Hello Guernsey Dairy Mama

Have you enjoyed following me? You can now find me at: 

Guernsey Dairy Mama

It's almost with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to this space! This has been my blogging home for the past four years, and it definitely feels like home! But I have finally taken the plunge to have more creative freedom with my little space on the web. It's a whole new adventure and challenge that I am really looking forward to! 

Seriously Thank You for joining me here, reading my posts and following along with my journey. When I decided to re-brand last Fall, I didn't really know what a journey it would be. But I am excited for the future and where this fun little hobby can continue to go. So I hope you'll all join me:

www.guernseydairymama.com

Cows on Pasture

My favorite day of the year has arrived! And a whole month earlier than last year. Today we let the Ladies back out onto the pasture! It is always so much fun to watch them return back outside to the lush green grass. After a little bit of fun and kicking up their heels they got right down to business grazing and then taking a snooze in the warm sunshine!
We do everything we can to make their winter care the best that it can be. The reason we pull the Ladies into confinement for the winter to protect our ground. The pacific northwest just gets too wet in winter, and if we allowed the cows to stay outside they would make a complete mucky mess of the pasture. This break throughout the winter not only protects the grass, but also allows it to get a wonderful healthy growing start. This in turn helps to provide feed for our cows.
It's all one big circle that dairy farmers care greatly for; we care for the land so it can in turn help care for our Ladies. It is definitely my favorite view to see those gorgeous brown and whites on the lush green Spring grass!

Freckles leads the herd

Bette takes off running!

Bookie and Ramira butting heads

Notice Jolanda jumping for joy in the background?!?

Muzzle deep the grass is lush! Jesusita and Anna are enjoying!

All settled down for a nap!

Brooklyn soaking up the sunshine!

Seriously my favorite day! And it was so warm here today, the sunshine felt amazing! I hope you had an equally great day! Happy Thursday!

2015 Resolutions

I've never really been one for New Years resolutions, but I seem to always find myself thinking about all the possibilities that seem to be more readily available as the calendar turns over. Why is it that we are more ready to make a change when the date changes? I'm all for motivation, and anything that helps is great, but I find resolutions seems to hang a heavy weight over some heads. So I'm here to encourage you to let go!
If anything that has been my theme for the last year, anyone hear the Frozen song Let it Go playing in the background? In all reality embracing that thought, and only attending to what has to be done, has been liberating. I'll be honest that some areas of my life have suffered greatly from this mantra: my house is literally a disgusting mess, my long lost friends rarely get to see me and my to do list is literally a mile long.
So what have I been doing? Surviving, living, and even sometimes enjoying motherhood with two young boys and a dairy farm. I've embraced the thought that I literally can't do it all and am completely alright with it! Don't get me wrong, it took me a while to get here, and at times it feels like a lonely dark hole that I dug myself. But I find I am so much more happy, less stressed and free. And let's truly be honest, if we don't take care of ourselves, it's really hard to take care of the others in our life.
I am all for making positive changes in your life, just don't be afraid to examine them realistically and be easy on yourself if you don't at first succeed. Above all, take some time for you. Enjoy that extra cup of coffee and chocolate without counting the calories, leave the laundry for tomorrow and play with your child instead, pick up that book you've been meaning to read, go for that run because you want to!
I understand this fast paced crazy life often leaves us with little time for the things we really want to do. Stop longing to do them and make them a priority! 

Above all don't believe that investing in your own happiness is selfish!

 Happy New Year! I hope 2015 is a blessed, healthy, prosperous and HAPPY year for you! ~Darleen

  

2014 Year End Review: Farm

After I highlighted my efforts in agvocacy in 2014 I thought it would be fun to take a look at what happened on our farm this year!

The biggest change for 2014 was the number of cows in our herd. For the second time ever and in the last two years we opened our closed herd to bring in animals from two Oregon herds that were selling their Guernseys. We used to say the future was near that we might be the only large number Guernsey herd in Oregon, sadly that day arrived. So with mixed emotions we welcomed 16 head from the Bosch family, Kilchona Farm in Tillamook, at the beginning of April. We have never brought that many animals into the herd at once, but the transition went smoothly and the timing could not have been better being out on pasture. Then in November the opportunity to bring 8 cows from the Wil-Rene herd, of the Jansen family from Forest Grove, presented itself. The timing was opposite, but we couldn't say no to these great genetics and again the transition went smoothly. 

Bette & Baja two days after their arrived!

 This brings our milking cows number to consistently over 90 cows and at max for our facility. We wouldn't push our facility if we weren't already planning an expansion into a new robotic facility by 2016, with 120 milking cows. 2015 is going to bring a lot of change, crazy busyness and challenge, but we are so excited to meet this new venture and build the future of our farm!

