We’re coming up on the begining of Pumpkin Patch planting season, with plans circling around in our heads for the upcoming year at the patch. The cows on the farm are looking out at all that grass growing and are anxiously awaiting the opening of those gates to frolic in the fields. (yes, cows can frolic! I had a few get loose last week, and boy did they frolic- kicking and jumping and ‘yelling’!)
As farmers, we anxiously await the arrival of spring too. On our farm, letting the cows out to graze is a great day. They are in the barns for several reasons – to start with, it is to protect the fields. Cows out too early with all this rain, will tear up the ground and slow down the ability to grow that much needed grass. It is also not good for the cows to be out ‘tredging’ thru the mud. So it is our job to protect, both the fields and the cows, so we are patient, but look forward to the day in the not so distant future to be ‘out on grass’.
We have had a lot of rain, fields are still pretty wet – with another load of hay being delivered over there today. We run about 60 dry cows and some young heifers at the patch. – What’s a dry cow? What does it cost for that load of hay? I’ll get to that too. My goal is to bring you up to date with Dairy, to put a voice to the other side of our farm, and help familiarize you with terms used in dairy farming today. In the meantime – I’m looking for some sunshine to dry out the fields. I’ll stay in touch…
Farmer Cathy