2012 Fair - Our youngest childs 1st Junior fair

Getting the animals settled before show day. (Spring Yearling)

Getting a pep talk from the experienced showperson (big sister)

Big brother here for support!

She showed this cow (Dry Cow) as a calf in Kiddie Showmanship...Here they are together again years later.

Showing something more her size.  She loves this March calf and started walking her when she was a week old.  Too bad the calf came down with a kidney infection.  The only animal she showed that did not bring her a blue ribbon.

More family support...the neice!  Possibly a future showman!!!

 

Mom and Dad...the bigest supporters of all!

Showing off the days ribbons!

Here is what it is all about...Daddy, Daughter time.  Nothing is more precious.

Changes...

It has taken me a while to sit and write this update. Due to Todd's continued health challenges, working off the farm and other economical trials, we decided to sell most of our herd June 5, 2012. This decision has affected us from the oldest to the youngest. While we knew at some point we would need to pass the milking on to the next generation, we never thought it would come before the next generation was able to take over.

A special thank you to all those who helped us during this time (especially Miller & Co. Auctions). We are truly blessed to have had so much input, help and understanding while all this chaos was going on.

We continue our love for dairy farming and have a few heifers, bulls and cows in our ownership. During this time we are focusing on them and our new division...Huacaya Alpacas! Alpacas are entirely different from cows, but have one main thing in common...you need to understand genetics. As with our Holsteins, we plan to focus our alpaca breeding program on QUALITY. With time, we hope to be able to show our alpacas with the same success we have had with our cows.

 

Below are the pictures of our newest farm members.  They currently have just the two lanes and some shelter.  Their new housing will consist of six lanes and a new lean-to style shelter.  We are learning more about these graceful, curious animals daily and I look forward to posting more about them soon.

Our first Alpacas...they are all boys.  Left to right:Machu Pichu, Journey, Kennedy

The boys next to the girls.  This is a temporary home for them.

Memory Monday

My last Monday's post was of middle daughter and her circus leggo language.  We are now going to fast forward about a year and a half.  At the ripe old age of 3 and 9 this is the scene I came upon...

The kids rooms were downstairs and I didn't hear enough noise ( both of them were down there).  I get to the bottom of the stairs and I see my daughter's profile in the doorway.  One hand on her hip, the other shaking a finger at her brother.  Her words...don't piss me off!

This time brother is clearly not in trouble.  I sent him from the room and don't belive that I even questioned what what going on.  This time she was in for a talking to.  It turns out that her new babysitter (my next door neighbor with a son; daughter's age) used that particular saying.

Not sure what is worse...sending them to school or daycare!

Have a great Monday!  :)

Memory Monday

With the birth of a new (and 1st) grandchild and reading a fellow bloggers post I have decided to create...Memory Monday.  I will do my best to post a memory from the kids, farm or life in general each Monday.

I decided to start with the crazy things kids learn in school.

My daughter was about 2 years old and my son was in second grade (7  years old).  He was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework while I was putting away laundry.  Daughter was in the entry to my bedroom just off the kitchen.  She had a little lego set that had cirus animals and a train that connected and fit the animals in.  She sat on the floor saying F --K, F --K, F --K.  I was not paying attention (never thinking about what she was saying, just glad she was playing happily).  My son shouts out...MOM do you hear what she is saying!?!  She is saying...and he spells it out.  I dropped the laundry and hurried to the kitchen table.

Here it comes...you guessed it...he got in trouble for knowing how to spell that word.  I knew quite clearly that my husband and I did not use that type of language, nor did any of my daycare providers.  Poor kid had to explain that he doesn't talk like that, but learned the word from the bathroom walls.

I sat on the floor next to my daughter, who was still making these particular epitaphs; explained to her that trains say...choo, choo, choo.  She said ok mommy...from then on she used choo, choo, choo with her train sets.

Meanwhile...son got A's in spelling.  :)

Trainer or no trainer?