So let's look at what these lovely Ladies achieved in 2014.

We shipped 1,402,447lbs of milk. That is 163,076 gallons!! 

Received a quality award from our coop for producing milk above the standard requirements for the 2013/2014 fiscal year. 

 We welcomed 80 new calves! 41 Bulls and 39 Heifers. And had a record breaking 5 sets of twins, two sets being born on the same day, which has never happened here before! One set of twin heifers, one set of twin bulls and three sets of heifer and bull.
Welcome to: Jazzelle, Jellato, Regina, Rowdy, RockyRoad, Jentle, Sprout, Babs & Bobbie, Raindrop, Diana, Super, Louisa, Blackcap, Chanelle, Blueheat, Bungalow, Jesstine, Brenna, Fancie, Jorja, Venita, Rainy, Snowdust, Moodini, Minuette, Bessy, Jessandra, Jazarah, Jacket, Spaz, Milan, Jellica, Roana and 5 more newborns awaiting names!

Twin heifers for Babette. Bobbi & Babs

Captured this sweet moment of Velma and her 12th calf!

 A few personal cow achievements. Kicked off the year with one of our favorite young cows Abiqua Acres Martini Jen classifying EX-90. We celebrated Abiqua Acres Goliath Velma's sweet 16th birthday. We also had a successful show season, taking strings to the Oregon State Fair and Northwest National Guernsey Show. We took grand champion with Abiqua Acres Challenge Spirit at Oregon and placed in the top half of all our classes at the Northwest.  Bittersweet this Fall as we lost our favorite show cow Abiqua Acres Aaron Meara, she has been greatly missed!

Grand Champion Challenge Spirit

It's been a good year for the dairy industry. Milk prices were at record highs and feed prices stayed reasonable, meaning we saw a tiny profit this year, which will hopefully hold us through the rough outlook for the year ahead. Just like always most days saw us with ups and downs on the dairy farm. This is the life we love and we wouldn't have it any other way than spending it with the lovely brown and white Ladies we love! So Thank You 2014 and bring it on 2015! 

2014 Year End Review: Agvocacy

Wow! 2014 flew by faster than the speed of light for me! I feel like it's still December 29th, 2013 and I was looking at my second child's due date! Literally, where did the year go?!? I guess you throw two young boys into the daily grind of farm life and time is going to speed right by!

Here on the blog things were a little slow, I just didn't have time with my keyboard; only publishing 26 new posts!  But it was hard to compete when I ended 2013 on a huge  note when my post "Today I Cried Over a Cow" went viral and pulled in over 23,000 views to my blog in December. I was in no way expecting to maintain those numbers, and I thoroughly enjoyed my social media interaction in 2014.

After the birth of my second son I kicked my agvocating skills up a notch by attending the regional AgChat convention held in Portland. It was a great experience and my favorite part was meeting many of the faces behind some of my favorite blogs I follow. It really fueled my passion to hit this year hard. 

Last years end numbers completely blew my mind, to have my writing circulating to that many people was out of anything I ever expected to happen. So while 2014's numbers look slight in comparison, it still makes me proud to know that many people took the time to stop by my little space on the internet. And I fully feel I lived up to new year's resolution and my goal.

My top three posts written for 2014: 

1. What is in a Dairy Farmer's Day

2. Springing in a Dairy Cow

And #3 was tied with

Spring is Here 

&

Factory Farm or Family Farm?    

My personal favorite blog post this year was a project I worked on in coordination with Oregon Dairy Farmer's Association helping to promote the Northwest Farmer's Fighting Hunger campaign. With their increased efforts to promote the campaign they were able to double the donations from 2013. It was so fun to be involved in this project and I look forward to helping make a difference in continuing to promote it! 

 

While I didn't log much time on this space here, due in large part to horribly slow internet connections. I was able to mobilely update our farm Facebook page Abiqua Acres more regularly. Sharing pictures and posting on a more regular basis saw the audience there double without much effort on my part. I think I am most excited about these interactions because I am literally reaching thousands of people every week! I think most people are already on Facebook, so creating and sharing information there is a great way to reach an audience that might not otherwise take the time to visit the blog here.

With the positive interactions occurring on Facebook I decided to launch my new name there first, I briefly mentioned it here, and am looking forward to finally transitioning my blog to that in the new year. Guernsey Dairy Mama has taken off and flourished on Facebook without my pushing it at all. Launched the beginning of September and I already have 549 followers, my goal was to end the year at 500! Now granted those might seem like tiny numbers, but any number that I can agvocate to makes me happy! 

