in just over a year...

My kids have been part of the 4-H dairy club in the next county over; which entails for me over an hours drive each way, as well as carting them all over the state to meetings and shows and events, which I don't mind doing most of the time because I can see the direct and obvious benefit. And I don't just specifically mean in agriculture or dairy actually, I'm talking about the confidence and personal growth, I'm so blessed to have a life that allows me to be there and a witness to it.

Anyway, they've been a part of this club for just over a year now and yesterday took part in their second State Dairy Judging Contest. I watched them confidently walk around and with a slightly more knowledgeable eye place the cows, heifers and calves where they thought they should be placed according to their conformation. They were not afraid to tap the leg to get the cows to 'stand correctly' or get in between the calves to see which one had a better topline or what have you. They didn't have to stand in front of the judges and not only place them but give reasons because of their ages, but Andrew was able to practice with one of the other leaders so he's going to try it next year.

I found out late last night that Andrew took 3rd place and Faith took 6th! I'm so happy for them and if they stick to it I think it's likely that at least one of them, if not both, will be headed to the Eastern States on a judging team in the future!

I have to go now, the kids just came up from bringing their dirty laundry to the basement and said it's REALLY flooded. So much for a day of rest!

Birthday Girls

Faith discovered while choosing her 4-H heifer this year that they shared the same birthday, how neat is that? So being the thoughtful girl she is, she called the dairy barn and asked if she could pop in to wish her girl a happy birthday and to see if she could bring her a carrot treat. The barn obliged her but suggested to her that a bit of grain might be a better treat as opposed to the carrot. We hadn't seen Blitz for a few months as show season is over as is the lease agreement, she's a whole lot larger now than just a few months ago; we found her in yet another barn but not surprisingly she was eating! Did I even mention that she's a pig! Yes, she's a Holstein, but she ate a proportionately larger amount of food while in our care. Anyway, her head was sticking out through the slots to the feed trough, it was almost like she was expect Faith. Faith walked up to her and held out her hand with a palm full of grain, Blitz licked it up and looked for more. Faith reached out to give her a scratch and Blitz backed away shyly, Faith was patient and took her time and eventually the light came on for Blitz, (no small feat for a Holstein I'm told.) and then she stepped forward to Faith to pat and scratch, then she gave her another bite to eat. I chatted with the barn owner while all this was taking place and we agreed it was lovely for a child to choose to spend time with a heifer in a dairy barn any day, but especially on their birthday.

not on my list

You know 'the list' you make while growing up of things that you'd like to do, think you'll do or to have happen to you? I've got lots of things on that list but I can tell you one thing that is NOT, being mounted by an 800+- pound heifer in heat, nope not even a little bit on that list. Yes folks you read that correctly, I was mounted be a heifer in heat. This week we've been at the county fair and yesterday while helping get ready for shows yesterday and today I was delegated to gopher, as in "Go fer this calf or that cow." etc. taking them back and forth between the barn and wash rack. No biggie right? Well that's what I thought until I innocently leaned slightly over to untie one amorous heifer and next thing I know.... up and away she went! One of the owners came to my aid swiftly and I was not injured, thankfully. I can only imagine the E.R. visit and having to explain that! And fortunately it was me and not one of the 4-Hers. That would have been very bad. I'm told that they are only typically in what is considered "standing heat" for 18 hours and would be fine to work with today, after our encounter yesterday I was slightly skeptical. She was, in fact she was totally over it today, back to herself and as she walked by me headed to the show ring she didn't even glance my way or say "Hi!" I guess I was just a fling! ;-)

Show #1 under their belts!

Yesterday Faith and Andrew competed in their first ever dairy show. This was a pretty big show and lots of competition, and when they walked out of the ring they both said WOW, that was fun! I don't know exactly how many entries were in their classes, but Andrew went first and placed 9th of about 15-18 heifers. Faith's heifer was a bit older and went in second and was 9th or 10th out of the same number. They may have been too excited to be nervous, but as soon as the show started my stomach clamped down and I was not even competing! It was a very hot day so we were all glad that their classes were in the am so they could get back out of their show whites and into something much cooler! Let me tell you I've never seen so much pimping of cows in my life! I mean seriously, fake tails, spray paint, glue, extra grain, rosin, hair dryers, blow dryers, (yes, there is a difference!) clippers, trimmers and fake hair, all this to make a cow look "natural!" I cannot make this up! This is reality for the life of a "show cow" and it's all an attempt to make it look real. Crazy huh?! I don't get it, but the kids had so much fun!

Show day started early, we were up at 4;30am and at the fairgrounds shortly after 7am after an hour drive. That make for a long day! (Hey Andrew, got a smile to go with that swagger?)

The heifers had been prepped and re-prepped and prepped some more now it was the kids' turn. These harness type things held their numbers.

Waiting patiently to enter the ring.

More waiting, so he grabbed a brush and made the tail, excuse me switch, look fluffy, again...

