Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

@Senile_Texas_Aggie , Thank you for the link and the info. If you go to www.97milk.com, there is a more indepth explanation of why milk is being dumped..... it came up in a PDF file in my computer....
There is good info on why whole milk is as good or better for you with the difference in Omega-3's ..... I cannot stand low-fat or skim milk. One of the reasons why so many kids stopped drinking milk was that they went to low-fat and the taste is not there. Plus, whole milk has been shown to give a more "full feeling" than the others.... again the fat satisfies cravings for fullness.... as many on the keto diets have learned, fat is not all so bad.

Chilly here this morning, was 39 , only up to 44 at nearly noon. Still very breezy/windy. Going to go out and see about getting the cats and chickens fed and possibly going down to the farm we tested the first of the week and dropping off the jump drive for the farmer and getting my meters and all. I also need to make a trip up to the farm where I have my cow and get a couple 2 gal buckets of milk, and maybe go to the laundromat and do some laundry since I cannot/willnot use my washer here with all the water problems. That is not critical yet but needs to be addressed within the next week or 2.
I need to go to town the first of the week and get some chicken feed too. My planning ahead and stockpiling for being in the hosp and rehab and all is about run out.

Corona virus "numbers" are looking better, "flattening the curve" seems to have actually left many hospitals empty and some have actually closed in some states..... with no "elective surgeries", all of a sudden there are nurses and no one to take care of. I don't think some of that news is getting out there with the mainstream media, but there are many "small time reporters" and even some just plain ole people that have been going around and taking pictures of empty "testing sites" and empty hospitals and all that to try to get out that there are many areas where this is not the end of the world. I am not suggesting that there aren't places that it has been really horrible, or that this is not a serious situation, but we have to start to get back to some sort of working, living, "normal" existence..... before there is nothing to go back to and this country is worse off than it ever was in the worst of the worst depression years.

There are many, even some on here, that believe they have had it and survived it like they would have a flu. I am of the belief that there is alot of truth to that. And I think that there are many that may have had the ability to fight it off with healthy immune systems.
I am sorry for all that have lost loved ones. Many/most have also had other health issues.... and if not this corona-virus, then they may have succumbed to another flu of sorts. There have been some that have died just from this and some that were young and seemingly healthy. But doesn't that happen in everyday life too?????
We continue on here much like it hasn't had much effect on the day to day..... because the rhythms of farming and life don't stop. I have been lucky in as much as I have been somewhat restricted anyway.... so no real big deal, in the scheme of things.

Be careful out there, but realize that this will pass, and we will hopefully get back to some sort of normal, even if it is a new normal.

 

[rachels.haven]

Wow! Is it possible that is going to help that dairy?

 

[farmerjan]

Wow! Is it possible that is going to help that dairy?

Not sure what dairy you mean..... the one where my cow is? ; I was just making the comment that I needed to go get milk and will get 2 - 2gal buckets this trip because I don't get there as often as I would like. I want to make some pudding and my son could use a gal of milk too. He has been talking about selling out in maybe May... but I haven't talked to him in probably 2 months. I will be getting my cow back if he does sell out. I do have another farm she can go to if need be, but it is farther away so getting milk is not as convenient. But in the interest of her continuing to get machine milked for the remainder of this lactation, I may do that. I am not sure if she is bred back yet, she should be, but don't know how far along in her pregnancy.
If you mean for the "dumping of the milk", most of my farms are not individually dumping it.... it is getting picked up by the milk companies and then when they take the tankerloads to the processing plants, and they cannot use it, it is getting dumped by the milk company.
I do have one due in July, I think, up at the "nurse cow" pasture.... I haven't had them preg checked and I bred her A.I. before the bull got put in there. I planned to make most of them nurse cows this year, they should be calving in Sept-Oct.... I need to get my clipboard back from my son and get the records caught up on what we have left since most of the feeders have been sold except for the one small group. Then I can see what is what. The ones up at the nurse cow field have calves that were born from last july ( on some cows we had bought) to the first calf heifers that calved back in Sept-Oct. The calves all need to be gotten in and worked.....tagged, band the bulls, blackleg vaccinated, and then the cows will need to be preg checked. With his breaking his leg/hip, then my surgery, this group has kinda been "let go" as far as the calf crop. There are also several that will have to be weaned off , so the cows get a rest before fall calving this year.

 

[Bruce]

There are many, even some on here, that believe they have had it and survived it like they would have a flu. I am of the belief that there is alot of truth to that.

Given something like 45% of those infected never show symptoms I'm sure that is true. Now if they could know they have had it and are safe, they can be part of the "getting back to business as usual". Of course we still don't know if someone who has had it is immune from getting it again.

 

[Baymule]

Given something like 45% of those infected never show symptoms I'm sure that is true. Now if they could know they have had it and are safe, they can be part of the "getting back to business as usual". Of course we still don't know if someone who has had it is immune from getting it again.