I am also super excited about the other projects that my social media interactions included. Most notably joining the team of Ask the Farmers. I am so excited to see this group reach a large crowd and the positive direction and conversations that are already happening in this 6,000 strong following! 

While I saw the most reward for my effort on Facebook I also enjoyed branching out to instagram this year. I transitioned my account there to Guernsey Dairy Mama and have really enjoyed sharing pictures I snap while working with my ipod touch. Mobile, easy and a picture is worth a thousand words; it is a quick and easy platform to be involved with. Not to mention their editing tools are a lot of fun to play with on pictures!I've been enjoying sharing a picture of all our newborn calves.  

Here's my favorite from this year on my instagram account:

It really has been an outstanding year for me and my agvocating efforts. I love interacting through my writing and social media and sharing my dairy life. I haven't set an goals for 2015 yet, but I am already looking forward to all the new year may hold! 

~Darleen 

Guernsey Dairy Mama 

      

Northwest Farmer's Fighting Hunger Results

The beginning of June Dairy Month I brought to your attention the Northwest's Farmer's Fighting Hunger campaign. Well the results are back and I am so happy to have been involved in such a successful year:

So THANK YOU to everyone who participated and helped #fightsummerhunger!

Very proud that Oregon won this little Challenge, of course everyone was a winner in this situation. Hey The Farmer's Wifee, better have Washington step up their game next year! ;-) Extra thanks to her for helping spread the word! 

#WhattheMuck: A Lesson in Social Media Importance

Glad the boots on the hard working feet of our family have always been Lacrosse or Bogs. I don't have to feel remorse for supporting a company that in turn supports organizations that are trying to end our lifestyle.

New Bogs- Sept 2012, still going strong today!

That might sound a little rash, and potentially this entire situation has been blown out if proportion, that's my guess at least, but I can guarantee that The Original Muck Boots company is reevaluating the importance of their social media posts. 

In two posts they managed to create a total uproar and turn away hundreds of customers by "accidentally fundraising" for the HSUS. 

Despite your views of the HSUS, (if you do support them and fall victim to their sad puppy and kitten commercials you should probably read up on their recent status and donor advisory from Charity Navigator. In fact Humane Society shelters see virtually none of that money that is raised. Want to help your local shelters, donate directly to them!) this is a total reminder to all companies to be aware of who is behind your social media and have an action plan in place to quickly resolve issues should they arise. 

The first posts (which have since been removed, another no no in the virtual world) were posted on Friday. The company did not make a response to the negative posts flowing in until Tuesday. 4 days is an eternity in virtual time. You have to be ready to respond in an instant or things can get out of hand. 

People were honestly burning their boots in response!

And they certainly did. The response has been huge from their main community of supporters: farmers, hunters, outdoorsmen and agriculturists. Hundreds of posts across all social media sites, even to the extreme of burning their boots. Finally an official response was made Tuesday afternoon 8/5/2014:

Screen shot from The Original Much Boot Company Facebook Page 8/6/2014

Now we all hate auto correct, and tagging can sometimes jump, but for it to be guilty if changing The Humane Association of Northwestern Rhode Island  to HSUS and tagging it is unlikely. To further complicate the situation, RI stated on it's Facebook page that is has no knowledge of the donation. If this is true, Muck has just completely committed company suicide, you certainly can't lie about an already bad situation!! 

Horrible situation for a tiny donation that was meant to memorialize a coworker. Muck will be regretting these two tiny posts for years. 

So to ALL the companies out there; if your going to utilize social media: 

*Be aware of who is posting and decide what is appropriate. 

*Always be on top of any situation. Time is important in the virtual world. 

*Using social media is an awesome way to reach customers, one of best of our time. Be aware that ONE post can make or break you!! 

I have a feeling every company in the country is currently double checking their social media procedures!! 

Happy posting!

Update: 8/6/2014 Just a few minutes before I was ready to post the above (cranky baby did not want to nap today!) my friend The Farmer's Wifee received this on her story asking for the truth from Muck:

"Krista. I read your post and I wanted to respond to you directly hoping to clear up a lot of confusion. To be clear: The Original Muck Boot Company did not make a corporate donation to HSUS. Yesterday was not a good day for our brand, and especially not for our social media team who made an honest mistake by ‘tagging’ the wrong organization in a few posts last week. We are very sorry that a this mistake has caused some of our loyal customers to be so upset.

Corporate statements aside, here’s what happened…we suffered the loss of a colleague from cancer a few months ago. As you can surely understand, that’s never easy. In lieu of flowers, his family requested donations be made to a local animal shelter in his honor. Our colleague loved cats, so we know that’s what he would have wanted. The local shelter that was identified, the Humane Association of Northwestern Rhode Island is close to the Muck Boot offices whose primary mission is to help stray cats. To make the confusion even greater, when our Facebook statement was issued yesterday, the employee contributions were still being collected internally and not yet distributed to HANRI, the local shelter. We have since been in contact with HANRI and cleared up the confusion. They are thrilled to be receiving over $2100 this week in contributions collected by and donated by the employees – not from The Original Muck Boot Company.