Andrew's up and entered the ring. His heifer mooed all he way around the show ring, constantly.

Talking to the judge...

Headed into the final placement line up, middle of the pack! Go Andrew!

Faith's up next, and headed into the ring with an uncooperative heifer. Stubborn, man is she stubborn. I hear this tends to be the case with Holsteins...

Faith was able to get her under control and they did better after that.

Setting her up. Squaring the front feet.

Final placement line up. Middle of the pack. Go Faith!

One young girl with a huge sense of accomplishment.

Turns out that I didn't miss the 4-H show deadline like I thought, so Faith will be at the fair again this weekend showing in 4-H. And Thursday both Faith and Andrew will be showing Holsteins and Ayrshire's for a friends farm, they are excited and cannot wait to be back in the show ring. What a great experience for them.

Dairy Show Time!

For the past three days now we've been at the barn where the kids are leasing their dairy heifers and trying to get ready for the state dairy show, ugh! I say ugh, but really it's a wonderful learning experience for all of us. First off, none of us can get over how fast these girls have grown! WOW! So much so that when we walked into the barn we didn't recognise them at first, we had to check the ear tags to make sure, we couldn't believe our eyes. Then, the second day they needed to wash them. I don't know how many of you have ever washed a cow; much less a young heifer; but it was about as easy as nailing jello to a tree! I sincerely hope it gets easier as they get older, but at this point I'm thinking it'll be more like trying to wrangle an octopus! That being said, we had a nice time and the heifers were as patient as I could expect them to be given the lack of experience on all counts.

Andrew heads in first to spray them down.

Faith has just realized how much poop can be stuck to one heifer... and I don't think she was impressed...

Oddly enough Andrew's heifer was reasonably clean, ironic since he is a living, breathing Pigpen, (from the Charlie Brown comic strip!!! Literally!) but he's happy and I'll bet he gives his immune system a run for it's money! Oi vey!

Nope, not impressed. We had no carding comb, so it was picking off the dingle berries with our fingernails and/or scrubbing them off with the brush. We found a combination of both worked nicely, it just took a long time. I asked her if she wanted to do this again next year, fully thinking she'd say no, as this really was more Andrew's 'cup of tea' and his idea. Her response shocked me, she said "Yes!" but with that preteen attitude that had just a hint if 'Duh Mom' in it.

Soaking the switch (the proper name for the fluffy part of the tail) really seemed to help loosen the dingle berries, too bad we couldn't soak the entire cow!

As I mentioned above, Andrews heifer was markedly clean compared to Faiths, so he had a bit more time to walk her around and practice as if he were in the show ring. I was glad to get this picture of him, I think it's pretty much the essence if Andrew: working with his cow, on a farm, covered from head to toe, grinning from ear to ear.

I think he was 'setting her up', but in all likelihood he was probably "heifer whispering."

Finally! We get to the rinse down and not a dingle berry in sight. Let me tell you that took a particular mindset and a whole lot of determination!

It's late in the day but Faith was able to get in a bit of practice, it didn't go as well as Andrew's did, but this heifer was tired and had had ENOUGH! Faith is not as confident as Andrew and gets frustrated easier, but was able to take a breath and get relaxed enough to get a bit of 'good practice' in and ended on a good note. This heifer is also a few months older, a great deal larger and pushier. I'm sure once Faith gets to practice without her having just been maxed out things will go as smooth as they had previously. It's a nice confidence builder for her that's certain.

The show is Monday morning and it's the state show, not a 4-H show. I missed the deadline for that, and I was very upset with myself, but it just hadn't made it to the top of my priority list at that time. This show will have more competition than a 4-H show but the kids are so excited anyway and it doesn't matter to them how many people there will be, they are just happy to be able to try it. We'll be at the fairgrounds most of Sunday and Monday with the barn that owns the cows helping them do what all they need us to help with, I'm assuming we'll be on poop scooping duty again and possibly washing, brushing, grooming, feeding, etc. So it will be interesting for sure.

Oh! I forgot to mention that today the kids got to learn how to clip the heifers! I'm not kidding when I say that after washing for three hours the previous day and clipping for about an hour and a half today these kids are dedicated! I took pictures, but because if the lighting in the barn and the movement of the heifer and all they didn't come out well so I opted not to post them. I know I learned a lot about this whole process (and it's not even my project!), so I'm sure the kids did too. Now I'm off to iron the 'dairy whites' that they need to wear in the show. I'm not sure who's bright idea it was to choose a white shirt and pants to wear while having anything to do with a cow, but it is what it is, right? Talk about about crazy, don't they know cow poop splatters!

so what does 15 thousand dollars look like?

In the farming world it's this! Well, dairy farming particularly. The kids and I helped out at a local barn's livestock auction on Monday. I say livestock, but in all honesty it was just cows. This little heifer is not even a year old, has not produced any offspring or even a drop of milk and was sold for just over 15,000.00!! I was stunned! Yes, she's very well built heifer, but seriously 15 thousand dollars?! If this is what Andrew needs to save up to buy, we're a bit further off than we thought!

