Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

Oh, my....running water is kinda nice to have. Sounds like wiring. Any chance the rain got to wires between box & pump? Mine is all underground between actual pump at well and into house at electrical connect. I have a deep well with the pump that drops into the pipe. Not easy to work like the above ground type. Hope DS can find the problem! Maybe a bad breaker....

Our rain happened for a good part of yesterday. Slacked late day.....got feeding done ...then late night a heavy amount again. They say nothing until maybe Fri and heat returns to 80-90s. Should get garden done and yard will need mowing! Of course, heavy job work scheduled this week & next I'm over raining for a while!!!


Had a delicious steak last night!! Thank your herd.

 

[Baymule]

I’ll compare TSC price against the local hardware store. On an order, he will usually beat other prices, as it is an in-out order and not inventory sitting around.

Hope you can get your water issue figured out.

 

[farmerjan]

Getting ready to go out and get long hoses into the truck for this afternoons test. Just got off the phone with the farmer from last night. Had discrepancies and had to have him go look for a couple cows that he had entered into his computer, that transferred to mine with the jump drive transfer I do... and then couldn't get into the stupid program because there was a conflict in the billing date... OH I AM SOOOO SICK of this stupid electronic stuff sometimes. Finally got all that straight and then the conflicting info... this is partly because they are not testing every month so things that don't get entered in right away, get forgotten and all that... like a calving date that didn't get written down etc and so forth... It is very aggravating.....

Got that finally straightened out... texted Deb and said it would just be better to do the tree limb trimming tomorrow since I am tied up with this computer stuff... and it is sooo wet out there. Then talked to DS, he had been at Deb's to get a sq bale for 2 cows at the barn... she told him about the water... he called and I said I was not going to worry about it til tomorrow as I had to go to work in a little bit and have to go back by yesterday's farm first to get their computer straightened out and the stuff transferred back and then go to the other farm to test... that I was just not going to worry about the water until tomorrow... So I am going out to put the sample bottles in the truck, get the long hoses I have to use at today's farm on the truck... and head for the other farm first. I am going to take 10 minutes to go out and look at the garden first... got some wet paper bags that I want to put down along the one side of the tomatoes so they will kinda dry there and maybe just stay put.
We got .5 inch yesterday afternoon when I was gone to work... after the 1.2 inches that I dumped yesterday morning... hope it didn't "drown" the little tomato plants. Hope to see the potatoes coming up soon...

Time for the rat race again... Got at least 1 more farm to get scheduled for next week.....
Grass will be a foot tall by the time the lawn dries out to mow again....
Can I run away from home for a "ME" vacation like @Baymule said that @rachels.haven needs???? NO, I just don't want to HAVE to go to work when it is nice out....just like @Mini Horses ... always seems like they have to be worked when it is pretty out and we can be doing better things at home...

 

[Baymule]

A good couple of days away does wonders. You should go visit somebody, even an overnight will refresh you.

 

[Bruce]

And of all things ... I have NO WATER in the faucets at the house. Checked the breaker box and flipped them to make sure the well pump hadn't kicked off... NOPE

That sucks! The time it happened to me I ended up calling the well drillers after checking all the parts in the house. I assumed the pump had gone belly up. They found that one of the wires in the well head had arced and fried. How this happens 40 years after the pump was put in I have no idea. They had just enough wire left to be able to splice it.

 

[farmerjan]