We’re sickened by the fact that our customers feel as is we’ve let them down. It was never our intention.
— Sean O’Brien, Director of Footwear, Muck Boots."

I have not seen an official confirmation of the personal donation from the Rhode Island shelter yet, but their post saying they had not received a donation has been removed. 

Take note companies: social media matters! 

Dairy Farmer Roadtrip "Vacation"

Dairy Farmers are a wonderful breed of people. Each caring for and producing the best quality product they possibly can. I am reminded of this time and time again as I forge more friendships throughout the dairy world.

This latest expansion of my "dairy family" took me to eastern Washington state near the town of Spokane. We sold one of our Ladies, to Spokane Family Farm. They run a herd of Holsteins and Jerseys and process their own milk. We were interested in seeing their processing facility, so made the drive up to deliver them their "prize" Guernsey.

The Hutchins are a great dairy family. That is clearly reflected in their pride and care for their herd and their products. I am so excited and inspired by their success in the short amount of time they have been running Spokane Family Farm. I can't wait to see where their venture takes them. Obviously great places with some Guernsey milk in the tank now! ;-)

Since we were "in the neighborhood", we drove a little further north to visit with the Stauffer's. I had "met" Krista online as she started her agvocacy with her blog The Farmer's Wifee. If you aren't following her there, you should check out her facebook page as well. Being a fellow Darigold producer and Northwesterner we had followed each other for a while. We got to meet up at the Agchat Conference in January and it was great to meet her in person.

Even better to get to visit her at her farm. They run a mixed herd of Jerseys, Holsteins and crosses. Beautiful farm, nestled in the foothills with obviously happy and well cared for cows. It was great to get an inside look at their operation and catch up with each other.

I have to laugh, because it seems to be true for every dairy farmer, if you are going on "vacation" or a trip somewhere, you always look for farms you can stop at along the way. Dairy farmers are always learning and looking for ways to improve our own operations. Seeing other farms and talking with other farmers is a amazing way to not only build friendships, but share and grow knowledge.

Time and time again as I walk away from new farms I am always impressed with the common cause of healthy and happy animals. Dairy farmers truly do love their cows and this lifestyle. Your milk production is in good hand folks!

So who will we visit next!

     

Northwest Farmers Fighting Hunger

Today is not a Wordless Wednesday! Lately all the posts and conversations I have seen about food, seem to be GMO related. That topic can get everyone on every side very riled up and passionate. I am not advocating for either side, but simply asking you to put that passion somewhere it can be put to good use. I love that in our safe and vast selection of food we have the choice to consume the products we want. But for many families right here at home, they don't even know when or where their next meal will be coming from.

Hunger Doesn't Take a Summer Vacation

The biggest population faced with this dilemma is children; 1 in 5 kids in the Northwest faces hunger. Especially during the summer months when school is no longer in session they lose access to meals that would otherwise be covered.

Milk and dairy foods are the #1 requested item by food box recipients.

 This June, Dairy Month our farm along with all the other Dairy Farmers of Oregon challenge you to donate $10 to the Oregon Food Bank.  For every $10 donated, your local food bank can distribute enough food to provide 35 meals. That $10 goes a long ways to helping many families in need! So skip your next two coffees and put that money to use right here in our own community!! Because no one should be hungry!

To donate simply visit Northwest Farmer's Fighting Hunger. And help us #fightsummerhunger!

 Help Oregon raise more money then Washington in this competition that is for a great cause. Use the hashtag above and visit our farm facebook page for shareable content.

I got Washington Dairy Farmer: The Farmer's Wifee on board with spreading the news about this great fundraiser. Be sure to follow her blog and facebook page!

Did I forget Mother's Day?

No posts about Mother's Day were found here on Sunday, I was busy enjoying my little farmers as well as caring for the other Mothers that call our herd home. I had to chuckle as my newsfeed overflowed with the breakfasts in bed, spa days and  flowers.

You see every day is Mother's Day here. 

Ahhh, this is how a cow enjoys a relaxing day!

My entire livelihood and the whole dairy industry is reliant on the bovine mothers that help to foster the human race. In order to make milk, like virtually all mammals including humans, a cow must first have a calf.  So we celebrate birth, and cows becoming Mothers every day. Our cows are spoiled with the best treatment we can provide every day.  Every gallon of milk or dairy product (have any ice cream today? Yum!) that you consume is thanks to a mother cow! 