It doesn't just happen in the show ring

As I mentioned before, we've been going to the dairy barn this week so Faith and Andrew can work with their calves. The goal is to eventually be able to show them in a dairy show, but that doesn't just happen. There is so much more to it than simply washing them and walking into the show ring. They are working hard on getting them ready. Not only do the kids need to work on getting the cow clean, they actually need to teach the cow to walk. I know it may seem odd, teaching the cow, excuse me, heifer calf to walk but it's an important thing for them to learn. When the judge says stop, they need to be in position within about two or three steps. Then when the judge asks you about your calf, you'd better be prepared, that all takes time and practice and a level of self confidence I've seen Faith gain already! (Self confidence has never been an issue with Andrew.) That being said, these calves are babies; 200- 450 pound babies, and they can give you an attitude. They've been known to step on feet and decide not to go where asked to go and have taken correction and redirection beautifully. Everything is new to them and it can be a big scary world out there, but in the hands of a confident handler the world isn't so bad. It's a beautiful thing to see these babies gain trust, knowledge, confidence, experience, patience and understanding. Nice to see it happen to the calves as well.

Faith leading her heifer...
...and brushing her...

Andrew leading his heifer...

...and bonding with her...

and brushing her...

and more bonding...

and more bonding...

Andrew has always been the cow nut, any type of cow he's always loved, Holsteins and Texas Longhorns being the top two, and he is really the one that wanted to join a 4-H dairy club. In fact Faith had very little interest in it but went to the first meeting because she had no choice, she had to go because I was not returning home before the meeting started. Surprisingly, she loved it and was totally on board with it and even looked forward to showing! I was floored. It's been really nice to see her try something she wasn't really into and gain a level of self confidence that she really needed.

big numbers

I was doing barn chores last night and did a head count, realizing that when the turkeys get here next month we'll be at 90 animals that I'm responsible for. My head swam for a minute, I'll be honest. I now that number will be greatly reduced around the 4th of July, then again in October, after the turkeys and pigs are "harvested," but still 90 animals all at once is a lot to take care of. I have been so blessed with all of them and I feel great knowing that the freezer will be full and it's good homegrown food that we raised right here on the farm. Each animal that will be harvested will have been allowed to experience grass, sunlight and fresh air. The chickens will have been allowed to be a chicken and scratch and peck with toes and beaks intact. The turkeys too. Pigs will be rooting around in the dirt feeling the cool earth against their bodies instead of biting tails off other pigs out of boredom and frustration smashed into a concrete pen. Yes, it'll be sad to see them go but so rewarding at the same time, knowing I worked with nature instead of against it, and to me that feels right.

While I know scooping out feed and hay to my 90 animals makes for a large grain bill; however, while at the barn where the kids are working with their 4-H dairy cows that subject came up. I was thankful that my feed bill is small compared to having to feed 80 THOUSAND POUNDS of feed every day. WOW! BIG numbers!

Mooooooo!

Last week was insanely busy, but awesome just the same one reason being the kids got to pick out their calves Andrew is over. the. moon. excited! Actually I'm not really even sure if that is accurate enough. Faith is excited too, but Andrew lives for cows. And a Holstein? are you kidding me?! Faith's calf just happened to be born on her birthday, this past year, so she's excited about that and thinks it's pretty cool. This is her below.

And here is Andrew's calf, she was born in March, so she's not too much younger than the other one but this way they don't have to compete against each other in the 4-H shows.

One very happy boy. In fact on the way to the farm Faith asked how he was going to choose, his answer was "The calf is just going to walk up to me and I to it, that's how we work." Any questions?

Andrew's Heaven

After spending the afternoon snowshoeing and being outside, the last place most people would want to go it to help do barn chores in a cow barn, not Andrew. He has been after me to let him have a cow for what seems like forever, (at age 7 he opened a saving account to save his money for one!) and I fully intend for him to have one, but he needs to be a bit stronger and older first. Well, a local farmer and friend invited him over to help with the feeding tonight. By the look on his face you'd have thought I'd just given him a cow! He was going to be able to be near them and for that minute it was enough, he was happy and so was I, for him.

The farm we went to has Scottish Highland cows and Holstein heifers, the Holsteins just happen to be Andrews favorite!! though Texas Longhorns are a very close second. They walked out into the pasture to feed the Highlands, pictured below.

Before they came into the heifer barn they had to slide down the frozen manure pile! What?! not your idea of fun either?!

Andrew inside feeding the Holsteins hay, making sure he did it exactly like the farmer showed him.

Trying not covet, having a really hard time not to.

He was even allowed to grain them. as you can see the girls knew what was happening and wanted him to hurry! Andrew will sleep well tonight and have sweet dreams I'm sure. Sweet in this case is perspective, after we got home he didn't take his jacket off because it smelled like the cows. I'm positive he'll ask to wear it to bed.