Home; I came out from the gate at the nurse cow field, coming to the house, it is almost dark...and here is a cow walking along the fence....ON THE WRONG SIDE .... then I see another... I called and they headed towards me which I had stopped at the gate to their field by then... and got the 2 in without anyone else managing to get out... Then I hear another cow and here comes a 3rd one... had to get a bucket off the back of the truck to trick her to come in the gate while trying to keep the rest in... Called DS... yes he had opened up the front field with the grass because he said there were several out this afternoon.... and I told him that I just now had to put 3 back in... the 2 CONSTANT troublemakers... and one of mine now is following them out. He is going to bring a roll of hay tonight when he gets done (sounds like he is at the races although he would not admit it) and they are getting moved tomorrow... These are the ones that are getting preg checked on Wed.... I am D@#NED sick of them getting out... and DS has done nothing to fix any of the spots I have been patching... He was going to get them moved the next couple of days... but now it will be tomorrow.... This pasture will be empty all summer so at least I won't have to deal with it once they are out.
Testing went fine, and I told the guy that the company has hired a new girl to do some part-time stuff, and that she is maybe looking for some more herds so that I may be giving some to her...maybe this herd since it is closer up to her area.... but it would not be for a few months until she gets some experience under her belt. She is from a dairy farm background so at least knows the basics of farming and all that. This might be the answer to my getting out... I will know more after we do the meter calibration in August. I think that it might be time... to at least cut back a few more....maybe keep the few I really like...or are real close... I know that my far away one is on the way out... and 2 others are just testing every other month anymore... maybe not have to deal with it in the winter anymore... WE'LL see how things go for the next couple months... I've got my 30 years in... the extra money is still nice... but I am not sure it is worth the aggravation....

No water still; DS said earlier that I can go to his house to take a shower or whatever... and he will look at it in the morning I guess... Maybe look and see if something happened to the wires in the well cap thing like @Bruce suggested. It is not the breaker.... I can take a couple of 5 gal buckets to the water trough next door where the PITA cows are and scoop out some if I need it. It is a spring fed one and the water is real good... runs continuously.... I will deal with it tomorrow. Deb is wanting to come and cut down the couple limbs on the maple tree in front that are hanging down so you hit them when you are using the riding mower... I think she wants someone/ or something to do/ with someone... she is out for several days at the farm.
Brought the samples all in the house. Will take the meters and hoses off the truck tomorrow and make sure there is nothing else in there and go get some of the mulch hay from around the hay storage places.
I'm hoping that it will be dry enough on top that I can get some more stuff planted.... cukes, cantaloupe, winter squash and maybe some more summer squash. I know I have none in the freezer... and I like "mashed yellow squash" ( done just like mashed potatoes) for a veg... and they have to be less fattening too.... or just with a little butter, salt and pepper.... but mashed is good. They don't take much time to blanch and freeze either...
I need to leave at least 1 or 2 rows for later plantings of green beans and some broccoli and cabbage I will start in about 4-6 weeks for fall. I like broccoli too.... might try to make some sauerkraut if I get some cabbages...
Just hoping that it will start to grow quick so I can see what is coming up and what isn't in the older seeds. The real old seeds probably aren't going to be any good as the sprouting was a dismal failure... but they are 10 years old or more.... .
I did get a chance to look at the tomatoes and peppers real quick before I left for work and they really looked good.
The gladiolus bulbs I planted the day before the garden in one of the planters, are coming up... so I am hoping that the vegs start coming up quick too.
Nothing NEEDS to be done tonight that I can do... and I am not in the mood to do it anyway. Better to go to bed and get up with a better attitude....

 

[farmerjan]

Just a note, I tried to post the previous post 4 times last night and again twice this morning. Inbetween I went on a couple of other sites and had no trouble getting on or anything. Posted on another one and it took like 3 seconds. I seem to have trouble getting on here often. Thought it was my computer, but then I think it would be a problem with any site. Any one else have any trouble like this?

 

[Mini Horses]

I've had computer issues all week but I have satellite net and often the storms interrupt and the storms are not where you are, just between. . Confusing.

BUT. I have had this site with access trouble more often lately. Usually for a day or so. And the posting doesn't. Maybe it's just here in VA.

I like the idea to drop further farms! I have two of those I'm planning same. No issue with the stores but, a cut back effort. I had once cut to 3, then they added 4th after I had said I'd help until a rep found. Now a 5th has taken that route. Now I need to back them off again...two are near each other and both further from me. Plus 3 once a month that are only 1 hr each quickies by them. They need a rep for those 5!!