 So join us in celebrating Mothers Day, everyday! All the moms out there deserve more then one day right?!

 We did have a bit of an extra special celebration as we welcomed this beautiful little heifer to first time Mama Spiffy on Mother's Day! Welcome sweet baby and congratulations new Mom!

So hard to get a non blurry picture of a bouncing baby!

There's Truth in That

I am seriously blown away by the response and support for my last post! To watch my tiny blog, and one little post reach over 15,000 people and growing in the last 48 hours seriously blows my mind. That's half again more people then live in my little home town!

But more than that I am loving the feedback from others who have felt the same! Both here and on our Facebook page. Who loved their own Mercedes and carry those favorites in their hearts forever. I just might have to compile all the stories that have been shared in feedback, it just goes to show that farmers really do care!  And that care isn't just for dairy cows, but all sectors of agriculture!!

That was my mission in my last post, the raw, unedited emotion that we farmers truly feel for our jobs. Because farming isn't just a job, it's a way of life, it's in our blood, sweat and tears, all the way down to our core.

And there's nothing more truthful than that......

Me, me, ME! Mercedes -- Scratches for me, right?

Today I Cried Over a Cow

Today I cried, ok honestly bawled my eyes out over a cow.......Yes, she was a favorite cow, Yes, farmers do have favorites, Yes, she will be greatly missed!

These are the moments I wish every consumer could see. The raw, real, true, emotion of dairy farming. Every time a another "animal rights" video catches someone abusing a dairy cow, every time a consumer assumes that is the norm, every time a company makes a claim in their advertising that they are farming better, I wish they could view these moments. The literal, blood, sweat and tears that truly goes into dairy farming.

And I'm not just claiming this as an "emotional woman".
I would show you my father, who's been a farmer from the day he was born 58 years ago, as he fights back tears and anger after having to put a respected Lady down, a Lady we just spent countless hours/days/weeks over trying to make better, exhausting every resource possible before having to give her a peaceful end. I would show him tired, sweaty, with a bandaged finger that's missing a finger nail and hurts like hell headed back out to the fields in the summer heat and sunshine to make hay to feed the calves through the winter, after just literally working 16 hours straight for the last 10 days in a row. Those same hours that ravage his body year after year.
I would show you my husband, the newbie to this life, who's embraced it to it's fullest, tired and cold, with aching legs from a disability, not stopping for a break as he doctors a calf again, only to loose her that night, I would show you his frustration and disappointment in not being able to save her. I would let you hear the true cuss words that portray that emotion when he finds her gone that morning .I would let you see his panic and frustration as we try to breath life back into a calf that we thought for a brief second had a heartbeat.  I'd show you his hands, with countless cuts, his back with aching sore muscles and his tired body as he gets out of bed again at 4:30 am for morning chores.
I would show you my mother, who chose this life to be with her high school sweetheart, in the milking parlor on the hottest day in the summer, the coldest day in the winter, milking diligently and carefully every Lady. I would show you her disappointment when a Lady hurts a teat, as she tries every trick in the book to get her milked out and keep her from getting sick. As she juggles keeping up with paperwork, worry over bills and literally not enough hours in the day to get it all done, getting it all done.

And I would show you me, the one who grew up in this life, knows it's every in and outs and still chose to stay, with tears rolling down my face as Mercedes the cow pictured above gets her lasts scratches from me before she leaves our farm for the auction. I would let you see my memories of Mercedes being born, of growing up friendly and sweet, having her babies and joining the milking the herd.  I would show you her unique personality that set her apart. I would let you see the connection I had with her, the care and true love I have for all our Ladies.

I would show you the tears on my keyboard as I write this............Yes, today I cried over a cow, because dairy farming is much more then a job to me.........it's my life.   

My Favorite Thing about Dairy Farming

I have several posts sitting in my blog that are waiting for a final edit before I publish them. Ok in all honesty there is over a months worth of drafts staring me in the face. And as I was writing all of them something more important kept nagging at the back of my mind. It just so happens to be my favorite thing about Dairy Farming:

As I am writing these posts about our farm and the way that we choose to do things I want all readers to be clear on one thing:
Each Dairy Farm Is Unique! 

 And I LOVE that!
We all live in different places, climates and areas of the Country as well as the World. We all have different facilities, whether newly built or 100 years old. We all have a different herd of cows, from difference in numbers, breeds and personalities. There literally are hundreds of factors that are unique to each dairy farm that dictate the management and decisions that each dairy farmer makes.

So I want you to understand and learn how we do things on our farm and all dairy farms. Where besides those differences, we are all united in a common cause to produce a wholesome and quality product.