In the last year I have gone from 6 horses to 2.  The last two horses I have are 3 years old; with all my other responsibilities, they are not broke out.  In the past I have started a couple of young ones, both of them I worked with from the time they were born.  This time, however, even though these two were born here, I have not really worked with them.  They are terrible for the farrier and don't have the best manners.  Mind you, they aren't horrible to be around when you lead them with a halter or if you are working in the pasture.  The dilema is this:

1.  Can't seem to find enough time to get out daily and work them.
2.  When I do work them, I am not sure that I am doing it right.  I just don't want to train them with a cue and have them be re-trained because I did it wrong (different).
3.  I need them to be "kid" safe as my daughter wants to show next year.  I don't expect that she will be showing either of these two, however, I am trying to keep in  mind that it may be possible that one of them (or both of them) will end up in the show ring.
4.  Brings me back to #1; I know I HAVE to find time to work them daily.
5.  Can't afford a trainer right now...maybe late winter?  Please note the word maybe...  :)
6.  If I do find the money for a trainer...how to choose one?  I have had a couple of trainers and most of them were not the best experience for my horses (or me).  There is a good trainer locally that I used once before, but she is very busy and now she works mostly with Andalusions/Crosses.

I have access to RFD TV where I have been watching a lot of different trainers...I find that I really like Ken McNabb and Clinton Anderson.  I try to pick up different tips and tricks from them, but not easy to do from a short show.  Clinton seems to have a great way of teaching, but I can't  seem to find the money now...his DVD's are very expensive.

What techniques or trainers do you use and reccommend?  I know that your trainers are probably nowhere near me, but how do you choose a good trainer?  It seems every time I ask other people around here, no one has anything nice to say about anyone else.  If you do your own training, did you have a mentor (how did you find one) or are you self taught and where is the best source for information?

1st Grandchild

I really don't know if the whole thing has settled in on me yet.  There have been so many changes in our lives...and now, a new granddaughter.

She is beautiful and precious, we are so greatful that mother and child are doing well after a VERY scary delivery (an emergency c-section).



New Grandma with New Granddaughter

With our lives in constant turmoil on the farm, with off-farm jobs AND starting a new business; I am not sure how I am going to find time to drive an hour (one-way) to see her, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I am going to find a way!

I want to be a wonderful Grandma, but I don't want to get in the way of the new parents...any advice out there?

Ugliest Chicken Coop (EVER)!

If you have been reading my blog, you know I am a city girl gone country (AND LOVING IT).  Herein lies my problem.  I don't have the construction knowledge or know-how to many things done.  Mind you, this does not stop me.

My daughter wanted to try a new adventure and my local Co-Op was doing a 1st annual (which means I had a chance at not being the only "don't know what I am doing" person) jackpot broiler.  In case you don't know this means a meat chick raise (in this case) 90 days to show date.  All chicks had to be purchased from the Co-Op.  The Co-Op provided them all at the ripe old age of 10 days old.

So we go to get these babies...

Unfortuneately for my poor baby chicks, I am not much of a builder and know nothing about what a chicken coop is supposed to look like.  Fortuneately, the chicks didn't care what their home looked like, just that it was warm, they were fed and watered AND they had protection from the cats and dogs.

Feel free to laugh at my idea of a home for these babies...

Let me see if I can do justice to what I have done here...in the background is a dog "igloo".  There is large tarp that covers a section of their "pasture and a sort of t-post holding the tarp up.  Again, it is ok to laugh...I am laughing as I write this.  The chicken wire that you see, well, it is in a sort of triangle shape.  No kidding this is the CRAZIEST, UGLIEST thing I have ever seen used as housing for a chicken.

My daughter was very happy, she took 4th place in her age division (she would have done better if I had know that it is ok to get chickens wet and/or give them a bath).

This year, she decided that she would like laying chickens.  We went out and bought a used coop.  I am in the process of fixing it up and refuse to get any chicks until I am done.  Our layers will be around a lot longer and will have a much nicer house.

In case you are interested, Murray McMurray Hatchery has been the best source of information for me.  It has helped with bird selection, feed and shelter.  I even ordered a book about chickens so I could learn how to keep them the healthiest and make certain they had enough in their diet so the egg laying would not deplete their systems.

Hope you enjoyed my ugly coop!  Have a great day and God Bless.



Manitowoc County Culver's Futurity 2010

This year has been so hectic for us that we did not bring our usual numbers to our county fair.  We did, however, participate in the futurity show.

