DHIA test kicks off a full Tuesday

What's set to be a busy Tuesday kicked off at 3:30am in the milking barn with our monthly DHIA (dairy herd improvement association) test. During the test we use meters to measure and record each cow's level of milk production during that particular milking shift, and we also collect a small sample of each cow's milk. The weights and samples will be sent to a lab in Missouri later today, and we should know each cow's daily level of production and milk quality by the end of the week.

milk meters are used to record each cow's milk production once a month

Next up on the schedule is planting corn. I was able to get 23.5 acres-worth of seed in the ground yesterday, not quite half of the total we're shooting for in this first round of planting. I'll be planting a few small Mycogen variety test plots in one of our fields this morning, and hopefully I can get a total of 15-20 acres planted before I have to dog-off to go to Vernon to help coach my son's baseball team at 6:00 this evening. Our county's Cattlemen's Association board of directors is meeting after that, so it'll likely be tomorrow before I can finish the initial corn acreage.

While I'm doing all that, all of our animals will be fed, manure will be spread, cows will be milked again this afternoon, and I'm sure a few other farm chores will be taken care of.

Farm photos by Cameron Carnes

Checking Twitter while milking cows.
photo: Cameron Carnes

Birmingham-area documentary photographer Cameron Carnes spent a few hours with us last Wednesday to take pictures of our farm, our cows, and of us milking our cows. Cameron is currently working on a project to photograph how and where food is grown and raised in Alabama, and we were happy to provide him the opportunity to learn a little bit more about where the milk he drinks originates.

You can view an online photo gallery from Cameron's day on Gilmer Dairy Farm on his website.

Our milk: produced and now also processed in Alabama

The milk from our cows is once again being processed and distributed in Alabama.

The "010104" code indicates
this milk was pasteurized and
packaged by Barber's in Birmingham.

We are members of a dairy cooperative that markets milk to many different processing companies around the country. For the last couple of years, our milk has been shipped to a Luvel/Prairie Farms facility in Kosciusko, Mississippi. A change was made recently and our milk is now being processed at Barber's in Birmingham. Regardless of the brand name or label, milk jugs that leave this facility will be stamped with the plant code "010104". If you happen to see that code on your milk jug, you might be drinking some of our cows' milk!

We do not know if our milk will be shipped to Birmingham for the next several months or for only the foreseeable future, but we are happy to know that, for now, our cows' milk will be enjoyed by more of our fellow Alabamians. And while the brand of milk you buy and enjoy doesn't really make a financial impact on our farm (we get paid the same regardless), it is nice to hear from people who want to support us by drinking milk that originated on our farm.