A Finished Barn!

Lunch break for some of our employees while they finish the interior of the barn.

Looking down the ally where the cows will be notice the fans and the overhead garage door to keep the cows cool in the summer and shelter from the wind in the winter.

Well after nearly six months of building, from start to finish, the barn is complete.  We are happy to say that the cows took to it like it was the Grand Hotel.  They love the openess and act very pleased with their new surroundings.  How do we know this?  Well, we look at the contentment of them, they walk slow and steady and are not hesitant or jumpy.  They eat well, drink lots of water and chew their cud showing us signs of satisfaction!  All in all, it is mission accomplished.  Having healthy, happy cows only strenghtens our commitment to agriculture.

This shows where the cows will lay down to rest.  They are bedded with a smooth soft sand, it's like having a day at the beach for them.  It is comfortable and cool.

Notice the outside wall of the barn.  There really isn't one.  To keep the cows cool in the summer the sides are left open for air flow.  In the winter we have material "curtains" that roll down to keep out the wind and snow. 

The cows are in!  They are happy and eating a well balanced diet.  Water is available 24 hours a day.

Until next time, 
Drink milk and have a healthy diet.

Progress....

In July I can usually be found at my blueberry patch down the road.  I had a usually busy season and just didn't find the time to go to the buidling site to take photos.  I have one from my patch around the corner:

AUGUST 2010

Let's take a look at what progress is:







Things are looking great, but we still have a lot of work to do.

 

When the roof of the barn gets on, we still have plenty to do inside to make a comfortable home for the cows.  With the latest in building technology to provide a safe and secure environment for the cows, come back to see whats goin on inside...

Until next time...

"The Barn" Begins...

Well, I have not been very good at keeping up with this blog.  I have to apologize-writing is essentially more difficult than I ever imagined! I have to admit that talking is so much easier!!  I can carry on a conversation with the best of them, but sitting down at the computer and trying to turn my thoughts into a meaningful array of words, well, has me second guessing what I am really trying to say!!  Holy Cow!  But let's move forward and I will attempt to make some sense of my thoughts and please feel free to comment on anything that I may not make very clear.  Okay, moooving forward...

The Barn.  Since the last time I posted here, we have made the decision to moove forward and build, basically for the next generation.  As my husband and I are in our mid-40's, we are already thinking of ways to help the next generation transition, easier, into owning their own, and continuing our, family-business.  Our oldest son is back at the farm and working full time.  Our youngest son is contemplating Vet School, which his parents are thrilled about, but may decide to work with his older brother in the family business.  That's up in the air right now, but at any rate, we have made the decision.  The Barn.

So let's take a look at where it all started...

The new barn will have a walkway for the cows to enter the old barn.

This is the base for the new barn.

These heifers heading down their "new lane" to go to pasture.

This is the "old lane" the heifers used before.  The new barn will sit over this lane.

Keep checking back as I will have updated pics for you to look at.  This whole process started in May 2010.  We hope to be complete by October 2010.  That sounds like a long time, trust me, it is!!

Until next time...

To Build or Not to Build!

Happy Spring!!
Spring you say? Well maybe that's wishful thinking, but today the weather was 44 degrees...that sure feels like Spring to us after many, many cold days of winter.  And when Spring arrives, it brings lots of joy and hapiness with it.  The sunshine glowing early in the morning and the moon rising on those clear and cold nights.
The Spring fever cleaning bug aways hits me hard, it didn't when I was young because my Mother was the Queen of Clean-ing (so I guess I didn't have to do the cleaning?) Our house and our farm were clean...all the time.  Well, maybe not all the time! Oh, and yes I did have to do the cleaning too!
This Spring brings us to other issues on the farm.  For a few months now, the cows have been a little over-crowded. This causes may issues, one of which is cow comfort. Now we pride ourselves on cow comfort.  Comfortable cows are happy cows!
So for the last few months we have been discussing how to eliminate the over-crowding issue.  We have two choices, sell cows or build a new barn.  After the year of 2009, which brought us the lowest milk prices in 30 years, we are a bit cautious about selling cows. So we are pursuing the option of building a barn.  Barns are not cheap, but we have another generation coming into the farm and we need to think about that.
My husband and son have been traveling around looking at different types of barns to give us an idea of some of the new improvements that have been made since the last time we built a cow barn.  We need to think about air flow, and cow flow.  Where to install waterers and where and how many freestalls to put in.  The freestalls are the stalls that the cows lay in.  They are "free" because they allow any cow to enter and exit at any time.  We need to decide whether to lay out the barn East to West or North to South.  We are currently laid out North to South.
With the addition of a new barn also comes the challenges of the overall farm lay-out. We need to really make some decisions on where the new barn should go and if in the future the next generation decides to increase in size, that this pre-planning will help with some of those decisions. We will continue to discuss these issues and more that will probably come up as we move forward. 
So look for news to come this Spring and hopefully some pictures as the project progresses, as long as the decision is made to build!  I'll keep you posted.