My personal opinion for what it’s worth on immunity from Covid 19, this is a virus, viruses are constantly mutating. Think flu. Flu viruses change and a new strain rears its ugly head EVERY year. The vaccine is always a year behind. I don’t think if we have Covid and get over it that we are then immune and won’t get it again. The medical profession knows this, why are they perpetuating this untruth is beyond me, unless they are trying to calm people caught up in the panic. I can see the advantages to taking plasma from someone who had it and recovered, to transfer the antibodies to a sick person. I believe that would help better than nothing or a vaccine based on last years strain. This is a serious virus, it’s not in our natural line up of illnesses and we have no natural antibodies against it. Everyone stay safe and well.

 

[Bruce]

I don't think anyone in the medical profession has said that you will be immune if you get it and live. That is an unknown but you have an excellent point and are likely right (but I hope you aren't ). I guess the best we can hope for is that one is immune from getting the current strain again, all bets off next "Covid-19 season". At least in that case business can start to get back up and running with never sick or recovered people. Of course the former will be at risk if we can't find a way to know if someone is a carrier without symptoms.

 

[Mini Horses]

I am with FarmerJan in that we need to get back to normal. We don't seem to see huge issues here on BYH....and some areas of this country are HARD hit. BYHrs are everywhere.

Over the years -- and I have many of those -- it appears that, although flu viruses mutate, once our body has been exposed a good immune system will put up defenses against similar ones that helps us to have a far, far milder case of "whatever" when we encounter it. In fact many things we are exposed to on a farm will assist our immune system for far different exposures.

There are certain bacteria in the air, soils, on/in animals & people that are always around and each body develops their own response. Plus OTHER health issues can be activated -- bad lungs, bronchials, heart, etc. Look at that with those who have allergies to pollen and their body response.

We have a LOT of people out there who are not healthy. They are at risk with even the plain old cold. I do not think I live in a bubble but, if this virus finds me, I strongly feel it has a hard fight within. That would not be the case, IMO, with my son who has smoked heavily for years and otherwise abuseed his body. Only defense he has to off this is how absolutely rank his core self is, even the virus would want to leave! LOL

 

[purplequeenvt]

What I’ve been reading is that you WILL develop antibodies/immunity to Covid-19. What they aren’t sure of is how long that protection will last. They’ve been trying to make predictions based off of similar viruses, like other SARS viruses.

You develop antibodies against the flu every whether it’s because you received the flu shot or you caught the flu, but the flu is a rapidly mutating virus which makes it difficult to create a 100% effective vaccine every year. That’s apparently why you can get the vaccine, but still get the flu.

*Supposedly* Covid-19 has been very slow to mutate (which could be helpful for vaccine development), but there may be at least 2 different strains.

 

[rachels.haven]

Not sure what dairy you mean..... the one where my cow is? ; I was just making the comment that I needed to go get milk and will get 2 - 2gal buckets this trip because I don't get there as often as I would like. I want to make some pudding and my son could use a gal of milk too. He has been talking about selling out in maybe May... but I haven't talked to him in probably 2 months. I will be getting my cow back if he does sell out. I do have another farm she can go to if need be, but it is farther away so getting milk is not as convenient. But in the interest of her continuing to get machine milked for the remainder of this lactation, I may do that. I am not sure if she is bred back yet, she should be, but don't know how far along in her pregnancy.
If you mean for the "dumping of the milk", most of my farms are not individually dumping it.... it is getting picked up by the milk companies and then when they take the tankerloads to the processing plants, and they cannot use it, it is getting dumped by the milk company.

I was wondering if it would help dairies if businesses buying direct from...I guess it would have to be processing plants because it has to be pasteurized and homogenized and in bottles, for the employees of the purchasing company, would help the dairies in the end. There's a milk and eggs shortage here too. The supply chain appears to have broken down here and people very much want their eggs and dairy products (all of them) and would be happy to go direct to the place milk is bottled and get it.

 

[farmerjan]

Part of the problem is that the plants that are doing the processing are having issues with labor. Also, some are set up to only process milk into certain things, like pints or half pints. It takes time to change the machinery over to process into say gallons. Everything is so specialized nowadays including the manufacturing plants.
Plus, much of the processing places are not set up to have any of their products held there in any kind of "retail" selling areas, most are loaded directly onto to trucks for delivery. That would then entail having to have people who will be exposed to the general public..... and they are not equiped to even do simple things like take payments for items. There are some of the poultry slaughter plants that have employee stores where they can buy some of the products, but most all the milk processing places don't have anything like that.
There is a report that one of the "Smithfield" plants has had a huge outbreak of the corona virus in the workers and has been shut down. Remember, "Smithfield" was bought out by a chinese conglomerate several years ago.