Sometimes those factors that make us all unique result in different management or decisions than what I might write about. And that is my favorite thing, that although we are united as an industry we have the freedom to makes choices that best benefit our situation and ultimately the cows within our care.

So whenever you read one of my posts, know that you are reading about our farm as an individual as well as part of the greater dairy industry. Those challenges that we all face as dairy farmers are in every day decisions, and we meet them with arsenal full of information and technology that is always growing and helping us to take the best care we possibly can of the lovely Ladies that produce for us.

And in the end I think for all Dairy Farmers it simply comes down to love! We love what we do. And that is my Favorite Thing about Dairy Farming. 

  

Morning Sickness in Cows?

Compelling new observations prove that cows may suffer some resemblance of the morning sickness that pregnant women experience...........

Ok pretty much joking about all this, but there is a story behind it!

Meet Beatrice. She's our Boss Cow or Lead Cow of the herd, pretty much meaning she's in charge of all the Ladies. She leads them out to pasture, she's always one of the first in the parlor, she's at the top of the herd hierarchy. And oh yes there is a hierarchy, every cow in the herd has her place. Some are just plain mean, but Beatrice seems to be a nice leader, a respected leader.

One of the first triggers for us that something is wrong with a cow is that she comes into the parlor out of order. Especially a cow that is always in the same place, being out of order draws attention. So about a month ago Beatrice started missing her morning place in milking. And we definitely started keeping a close eye on her. But everything seemed fine, she was eating and producing normally, just late to milking.

Then one morning we caught her "sleeping" in the back of holding pen, catching her attention she seemed to snap out of it. Looked around and realized what had happened, she immediately headed to the front of the line to be milked. Everyone else scattered to let her through, they were just as surprised she was still there, as she was! This proceeded to happen every so often in the mornings and we joked that maybe she was experiencing morning sickness!

Beatrice has been a problem breeder, and we have been trying to get her pregnant for some time. She kept producing enough milk to stay around for another try, but we weren't real hopeful she would settle. Sure enough with the new developments in her behavior, we realized she was over for her cycle.

And last week at our herd check, our jokings were confirmed, as Beatrice was confirmed pregnant! So maybe it is true that cows experience some morning sickness just like humans!

Definitely looking forward to another calf from B!!    

Liebster Blog Award

Woah, how fun! Jamie from This Uncharted Rhoade, nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award! Never been nominated for an award before, so Thank You Jamie! Make sure to check out her blog! 

Rules

This award is given to new or up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers...the award is then passed along to other bloggers in the same category to help spread the word and support one another.

What to do: 1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves. 2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to. 3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post. 4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award. 5. No tag backs.

Random Facts

1. Thanks in large part to my son, I now HAVE to have a cup of coffee to get my morning going.

2. I hate pickles, tomatoes, mushrooms and white chocolate.

3. We don't watch TV. We have a TV, but no regular service. Movies and Netflix for us. 

4. I REALLY miss riding. I was a very dedicated Hunter/Jumper rider until my horse had a "mental breakdown" and refused to trailer anymore. Now I just have pasture pets.

5. It's farm fresh eggs for me from now on, I won't ever go back to store bought eggs! 

6. I love to read! Totally enjoy getting lost in the pages of another world!

7. We have the best dog ever, he's a boxer named Brody. 

8. I faint when things get bloody.....it's really an issue being a farm girl, and irritates me that I can't control it. It seems to be getting worse as I get older too! 

9. My name starts with a D because my parents and older brother are A, B and C. 

10. I thought I had a large extended family growing up, then I married my husband; now I really know what a large extended family is. 

11. I'm afraid of moths, yes I said moths and no I'm not proud of it. 

Questions from Jamie

1. Why did you start blogging? 
 I came across a "animal rights" video that was taken undercover on a dairy farm. It enraged me! Not just for the fact that things were totally taken out of context, but also because these clips were taken over a long period of time that this abuse was happening on this one farm. These "animals rights" people did nothing to stop the abuse so they could get their video of bad dairy farming. I am here blogging to tell the truth about diary farming.

2. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Without a doubt my Mom's spaghetti carbonara! Now if only I could figure out how to make it just right, I can't seem to get it just right, it has to be made by Mom! 

3. If you could have the perfect day, doing anything at all, what would you do?
 Honestly, exactly what I am doing right now! Everyday doesn't go as planned and it's definitely hard more then sometimes. But I get to work with my family, be home to raise my son, enjoy working outside and with animals. For me, it doesn't get any better then that! But for a one day thing, I could definitely go for a nice warm, perfect day maybe by a mountain lake. All the people I love, some good food and drinks and good times relaxing. It's good for the soul to recharge sometimes! 