Until next time...
Wish us luck!!

Got Milk? Animal Rights v. U.S. Dairy Industry - ABC News

Got Milk? Animal Rights v. U.S. Dairy Industry - ABC News 

At Pleasant Veiw Dairy, we strive to care for our animals in a humane and caring environment.  I personally don't know any farmer who mistreats his animals, even when tempers flare and you've heard the comment, "kick the dog", we don't abuse our animals in any way, shape, or form. 
It appears that unknowing farming families have hired "undercover people" who, for some reason or another, take measures to uncover anything that slightly resembles what a consumer might think of as "mistreatment".  Then these "employees" (undercover people)  just look for things to video tape that any uneducated consumer might not understand.  Instead of standing up for these animals, they expose the animals, and in the end laugh at the fact that they are somehow a celebrity in the eyes of uninformed people.  If PETA, HSUS, and Mercy for Animals were so concerned, then they should teach their hired "informants" (undercover people) to correct the alleged abuse (which they do not).
Let's look at the practice of tail docking.  Some dairy farmers used this practice.  Surely the cow didn't agree and so the practice was eliminated from the course of keeping the udder clean.  But why do we need to keep the udder clean, and is that the only reason dairy farmers did it?  The daily ritual of cleaning the udder to wipe away bedding materials (sand or newspapers, etc.) and possibly manure begins with a pre-dip, wipe, and hook up to the udder. In simple terms, we want to be sure that the udder is cleaned before we begin to milk the cow.  Think about it.  Another reason to dock a cow's tail is to eliminate the unpleasant surprise when a cow's tail (manure ridden or not) slaps you in the face, this usually happens when the switch (hairy end of the cow's tail) is there and the cow feels the need to swat at something.  It's not pretty!  So many farmers have gone to shaving the hairy end of the tail, therefore just eliminating the "wet slap".  :)
And how about de-horning.  This is the practice of removing horns or parts thereof from the head of a cow.  The most important reason for doing this is...SAFETY!  Cow's are large animals, and not all are "happy cows" all of the time.  Just recently a local man was "gorged" by a bovine.  He crawled to safety and a Life Flight helicopter had to take him to a hospital.  This is very serious, I do not know the condition of the man or his injuries, but he could have been killed. When cows or bulls are protective, they use what they have, and that can be horns.  To protect our workers, our other cattle, and ourselves, we de-horn.  This is done when they are young. 
I am not here to say that all farmers do it right-but I believe that 99.9% of farmers do!  This is our livlihood, this is where we raise our children.  We are good stewards of the land.  We are producers of your food and fiber, and we are happy to be supplying you with products that are nutritious, delicious and American made.

How Much Water Does A Cow Drink?

How much water does a cow need to drink in order to produce 10 gallons of milk each day? Well, for those of you that said 20 gallons-you were right!! A cow needs to drink at least twice as much water as the amount of milk it produces.
And did you know that a cow can drink up to 50 gallons of water a day? Does that mean that a cow can produce 100 gallons of milk each day? Not really, I don't know any cow that can produce that much milk in a day. However, there are cows that can give 100 POUNDS in a day!
Anyway, we are quite happy with 10 gallons!!

Until next time,

Drink lots of MILK!!

When A Farmer's In Trouble...

As I hugged her, she thanked me and began to cry. I said, "It's okay, it can all be replaced. This is what the farming community is all about. When one farmer is in trouble, we all come running".
Being new to the dairy farming industry, she and her husband just gotten married 11 months earlier. Taking over the family farm after the death of her husband's father, the couple had given up their "city" life to move back to the farming community.
It was 1:30 am on Devil's night, October 30th. We had arrived about an hour earlier, after going to dinner with close friends then home to bed. The phone woke us up at about 11:45pm. Our friend on the other end, told us he had received a couple phone calls about the farm fire, it sounded pretty bad. We thanked him for letting us know, then realized we just could not sleep knowing there was a family in need. What about the parlor and the cows? Were they okay, did they need to be moved to another farm, and where? How many people could we gather together with stock trailers to move all these cattle? Questions were racing through our minds as we discussed what they might have to do to cope with this sort of loss.
My husband tried to call the farmer, no answer. "He's probably too busy". We tried another friend, who lived closer, no answer. We decided we couldn't just lay there, we had to go see if we could help. And if there was nothing we could do, we would be there for moral support. Sometimes you just need "moral support". One more phone call to the friend who had originally called us and we headed to his house to pick him up.
There were at least 6 fire departments there, lights flashing, fireman scurrying, spraying water, and assesing the damage. The electricity had been shut off to everything, but the farmstead was lit up like a Christmas tree. The farmer had lost his cell phone in the chaos, but a fireman found it and brought it to the family. It looked like a roasted fish bowl, full of water! But definitely a bright spot in all the turmoil.
We were grateful to find most of the farm intact. The shop and commodity shed were a total loss, but could be replaced. Several tractors and feed were lost also. But the cows and parlor were saved!! That to us, was the best news.
Several years ago another neighbor had lost his parlor to a fire. At that time, we had extra room and his milk cows moved to our farm. Boy was that a challenge, but at the same time a blessing for them to have somewhere to go and take care of their cows. This time we had no room, but luckily nearby there was an almost empty facility that would have held his herd had the need arose.
It's now several days later that I'm finishing this post. Neighbors and friends have loaned tractors and tools to help the family out until their insurance company comes through with some money to make those neccessary replacements.
All is good again. It really makes you appreciate the farming community and the support that comes when a farmer's in trouble...

Until next time,

Appreciate your neighbor.

The Amazing Soybean Harvest!!

How would you like to take a ride on the combine during soybean harvest? Well take a look at this video and then we'll talk a bit more on the amazing soybean harvest:

Wasn't that fun? Well, every Fall we spend an enormous amount of time harvesting our crops that we planted in the Spring, just like these soybeans.

"A soybean consists mostly of protein-rich meal, and 98 percent of that meal is used to feed animals that produce food such as poultry, pork, beef and fish", says Chuck Myers of the United Soybean Board and a Nebraska soybean farmer. Soybeans provide the world with protein and oil used in food, animal feed, and industrial applications. A 60-pound bushel of soybeans makes about 11 pounds of oil and 48 pounds of soymeal (ground up pulp).

When the farmer sells his soybeans, usually to a grain elevator, there is a mandatory assessment of one-half of one percent of the net market price. This assessment is part of a program called the National Soybean Checkoff. Half of the money stays in the state where the soybeans are produced and the other half is forwarded to the United Soybean Board. The collections are invested to advance soybean marketing, production technology and the development of new uses.

Some of the human food uses for soybeans include oil used in margerine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and cooking oil (labeled as vegetable oil in the grocery store). And don't forget cereals, candies, baby food or formula, and medicines.

Other non-food uses include cosmetics, fabrics, plastics, soap, and water-based paints. A friend of mine works for a large printing company in Texas and tells me, that currently, ink made from soybeans is used in printing labels for food products.

Feeding soybeans to our cows is an essential part of a complete diet and contributes to their overall health. And what about your health? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that food containing soy protein may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. This claim is based on the FDA's determination that 25 grams of soy protein per day may reduce that risk by reducing blood cholesterol levels. www.cfsan.fda.gov.

The uses of soybeans are continually growing. To find out more about soybeans check out www.michigansoybean.org today.

Until next time,

Watch for items containing soybeans!

The Milk in Michigan is COLD today!!

Happy Thursday!

Today we have had our first "official" snow fall (meaning it has stuck to the ground just so you can see it.) Yep, you heard me - that dreaded 4 letter word!! SNOW. Oh Lord, I haven't even gotten all my fall work done yet. It's too early for this!! But the milk in Michigan is cold today!!

We just finished corn chopping- I will show you that later with pics-and still have to chop some sorghum sudan grass. All to feed the hungry cows!! Then it's full steam with harvesting soybeans and corn. And with the rainy weather every other day, it's been difficult to manage all this.

We will still pray for an "Indian Summer", you know when it actually warms up again! And if we're lucky, we'll get a long enough one to keep moving on the harvest and be done by Thanksgiving. That would definitely be a time for celebration!

So bear with me while I get my extra jobs done and I can move on to the next and get back to posting to keep all of you updated and informed.

Until next time,

Jennifer

Oh A Busy Fall!!

Wow, has this been a crazy, as usual, Fall. Over the past couple of weeks, my blog has suffered from lack of attention. It's not that I haven't wanted to post, it's just that one thing has lead to another and another and, you guessed it, another!
With chopping of haylage going full steam into corn silage and the wet weather to contend with every day, not to mention getting ready for the county fair-whew! Life's been full!
This week I have started a blog post, but unfortunately, it's not finished and I find myself juggling many apples. When the guys (employees) are hard at work trying to get the crops in either in the Spring or Fall, it's my job to feed them. So sack lunches and good nutritious dinners with DAIRY products is what they eat this time of year. Then in between, I work in the office, take care of the horses, and pet-goat, Gomez. Oh yea, right now I'm off to chase steers in the corn field-AGAIN!!
Sorry to cut this short, but there's no time to waste when the cattle run through the corn!!

Until next time,

Corral your cattle!!

The Last Fair in Michigan...for 2009!

What happens every year in Southern Michigan during the last weekend of September? The County Fair!! Yes, the smells of caramel corn, the sound of amusement rides, combine derby's and some "Famous Country Singer", and the sights of animals and kids!!


Oh how I love the county fair!! When I was a kid, my neighbors (the Nichols family) were the managers of the fair. They were also like my second family, and back then there were benefits of being "family" when the county fair started! I met "famous" people and rode all the rides for free (remember this was a long time ago-haha). It's great when you are ten years old and can stay late at the fairgrounds because you are doing the "rounds" with the "manager". I fell in love with the fair back then and still can't get enough of it today (just ask my husband).

I started my 4-H club when my oldest was 7 and now he's 20. My daughter's last year was in 2008 and I'm down to one last child showing at the fair, and he's 16. I'm already dreading the day when it will be his last fair. But maybe then I will start to take things to the fair for myself? I've wanted to enter photos for the last three years, but still haven't gotten that done. I will have more time to spend in the "Little Red Barn", the one our County Dairy Promoters sell milk and ice cream out of. And yes, much more time for chit-chat!!

So this fair was just as good as all the others. My 4-H kids did exceptionally well, as usual. Many blue ribbons were won, along with some Grand Champions and Best of Class awards, too.

Although my family raises cows, we don't take them to the fair. We have a strict policy of keeping our herd separate from other cows so as not to pick up any type of sickness that could lead to whole herd contamination. My children, instead, take other animals that don't come home, along with crop projects. We sell the animals at the end of the week and the "buyers" have the option to take them for meat or send them to the "market" where they will end up on someonelse's table. It is a win-win situation. The kids are able to use their money for next year's animal project and the buyers are supporting the "educational process" that took place over the past 3-12 months. We are very fortunate to have dedicated people support the youth in our county. My family, in turn, are supporters of the 4-H kids as well. We purchased some ducks and sheep this year.

My 4-H club members also take a wide variety of craft and food and crop projects along with educational exhibits. And so it goes, long months of preparation to display your "harvests" at the county fair, and in one week it is all over until next year. But what a great week it is!!

Until next time,

May the fair season Moo-ve your way!

The Lewis' on Video!!

I only have 2 more days until a video crew and a photographer show up at my door at 7am in the morning!! Yikes!! My family and our farm have been chosen to represent Dairy farmers from the great state of Michigan (plus 1 other dairy farm family) on a video series. What a great honor!! But also a bit stressful.
We pride ourselves on trying to keep a tidy place. But when it's going to be seen nationwide-well, you just have to take a little bit closer look. So we have been busy for the last several days making sure all is in order. We have had a bit of rain lately, so the grass just keeps growing!! Good thing we have 2 lawn mowers.
I hope to be able to take some pictures while they are here and post them on my blog. Anyway, we will put our best foot forward-and so will the cows! When it becomes available, I'll let you know. Like they say in showbusiness, Break a Leg, or maybe I should say Hoof!!

Until next time,

Say cheese!!:)

Where's the Beef, the Chicken or the Pork?

You may be asking yourself this very question in the future.  "Where has all the meat gone?  Why can't I buy it in Michigan or Ohio or California anymore?"  Or any of the other states affected by poor legislative actions from people who don't really know the truth but rely on others to tell them the "story".
Do you believe everything you read or hear?  I would hope not.  But, I would say that sometimes you may hear things are just "amazing", "incredible", or even "inhumane?".   
As a dairy farmer, who is truly pro-active in the promotion and education of all of agriculture, it saddens me to think that people would believe anyone who isn't an actual farmer.  Would you ask questions of a lawyer if you wanted a diagnosis for an ailment?  Probably not.  Your best bet is to find a person who really knows their "business". 
Animal agriculture in this country is huge.  The majority of the population likes meat (and no I don't have numbers to back this statement up).  I am one of those people-the ones who enjoy a good steak, chicken salad, and pork loin.  I cannot think of a time or place where I have not seen any type of meat (pork, beef, chicken, fish) on a menu or in a store.  Obviously, I am not a vegetarian, but I am aware that there is a small population that does not eat meat.  And some don't even consume or use products from animals-not even dairy or poultry, these people are called vegans.  Each to his own.  And, I certainly don't ridicule these people, they have a choice, just like I have a choice to "Eat Meat".
I am no different than most people that I know.  I stand up for what I believe in and I tell the truth.  I don't make it a habbit to talk negatively about others.  But just for this "year", I am having a hard time sticking to that last point.  You see, there is a national organization, called the "Humane Society of the United States", HSUS, (led by a smooth talking man named Wayne Pacelle), not to be confused with any state or local Humane Society/Shelter.  This organization's purpose is to "eliminate animal agriculture" in the United States.  Now that leaves me in a bit of a pickle.  My families livelihood depends on animal ag, just like the thousands of farmers and ranchers throughout the U.S.  Where will McDonalds and Wendy's and all the other fast food chains be without hamburgers?  You guessed it-in another country.  And if there's no meat here, then the meat will come to us. Which leads us into another quandry-food safety!  America has the safest food supply in the world. Not to mention, the cheapest. 
The HSUS uses cute little puppies and kittens as their motive for collecting Millions of dollars a year from unsuspecting people, their annual budget is somewhere around $130 Million dollars. You may think you're helping to save the seals or the lost and abandoned animals, but in actuality you are contributing to their fundraising efforts to pass ballot initiatives in states such as California and Ohio.
My point is that people in the "business" know what they are talking about.  To let "outsiders" come into our state and fight for their "beliefs" is just immorally wrong.  Talk to a farmer, or someone who is directly connected to agriculture.  They are the experts-not people who don't live and breath it every day of their life.

Your Poll Results

Thanks for taking the time to vote on the Poll Questions.  The first question asked if you "have visited a farm in the last year"?  Out of the 13 responses, only 1 person hadn't been to a farm within that time frame.  That's terrific!  For those of you who work or visit a farm, you know all too well what actually goes on.  But for the many thousands of Americans who never get that chance, they need someone to tell them the "story".  That's where this blog comes in.  It's a tool to let the non-farm public see up-close and personal the ways in which their food is raised.  The care that we as farmers show to our livestock, our crops, our employees. 
24% of Michiganians are employed in agriculture.  That means that 1 out of every 4 people you may know have some relationship with ag.  But for the 3 out of 4 people who know little, if any, about agriculture please share this blog with them.  There are other blogs that I recommend also, follow my links.  And I am always searching for new and interesting blogs that tell the story of ag, so let me know if you find one that peaks your interest.
This weeks question was "Do you feel farmers take good care of their animals"? An overwhelming YES resounded.  Hooray! You're right.  Farmers and ranchers take excellent care of their animals.  The health of a cow and her calf is very important to us as healthy animals equate to healthy products.  As mentioned in an earlier post, we provide shelter, a nutritious diet of fresh feed and water daily, veterinary care, and plenty of good ole' cow comfort.  We care for every animal, every acre and every person. This is our livlihood, this is where we raise our children and grandchildren and this is where we feed the world.  So Thank a dairy farmer the next time you meet one, and drink that cold glass of milk knowing that plenty of hard work and care went into it!

Until next time,

Thank a farmer.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Milk Can!

I am so excited to tell you all of the great things about being a dairy farmer in this blog. Every day, yes, 365 days a year, we are living the story of the American Farmer.
Dreaming the dream of owning our own land. Because, about 99% of all U.S. dairy farms are family-owned and operated, just like ours. And every day we are raising animals in a healthy environment to help feed the world.

Feed the world, you say? Yes, feed the world. Nearly 60,000 U.S. dairy farms provide milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products to the U.S. and other countries. U.S. dairy farms produce roughly 21 billion gallons of milk annually.

A cow will produce an average of 6.3 gallons of milk each day. That’s more than 2,300 gallons each year. Most milk only travels about 100 miles from the dairy to the grocery store to ensure farm-fresh quality. To be sure you get a safe product, milk and dairy foods undergo extensive quality and safety testing before they reach the grocery store. In fact, dairy foods are one of the most highly regulated foods you will consume.

Milking machines deliver milk directly from the cows to a refrigerated holding tank to preserve freshness and ensure safety. The milk is then quickly transported to processing plants for continued freshness and safety. And isn't it wonderful? There's nothing better than a good cold glass of milk.
So stay tuned in to "The Milk Can" and I will help to educate you and your family on the benefits of being a Michigan farmer, and share in the joy (and sometimes the sorrow) of being a dairy farmers wife.

Until next time,

Drink Milk!!