Our futurity show is for 3 year old cows that have hopefully calved for the second time.  For those of you who have never been involved in a dairy futurity we will be registering our babies, born this year, to show in three years time.  The thing that seemed the most different for me is that all the people leading the cows are dressed in formal wear.  At our farm, we usually sign up as many of our babies as possible, so that when they are 3 we have choices.  You are not required to send every animal that is signed up, however, you can not take a 3 year old that wasn't signed up as a baby and now looks great.

One nice thing is that we sold 2 cows to a young couple that are just starting out.  Since they are just starting out, they would normally not be able to show until they have babies that are registered and have grown for three years.  In this case, both cows we sold them were entered in our county as babies and will be eligible to show for them next year.

My sister-in-law, Brenda, is just starting her third trimester so we were all a little concerned about her leading a cow, but as usual, she did a GREAT job!  Our cow, Cava-Lanes Durham Mary stood third this year in a group of 26.  Below are a couple of pictures from our futurity and county fair.

Brenda leading Cava-Lanes Durham Mary

Luke with Cava-Lanes Durham Marika

Our youngest child with Cava-Lanes Pronto Shantel

Hectic, Hectic, Hectic!

So many changes and so little time.  For the winter we had to drop from milking over 60 cows back to the low 40's as we do not have enough space in the barn for everyone.  This was done by drying a few off and sending them to another facility to winter and selling a few.  Over the winter we had so many calves born that we had them everywhere.  I even put a few upstairs in the hay/straw mow.  We have now moved back all the dry cows and have three bred heifers left to bring back home.

Eric (our milker that took over for me) has decided to move on to a larger farm and we have had to find a replacement.  Our first replacement was just not for us and thankfully Eric gave us enough notice that I had time to try out another person.  Jason is our newest member, and so far a GREAT fit for us.  He has a great attitude and loves the farm!  We wish Eric all the best in his new endeavors.

Our favorite farm dog, Koda, has had some allergy issues and this spring has gotten to the point that I can no longer think that Benedryl is going to help.  I have taken him to the vet for a very expensive allergy test and am waiting for the results on pins an needles.  After his allergies are identified, they (a lab in Colorado) will develop a program of shots especially for him.  I hope this gives him the relief that he needs as this year he is putting holes in his skin.  Until all this is done, we have put him on an anti-biotic and steroids for quick relief.

Hubby is settling into his new position and I am still enjoying my job at the Co-Op.  It gets hectic with the jobs off the farm and then trying to catch up on the farm every chance you get.  The house seems to be the last on the list, oh well as my mother always says...the work will still be there when I get home.

Classification

With both of our new jobs off the farm, my impending surgery and classification all in the same week; I wasn't sure how things were going to go.

Classification happens for us every 7 months. Before we classify we clip, wash and primp our cows. On classification day, we get up very early (or stay all night) to do finishing touches. Even though the cows were washed, tails are done separately. As you can imagine, the cows continue to produce manure which has to be cleaned before the classifier gets there.

Due to my new schedule, I was not able to get pictures of the cows getting clipped. I do, however, want to thank Anthony Fischer (Fischer Heights Dairy), Jim Neuser, Eric Haupt and Luke Lindsmeyer. These guys came in and clipped all the cows for us.

I did make it to the barn for the first part of washing. Each cow is rinsed with warm water, then we add a whitening soap, and a final rinse.

Yes, that is a pressure washer, that our good friend Jason Miller of Millercrest is using. We are very careful about how much pressure is used as well as how long the spray is allowed on each cow.

A HUGE Thank You to Jason for all his time and effort.

Again, I was so busy during all this that I didn't get any pictures of us doing tails. For their tails we get a bucket with warm soapy water and hold it up to them while soaking the tail. Then we wash away all the manure, rinse and comb them out. Imagine how many times we have to change the water in the pails!

Finally, the classifier arrives! This is important to us and our herd because it gives us an idea of how our cows are doing against other registered holsteins that are the same age. Our goal is to improve our herds BAA each time we score. This is not an easy goal to acheive. A "BAA" is Breeding Age Average. Each cow is looked at individually and scored based on her age, height, leg confirmation, udder capacity, udder placement, teat placement, and so on. There are 17 traits for the classifier to look at; broken into 5 scorecard breakdowns. If you look closely, she is holding a hand-held computer for her to enter the "breakdowns" into. The paper she is holding below the computer is the individual cow's registration paper. The registration paper will be stamped with the new score and date that the cow was scored.

