Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[murphysranch]

I've been to several beef processing plants. IBP was one. Also a lamb plant and of course chickens and turkeys. I love seeing their operations.

I thought of you last week. There was a headline about the elimination of Milk Quality testing at the USDA. Will this impact your biz with the dairy barns? Will there be a trickle down effect?

 

[Baymule]

Well darn! Jess’s calf is a bull calf. But as you said, it’s a live calf.

The truck sounds great, that was a good buy. Now you have your own truck. I do like the power windows and mirrors, but we lived a major part of our lives without them!

 

[farmerjan]

@murphysranch ...... The milk testing I do is private company(ies)... it is for farmers as a management tool...They do this testing nationwide... other companies... but it is a combined effect as for records and such being accessed by the purebred breeders and such... all integrated... But we do have to meet certain National Milk Quality standards. I had not heard about anything relating to doing away with Milk quality testing... Nothing said at that "meeting" on the computer the other day. Do you have a reference? I would like to look into it...
Not that I am worried about my job, If it ends, so be it... but it will hurt the farmers that have to meet certain standards to be able to ship milk to the milk companies buying their milk and sending it to processing plants.

 

[murphysranch]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-suspends-milk-quality-tests-amid-workforce-cuts-2025-04-21/

FDA Pulls Plug on Milk Testing: What You Need to Know Now

FDA halts milk safety checks amid staff cuts—dairy farmers face testing uncertainty. Critical lab oversight gap threatens industry standards. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The FDA suspended its Grade A milk proficiency testing program on April 21, 2025, citing staffing shortages from HHS workforce cuts...

www.thebullvine.com

 

[SageHill]

Huge congrats on the truck deal!! Sounds like you scored on that one.
The kill plant sounds good. I have no problem with that - where the heck would the masses get their beef otherwise? It's not like they have a neighbor down the road that raises cattle (yeah I know a lot of us do, myself included). Everything makes perfect sense as they want the best possible product and the only way to get it is to do the job right.

 

[Mini Horses]

So they're not stopping milk testing, just fired all the fed QCs for the testing labs.

 

[farmerjan]

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-suspends-milk-quality-tests-amid-workforce-cuts-2025-04-21/

FDA Pulls Plug on Milk Testing: What You Need to Know Now

FDA halts milk safety checks amid staff cuts—dairy farmers face testing uncertainty. Critical lab oversight gap threatens industry standards. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The FDA suspended its Grade A milk proficiency testing program on April 21, 2025, citing staffing shortages from HHS workforce cuts...

www.thebullvine.com

Thank you. I no longer get "the bull vine" after some changes with our company and my becoming only "part time" has "cut me off" from some things we used to get as a member of the dairy industry. I have a couple of farmers I am going to talk to... NO WONDER the farmers are scared I will retire... I am the most direct line they have to being sure of what their cows are doing...

 

[farmerjan]

BIT#H of a morning.... my fluffy male cat got killed on the road last night... DS came up the road with the 2 guys that he gets to do some work... called me to ask if he was in the house... no, last night they were out in the yard and warmer nights they don't always fcome in... and they have been going across the road some... into the woods... I picked him up and laid him on the lawn near the road so the sister could sniff it... she was very skittish and came right to the house... not that it will make her stop going across the road but might help to deter it. I'll take care of him later...

Then DS just called again, a minute ago... found a calf dead in the field, about 4-5 days old maybe? No idea why... decided we will try to graft one of the twins on her this afternoon when he gets done from the working on fence they are going to do... He is going to get the twin heifer off the one cow, and lock it in the barn for the day so it will be hungry this evening... they are about a month but they are small... and we were just talking about selling the heifer twin since the other is a bull... let the momma raise the bull since she does not have enough milk to feed 2 for long, and sell the heifer. They were soooo little when born so left them to get a start, she is a good enough momma, and they were doing okay on the cow but as they get older, they will need more milk than she is going to produce.... so this evening we will try to get the cow to the barn and get the twin over on her... going to be a pita but at least there are not many cattle in the barn, and can use one side for her and the calf... maybe she will take it easily... she ought to need some relief from the milk pressure this evening too...
Going to take meters to the farm for tomorrow afternoon's test as they do the set up. Got the 500+ cow herd tomorrow morning...

What a way to start the day...

 

[canesisters]

That was truly a very crappy start to your day. I'm very sorry about both the kitty & the calf. I hope your day gets better.

 

[fuzzi]

BIT#H of a morning.... my fluffy male cat got killed on the road last night... DS came up the road with the 2 guys that he gets to do some work... called me to ask if he was in the house... no, last night they were out in the yard and warmer nights they don't always fcome in... and they have been going across the road some... into the woods... I picked him up and laid him on the lawn near the road so the sister could sniff it... she was very skittish and came right to the house... not that it will make her stop going across the road but might help to deter it. I'll take care of him later...

Then DS just called again, a minute ago... found a calf dead in the field, about 4-5 days old maybe? No idea why... decided we will try to graft one of the twins on her this afternoon when he gets done from the working on fence they are going to do... He is going to get the twin heifer off the one cow, and lock it in the barn for the day so it will be hungry this evening... they are about a month but they are small... and we were just talking about selling the heifer twin since the other is a bull... let the momma raise the bull since she does not have enough milk to feed 2 for long, and sell the heifer. They were soooo little when born so left them to get a start, she is a good enough momma, and they were doing okay on the cow but as they get older, they will need more milk than she is going to produce.... so this evening we will try to get the cow to the barn and get the twin over on her... going to be a pita but at least there are not many cattle in the barn, and can use one side for her and the calf... maybe she will take it easily... she ought to need some relief from the milk pressure this evening too...
Going to take meters to the farm for tomorrow afternoon's test as they do the set up. Got the 500+ cow herd tomorrow morning...

What a way to start the day...

I'm sorry.