4. What would your dream car (or truck) be? 
Oh this a tough one, I am secretly a muscle car admirer and one day will own a late 1960's Ford Mustang! Modern day I would love to get my hands on my own Dodge Ram 2500, I'm a truck girl at heart! Although a Jeep Rubicon would be fun for off road......did I mention I kind of have a things for vehicles!!

5. What's your favorite type of music? 
 I love music and am totally one of those preset jumpers. Everyday listening is usually country, but I really do enjoy classic rock, oldies, alternative and some of the modern mixes.

6. What is one things you would be completely lost without?
 My husband! He's my best friend, my rock, my home, my hero, my inspiration, really my everything! We've been a part of each others lives for so long that I really don't know what I would do without him. Maybe a little cheesy, but it really is the truth for me! 

7. What's your biggest pet peeve?
When I'm cruising down the road and somebody pulls out in front of me when the coast behind me is completely clear. And then doesn't bother to speed up quickly. Really you couldn't wait the few seconds for me to go by and then pull out?!? No you had to pull out in front of me and make me slam on my breaks! If I get that dream truck, it will have a big brush guard bumper and I will refuse to slow down, get outta my way inconsiderate person!

8. Are you an early bird or night owl?
 Ha! You'd think being a dairy farmer I would totally be an early bird? Not true in the least bit, I HATE getting up early! Always have! I'm totally a night owl and it makes for a bad habit when I am getting up early to do the milking! 

9. What was your favorite gift you received last Christmas?
The commercialization of Christmas drives me crazy, so this might sound a little cheesy, but honestly just getting all our family together. We don't often get free time to get everyone together so it's special to have that day with everyone! 

10. Mayo or Miracle Whip?
Hands down Mayo! I want to try my hand at making homemade Mayo! 

11. If you had to live out the rest of your life as a animal, what would you be?
Ooh another good one, I'm a total animal lover of all kinds. almost tempted to go with something totally wild and exotic like a Jaguar just for a change of scenery. I also think our lovely Ladies lead a pretty awesome and pampered life. But I will have to go with a horse. They are my favorite animal and I've always felt a special bond with them. There's something so beautiful, mysterious and powerful about horses!

My Nominees
Diane from A Farm Wife
Erin from E. Davis Photography
Elise from The Frugal Farm Wife
Suzi from Chores and Chandeliers
Kim from Kim's Country Line
Krista from A Day in the Life of a Farmer's Wife
The Hahn-Way Holsteins crew from For the Love of Dairy
The Dairy Guy from Dairy Moos
Sarah from This Farm Families Life
Robin from Farm Folly
Jen from Ramblings from a Ranch Wife

Questions for my Nominees
1. What is your favorite post you've written so far on your blog?
2. Any travel plans in the near future? If not where would you love to go?
3. What inspired you to start blogging?
4. Your all time favorite childhood memory?
5. How would you describe your personality?
6. One food that you couldn't live without? What do you indulge in?
7. What's your favorite time of the year and why?
8. How do you make a bad day good? What cheers you up?
9. Who are the other important players in your life right now?
10. Your favorite fun activity? 
11. If you had to do one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Thanks for reading and make sure to check out the other blogs that I nominated. There really are so many great small blogs out there. And we all love to hear from you and see that people visited! So thanks for stopping by! Hope you'll come back soon!!! 

They're not all happy endings.....

Jesusita~to say she's a favorite would be an understatement!

Never is life and death more evident then on the farm. When you become the caretaker of animals, you take on all responsibilities good and bad. In a way I feel it is a little like playing God and yet never is it more apparent that we are not the ones in charge.

Most births happen without difficulty and go as planned. Every once in a while a Lady will need help, but most often nature takes it course and the female body gets to show off a bit. From our Ladies is where I learned to trust the birth process and helped a little with my decision to have my own son at home.

Then some don't go as planned. I guess you could call me an anxious Midwife especially when it comes to some of my favorite Ladies. So when the all time favorite started to show some signs of going into labor the other evening, it didn't bother me at all to trudge back out to the barn in my pj's to check on her progress. This was her 8th calf and she had no history at all of calving troubles, so mostly the vigilance was for my sake! The first check showed she was in some discomfort, but I knew it would probably be several hours before any real progress. So I made the decision to wait and head back out later. The second check late into the night showed about the same results, nothing showing, and no obvious sign she was having any troubles.

I gave her some scratches and reassuring words as she nuzzled up to me for some attention. Nothing looked out of the ordinary and I knew the rest of the crew would be up for morning milking shortly, so I headed back to bed.

My farmer headed out to morning milking a bit early to check on her......he found a dead bull calf.

