of how many cows the kids have milking.  This does not include bred heifers.
Kid #1: 5
Kid #2: 5
Kid #3: 2
Kid #4: 1

All of their cows were bred this year! They are excited and hoping for heifer calves.

Setting them up to Fail

Yesterday, someone told Rick that home schooling our children was "setting them up to fail."

Many people do not support home schooling, and most of the time comments like these roll right off my back and are not given a second thought.

Until yesterday.  For some reason, I let this comment clog up my brain the rest of the afternoon and into this morning.

Truthfully, failing would be saying that we are home schooling then not doing any schooling at all.

This person sited how we need to provide the children with more social interaction.  This is the most common anti-home-school argument.  It is also the one with the least merit.

When you see our list of our children's social interaction opportunities, you just might put us on the "hyper-scheduled" list.  Some "experts" feel that children should have no more than 1 extra activity per season.  So often I want to ask "So, which way do you want it, people? More or less?"

I'll use my oldest child as an example.

Kid #1
4-H:  One interaction per month-either a meeting, service project, or trip.
Music:  Two hour long lessons per month.
Swimming:  1 per week-when finished, replaced with another learning opportunity.
Church:  2 per week.
Field trips:  About 1 per month with the home school group.

These are just the scheduled items. This does not include time spent with other families for fun, time spent with cousins, time spent working outside with us and the hired help, or any interactions with the neighbors and people we do business with.

We are not locking these kids inside the house and not letting them see the light of day.  In fact, if we spend any more time away from the home,  we might not even be considered a home school.

Our kids interact with youth in their age range as well as adults.  They are exposed to different generations, backgrounds, and characters (to say the least!).  They are not confined to the same age group all day long.

This reminded me of when we put together our plan for this farm.  Less than a handful of people were supportive.  Most everyone else said "You'll never make it".  I reminded myself that I did not listen to those people then-I knew our plan would work.  So I'll try to not let this bother me now.   From the list of options concerning our children's education, we've picked home schooling.  Later on we may or may not pick something else.

If I had the chance to ask this person in what areas he thought our children were going to fail, I would.   Would it be work? Relationships? Personal development? Are any of us perfect in those areas, or do we fail from time to time?  Every time one of my kids slip up as an adult (they will) is it going to be blamed on the home schooling? Really?

Be careful how you judge people and the decisions they make.  Rick did not tell this person that they were failing their own children by sending them to school.  We realize that there are many different ways to get from point A to point B, and there may come a time when we pick a different route...they may too.

I couldn't help it...

I'll take the dirt road...

...going right through our farm.

Last week we constructed our cow lane. Saying we "re-constructed" our cow lane would be incorrect, because that would make one assume that at one point we had constructed one, when in reality, we only put up the fence and did nothing with the actual lane.  So, we finally know the answer to the question "how long can a start-up farm go without constructing cow lanes?" .....12 years.




Looking to the South, towards the farm, you see the original lane on the left.  This year's by-pass is on the right.  All the spring rain made the by-pass necessary, just to get the cows to the barn.

Here, you see even the by-pass getting bad.  We knew we would not be grazing this section of the farm next spring if we did not fix this.
 

This was Rick's emergency fix so we could leave the farm and go get that bale unroller.  It rained just prior to our trip, and this was unpassable.  (looking North from the barns)
 

What a waste of pasture!  This picture just makes a grazer's stomach churn.

First, the dozer took off the mud and topsoil from the original lane. 

 

We rolled out an 8ft wide layer of geotextile cloth.  The cloth keeps the gravel and crushed concrete from sinking to China. On top of the cloth is a layer of gravel.

 

On top of the gravel is a layer of crushed concrete.

 

Each layer is packed with a roller.

Rick and I, with help from the boys, framed up pads for the water tanks to sit on.  The white tube is protecting a water hydrant that we plug into with a hose hooked on the water tank.  We'll back fill around the drinker pads with clay and soil, and replant those areas.  The cows will stand on the drinker pad to drink.

 

Ta-Da!!!  If it only went that fast.  A predicted two day project turned into three.  We did two half days of school and took the third day off.  To finish this project we will replant the by-pass areas of the pasture back to grass along with the area around the drinker pads.

 

I'm sure you noticed the increase in the price of the milk and butter you have bought at the store.  For various reasons the price of milk is up, and I am glad to share with you the ways we have been trying to be good stewards of the additional income.   By fixing the lanes, our cows will be less stressed and cleaner, employee moral will be raised and we will be relieved of some of the effort needed to maintain the quality of milk we strive for.  We are always careful and intentional when the price of milk is up. We tithe accordingly.  We pay bills, put money into savings (for dry time and taxes), then work on project(s), and finally pay off debt.  We look at it as an opportunity to use the high year to prepare ourselves for the lower year that usually follows.  I told Rick it seems as though God has provided financially for the abundance of repairs we needed this year (up 60% so far) so next year, with potentially lower prices, we will be okay having already fixed those things.  Its just as (or more) important that we not waste God's blessings when they come in abundance...and always be thankful.

 



The new addition...

It took a ton of logistical planning, including 4 people to do chores and 2 people to care for the kids, for us to make a quick trip to Pennsylvania to pick up our new purchase.

We’ve been looking for a vintage Ford truck. Earlier this year I had plans of picking one up, and even showing it at the Don Boak benefit car show at Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers. 

So, here it is, folks! 
(You might have to use your imagination. A little black paint... some tires... an engine would help…..)

 

No, it is not a John Deere!  However, it matches that one yellow rim on the tractor quite nicely!

…yeah,   I know.  It’s not my truck. It’s Hustler Bale Unroller.  Reality kicked in and our responsible selves won over our desire to reward ourselves for hard work.

The closest dealership that carries these is located in northwest Pennsylvania.  We made arrangements with our friends who farm there, had the machine delivered to their farm and picked it up on Saturday.   We negotiated the price as best as we could, gaining an extra 5% off retail (for %15 total) if we paid in full ahead of time.  So we got to pick up a new machine, visit with old friends, and enjoy some time off.

If you know these folks, you know we had a great visit!  Our 4.5 hours seemed like mere minutes.

In the winter of 2003 into 2004 we owned 1 tractor with a set of bales tines on the back.  It didn’t even have a loader.  To feed the cows hay in the winter we would roll the hay out by hand.   We milked at 10am and 10pm then, to accommodate Rick’s job, so around midnight each night we would go out and roll enough hay out for the next day.  It was a lot of work. A LOT.  When the snow got deep for a time, we borrowed a skid steer and lined up bales of hay in a small paddock. We used round bale feeders and polytape to feed the cows one row at a time.  The problem with the round bale feeders is the mess the cows make when they congregate around a bale feeder.  Remember, at this time we only had 1 tractor for our line of equipment.  We couldn’t afford to create more work.  So we started rollin’ them out again. 

In November of 2004 we scraped together every last penny we could spare and bought a DML bale unroller.  The relief that thing brought is almost unexplainable.  It was the best $4500.00 we spent and the first piece of equipment we bought with cash.   Winter was much more tolerable with the bale unroller.

Our old Bale feeder.

Now, 10 years later, it needs some serious repair.  The chain that unrolls the bale is British Standard Chain.  British Standard Chain is a custom-order only item that requires 4 months for delivery, and total repair costs were going to be around $2000.00 As is, the DML can only unroll off of one side now, and let’s just say you operate it with as much care as possible.

 The thought of getting rid of that first bale unroller was almost unbearable.  I know-it’s a piece of equipment, just a hunk of metal.   But if you rolled out as many bales of hay as I did that first winter, you’d understand why I feel that way.  So let’s just say it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. We’ll keep it as a back-up, and then when the chain breaks we’ll take it to the scrapyard.  It wouldn’t be ethical to sell a machine that requires that much effort to get it repaired, anyway.  British Standard Chain….really?

My e-devotional this week included a verse from Proverbs 24:27
Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.
(we should carry out our work in proper order)

 Growing up we were often reminded that “the barn will build the house”.  The verse in my email was conformation that we did the right thing.  While it would have been more fun to drive home a “new-to-me” truck, not having to roll out bales by hand when the chain breaks on the old machine sounds way more appealing.

Here are some other snapshots of our quick trip:

I often think how enjoyable it would be to farm down there....until the hay on those mountains need to be raked. Then I change my mind.

Getting ready to milk at our friend's farm.

Kid #4 was very excited to see this "blue" load the machine.  He wants one with a cab, too!

It was fun to see the impression on other's faces while we drove home. I wonder what they thought this machine was used for?

We made a stop at a popular cheese house on the way home.

Yeah.....we like cheese!

No, we're not trying to turn the 806 into a JD one piece at a time...

Thanks to Mom, Dad, Chloe, Chris, Carrie & Kid #1 for making this trip possible!
 

The 95%...

Wow! What a day-

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



 

Home Canned Tomato Soup

Home canned tomato soup is one my family's favorites.  I like it because it healthy and convenient all in one jar!  At mealtime it only needs to be warmed up.

 

First, quarter your tomatoes and fill up your roaster pans.





 



 

Next put those roaster pans in a 350 oven for 1.5 hours.

 

Get your supplies ready while those bake.  I use a fruit & vegetable strainer on my KitchenAid stand mixer.  I use this for applesauce, too.

 



 

Process your tomatoes through the strainer.  Hand crank strainers work just fine, too.

 

 

The recipe I use calls for 10 quarts of tomato juice, so I use 5 jars, fill them each twice, and dump them into a big pot.

 

 

To this you add sugar, canning salt, pepper, onion salt and celery salt.

 

 

While this heats up on the stove, melt 1lb of butter in a saucepan, and have 2 cups of flour ready.

 

 

After the butter melts, mix in the flour, followed by some juice to make a smooth mixture.

 

 

Now, mix this in with the soup in your big pot. Bring to boil, and its ready to can!

 

 

Process quarts 30 minutes in a hot water bath canner.

 

 

Today's bushel made 19.75 jars of soup, 2 jars of juice (used to goulash, soup, etc.) and about 6 large tomatoes in the fridge for BLT's. Yum!!

 

Some people think that juicing tomatoes wastes too much of the tomato.  You actually get the keep the juice and the pulp, and only let go of the seeds, skins, and cores.  From 1 bushel (-6) tomatoes, I had this to feed to the pigs:

 

 

Here is the link to the recipe I used:

 

Easy Canned Tomato Soup

 

Happy Canning!

-Terri