As she scores each cow, she explains to us what she views as the cows strength and weakeness. The score is based on a 0 to 100 scale. In our herd we have 2 cows at 92; 2 at 91; and 3 at 90. I stopped there as these are our excellent scored cows. The breakdowns for these scores are just as important as the overall score.

Having a herd of young cows will make your herds BAA a bit lower than someone with an older herd of cows. Young cows will typically start out with a lower score as they don't have the maturity that the older cows have.

There are many facets to being classified. There are some exceptions to this, but, each cow starts classification with their first lactation. Usually they are between the age of 2 and 3 years old. The score they receive each time they are scored can go up OR down, based on how the individual cow has matured. At the time the cow becomes 5 years old, her score becomes permanent. This means her score can no longer go down, she can, however, earn more points IF she continues to improve with age.

Each classifier has their own views, but are screened regularly by the Holstein Association to ensure that they are all as uniform in their assesment of cows as possible. Each time we have classified (since Todd and I have taken over the farm), we have had a different classifier. Classifier's are sent by the Holstein Association and we do not get to choose the person we get. This ensures that each herd is viewed by quality individuals that have a wide range of experience, but that don't see the same cows every time. Again, this helps to acheive the Holstein Association's goal of uniformity.

All in all we had a good day (January 19th). We won't know for a while what our new BAA is, but we were very excited to be listed, for the second year in a row, in Holstein World's list of top 200 herds in the USA for our BAA.

County Fair 2009

This may be a bit late, but we are proud of our kids and how we did at Manitowoc County Fair.

My (middle) daughter is learning a lot in the beef project and this year joined a 4-H group to compliment her FFA group.

This year she took a heifer and a steer. The red one is her heifer, she took Reserve Champion Market Heifer and her steer (the black one) took second in his class.

We are VERY Proud of you Midget!

Our youngest daughter showed in the "kiddie showmanship" class for the second year.

We also had three cows in the "Culver's Manitowoc County Futurity". The problem is that I am usually holding the manure bucket so I didn't get any shots. Sorry, I know pictures exist, I just don't have them. Hope I have better luck getting them next year. :)

Government Money?!?

Hmmmm, as a dairy farmer I am loathe to accept help from the government. Many reasons for this, just take a look at the "Price Stabilization" proposal. What a mess, anyway...

A new program was just rolled out. Dairy Farm Management Team. In this program, there is room for 50 farmers in Wisconsin to enroll. If accepted you would be able to spend up to $2000.00 in grant money to learn to manage your farm better. There is a 10% fee the owner has to pay towards the expenses incurred by this project.

We, Cava-Lanes Holsteins, were extremely blessed to be selected as one of the 50 farms.

What does this mean for us? Well, for us it means we get to have a group of people that are normally involved in our farm, come together, and discuss (very candidly) our farms' strengths, weakness and how we can better strengthen our positives and create fewer vulnerabilities.

As a beginning farmer, this is extremely valuable to me. I have so much to learn and so little time to learn it.

We are extremely lucky to be in Manitowoc County, our extension agent is the best! We have only had our pre-meeting and first meeting so far, however, many things were discovered and I can't wait to see how this ends. We only get 3 meetings on the government, then the rest is up to us.


A Great Big THANK YOU to all who are involved in helping us make Cava-Lanes Holsteins a better busines!

When One Door Closes...Part 2

This is my update as I have not written in the last six months. I truly thought with my husband being laid-off that I would have more time, not less.

Well that has not been the case. I would like to start by THANKING all of you who sent me messages and I am sorry I was unable to respond.

Since my last post "When One Door Closes", my husband has been hospitalized twice (I seriously thought we were going to lose him this last time), my daughter had to have an outpatient procedure and I had my own procedure done.

If all that is not enough, my husband has still not found a job. I have started to apply off the farm, but don't have the earning potential he does.

On the bright side, my sister-in-law got married. She is now a part of Gildale Holsteins!


We are very proud of her and happy for both of them!

Thank you again to all who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers! I hope to send another post soon!

Just in case, have a Merry Chritsmas and a Happy New Year from Cava-Lanes Holsteins!