We will never know exactly the cause, that's just the way it is in situations like this. Sometimes things just don't end the way we want them to. Luckily Jesusita is doing well and very happy to be back in the milking herd. That's the best news you can get from an unhappy ending.

Taking a deep breath...

Our wonderful small town joined the ranks of cities with a shooting story last week. You can view the whole story here, but we are all definitely thankful this situation wasn't worse then it could have been.

My mother-in-law works at the nursery directly across from the RV park and heard the first shot and watched the whole drama unfold. Amazed at the quick response, as more then 25 cop cars arrived at the scene quickly. I was thankful that my husband as a firefighter usually doesn't have to response to situations like that.

Don't talk to me about gun control, that's not why I am writing this, I am writing this because I feel strongly that as a society and community, we have failed; as humans we have FAILED.

Call me old fashioned, but I feel many of the issues we are facing with situations like this are a direct result of our current lifestyles. We spend more time "connecting" to our friends through social networks, text messages and other techno outlets. But where has the face to face gone, the real conversations and interactions. Interactions that lead us to really know somebody, really see their true colors and knowing when something is wrong.

Maybe it's just because I come from a community and lifestyle where a hand shake and true word are still valued. Maybe it's because I am still "living in the dark ages" in a location that doesn't offer service for a smart phone. Maybe it's because I am in the minority that I can see the affect these changes are having, but I think we are headed in the wrong direction.

I'm not the most social person, I am not likely to start a conversation with a stranger, I don't enjoy standing up in front of a crowd. But situations like this are the perfect reminder that being aware, looking up from your screen and smiling at the people around you can maybe make the biggest difference. We have a long ways to go for mental health help to be more available and accessible. But I think as communities, as a society and country, as humans, we could get there part of the way, by just being present in the world we live in.

So God Made a Farmer

 So I am a  little late like always on catching the hype train, and it seems like every last person but me has already blogged about this topic, but I am still impressed and influenced by last weekend.

So we were visiting some close friends Superbowl 2013, usually I only watch for the commercials, but this year my husband's team the 49er's were playing, so I was a little more invested then usual. So far there hadn't been any good commercials in the second half, (I missed the first half due to nap time!) During a rare moment between busy kids, we were all sitting down. Then a picture of cow came on and a familiar voice came over the air: "And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said 'I need a caretaker.'"

I couldn't believe it!!! A speech I am very familiar with and in fact had just shared a couple of weeks previous on our Facebook page, was being aired on national television during the most watched sporting event of the year! The room went silent, and goosebumps went up my arms!

I had grown up listening to Paul Harvey during lunchtime and also his "The Rest of Story" as we got cows down for milking. He's one of the only radio broadcasters I could probably recognize from a sound clip. To say he left an imprint on my childhood would be an understatement. I don't remember the first time I heard his "So God Made a Farmer" speech, but it always gives me the chills and hits home to my heart!

The words and perfectly timed pictures were staring back at me for the two minutes that had been slated for that Superbowl commercial. I was honestly holding back tears as it finished!  As the end came, I was proud to see that Ram Trucks, Dodge, were responsible for that commercial. I was proud that multiple Dodge's sit in our driveway and had in fact driven us to the Superbowl party. I was astonished that a company would pay millions to air such a deep and special message. And it paid off!

In a flurry and flood that evening Facebook was lite up with positive feedback. Friends said they thought of me when they saw the commercial. And I heard that sentiment echoed across the country from other farming friends. I think anything that gets people talking about farming, positive and negative (yes I did see a few negative comments) is a win for everyone in agriculture.

There's a movement for us to connect to the average person, these people who are now several generations removed from any kind of farming. AGvocating we call it, and never before had I been more proud to be a part of this movement. It was the fuel I needed to feed my fire.

In case you missed it check out the Ram Trucks commerical. By watching and then sharing a badge Dodge makes a donation. Up to $1 million to support FFA and assist in local hunger and educational programs. I think that's a pretty awesome deal for just watching and sharing a movie! They have also declared 2013 The Year of the Farmer! I love it and am definitely on board!

Here are also a few of my favorite blogs that posted about this commercial:

 A Farm Wife
             Diane just did my favorite post so far! "So God Created a Farm Wife". Her amazing words are definite recognition owed to the amazing Farm Wives that are out there!

The Dairy Mom

Dairy Carrie

This Uncharted Rhoade

Truth or Dairy

Here's the text of Paul Harvey's 'So God Made a Farmer' Speech, which was originally given in 1978 during the national FFA convention.

And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.

"I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon -- and mean it." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then
dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a
persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, then, pain'n from 'tractor back,' put in another seventy-two hours." So God made a farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the
rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place. So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cutcorners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church.

"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer.