Farm Lingo

As I am writing some of these posts I am realizing there are quite a few words that might not be familiar to the average person. So I thought a resource was appropriate, I will try to add to it as we go along. Hopefully you can use this to better understand what I am talking about sometimes! And as always, if there is still a words or phrase you are unfamiliar with, leave a comment and I'll add it to our Farm Lingo!!

Ladies: This is what we refer to our milking cows as. So if you ever see me talking about the ladies, it's our hard working cows I am referring to!


Heifer: What we call a female; as in Heifer calf. Also refers to yearlings that are of breeding age, if I am using just the word heifer, this is the age group I am referring to. They are called heifers up until they calve and join the milking herd.

Springer: A cow that is close to calving.
We also refer to the barn where the cows calve as the Springer Barn. Or if we say a cow is Springing, that means her body is starting to show the changes that occur before calving.

Dry Cow: A cow that is dry is currently not milking. She is on her "maternity leave", a two month break from milking before she has her next calf and rejoins the milking herd.

Fresh Cow: A cow that has just calved.

Milker: We have no employees on our farm, so when I say milker, I am referring to a person but the milking equipment as a whole.   

Parlor: No this isn't a fancy tea room in a house like the old English meaning, this is where we milk the cows! I need to look up how this word came to be used for milking parlor!

The Pit: Where the people stand in the parlor to milk the cows.  It is lower then the level the cows stand on for easy milking.

A.I.: Artificial Insemination, means of breeding a cow. And on our farm the only way our cows are bred, we do not keep a bull.

ET: Embryo Transfer, comparable to human surrogacy, an embryo is flushed from a donor cow and implanted into a recipient cow. If all is successful and a calf results they will be identified as an ET. 

Milk Room: Just like it sounds, this is where the milk is, in the milk tank of course! And just like everything with the handling and care of milk, this is a clean room.

Guernsey: I am not talking about the small island in the British Channel, I am talking about our breed of cows, the Guernsey. But they did originate from the island of Guernsey, hence the name. I will someday write a post about the history and background of the Guernsey, but for now if you want to know more about this great dairy breed check out the Wikipedia  or the American Guernsey Association for a quick overview!

Agvocate/Agvocacy: Agriculture Advocate. Not sure who started this term, but it's what describes me and fellow social media users who are promoting and educating about agriculture through these platforms.