That would allow me a few hrs in slow time, 3 days a week in seasonal resets. That's where I think I want to go for maybe another year. Gives me time to find and develop a little steady farm income...all I need. We'll work at getting out of our jobs! . Two years ago it was good...now, today's economy, it's a touch scary.

 

[murphysranch]

Hi FJ. As I've said, I've been following you and learning alot. But what I don't know is what you do for those dairy farms. I went to an ag college centuries ago, so I'm sorta familiar with dairies. Thanks.

 

[farmerjan]

@murphysranch ; I may have explained my job back awhile in my journal, but short version... I am a milk tester. I work for Dairy Herd Improvement Assoc... DHIA.... we go into a dairy farm when they are going to be milking... set up meters that gather milk and take a sample from every cow that goes through the parlor... I get a weight of how much milk she makes for that milking....the milk is tested for butterfat, protein , and somatic cell count (scc) . High cell count means an infection of some sort which is what causes mastitis. The milk companies that pick up the milk pay more for low cell count milk because it has a "longer shelf life". Most mastitis is caused by a staph or strep infection. Some are chronic and some are sudden flareups due to an injury or some environmental condition that causes her to get exposed to a "bug". Understand that everybody, has "germs" and "bugs". We cannot live in a sterile body. Every cow has a scc... but the lower the count, the "cleaner" the milk so to speak. There are allowable limits for a milk company to accept from a farm. The farmer gets paid a premium for lower cell count milk as well as for higher butterfat. We do not get paid on protein in this area... places like Wis and some parts of PA even, as well as other states, will pay on what is called "cheese yield" and that is affected by the protein.... that milk goes mostly into processing at cheese plants.
I record all pertinent info that occurs on the farm... calving, dry off, breeding all that sort of stuff and the farmer gets back a concise report with all that info in one place which also helps him to "compare his cows against each other" for profitability... plus the lab reports on the cow's milk...
The basics boil down to this... A cow should calve every 12 months... she is in milk 10 of those 12 months with a 60 day dry period for the calf (fetus) to complete it's growth and for her body to regenerate and produce colostrum for the new calf... Then she will come into her milk and should peak at around 75-200 days and then start to fall off so she is making less milk at dry off...
Say a cow makes 25,000 lbs a year . She has a calf every 12-12.5 months... breeds back at 60-90 days fresh, has average butterfat of 3.5-3.7%... Low scc of 75-100,000 regularly. Compared to a cow that makes 40,000 lbs of milk. Has mastitis off and on; so has a high cell count which hurts the % in the milk tank; which means if she gets treated with antibiotics, her milk is NOT going in the tank.... so lost income... everytime she gets "pulled out of the tank" that is "lost income" ( yes, it is often fed to baby calves or pigs or something... but it is not making him any actual money in the milk check).... then she does not breed back as fast, so then only has a calf every 15-18 months... butterfat the same 3.5% or so. Although she is making alot more milk, there comes a balance and that high producer may actually be making the farmer less money because of her problems... even with more milk.... So what we do is provide a farmer with a monthly report...(usually) and he can "stay on top of what his cows are doing." There are other factors, but we basically have computer programs that now can compare everything the cows do, produce, don't do etc... and it is right in his hand. There are computer systems that he has everything in front of him right there on the farm... even ways to get a reading on the milk viscosity which is an indication of mastitis... and all the daily info is compiled right there... but for a true reading they have to send off the samples so they know what individual cows are doing.
My job is basically being phased out as farms get bigger and more and more electronics come into play... robotic milkers ... all sorts of stuff. But that is only economical on big farms to install all those electronics as they don't come cheap...
Unfortunately the smaller farms are going by the wayside due to costs and having to make more milk to spread the costs out over a bigger base. So a farmer gets bigger, and then they get into more and more electronic things that also give them answers to things that they will wait a week for from us... although many of the reports now can be e-mailed to a farmer so it is only turn around time from samples sent, to run through the machines there in the labs, to e-mail info back to the farmer...