Weekend Farm Recap

I'm just got in from the milking barn on Saturday morning and thought I'd share a little bit about what's been going on this past week. 

thumbs-up to more milk

We've had two dry cows and two heifers give birth this week, running our total number of cows in our active milking herd up to 177. They have been slowly inching up on milk production and should bump up a little more once cold weather sets in. Their TMR diet currently consists of corn silage, bermudagrass hay, wet brewers grains, and a custom mix of ground corn, soy products, dried distillers grains, etc. that we purchase from a feed mill.

Weather-wise, we've had damp and mild conditions most of the week. The wet conditions have prevented us from planting any ryegrass this week, but the wheat and rye we've already planted is really benefiting from the moisture and the temperature. And since we couldn't do anything in the field, we turned our attention Thursday morning to our beaver problem. Beavers have built dams all up and down a small creek that runs through our farm, causing water to back up into and flood one of our pastures. We busted four dams and "let the water off", but we still have at least three more to tear out.

On to the links:

• The Tuscaloosa News ran a story in their Sunday edition's Business section about me being named a finalist in the USFRA's "Faces of Farming & Ranching" contest. Read the story here, and don't forget to vote for me every day through December 15!

• My dad and I left the farm in the hands of our farmhands during the first part of the week so we could attend the Alabama Farmers Federation's Annual Meeting in Montgomery. You can watch this nice wrap-up video to hear from our organization's new president, meet our new Outstanding Young Farm Family, and learn how much money was raised for the Foundation for Agriculture.

• Speaking of videos, I have followed up 2009's "The Gilmer Dairy Farm Christmas Song" with a new one entitled "Have a Dairy, Merry Christmas" and I hope you like it. If you do, be sure to hit the "like" button on YouTube. It's been entered into Proud to Dairy's holiday song contest, and the video with the most "likes", G+'s, & "favorites" wins. And remember, sharing any of my crazy videos with your friends is sure to bring them holiday cheer!

Have a "dairy" good weekend, y'all!

Have a Dairy, Merry Christmas!

I got bored one day last week while planting rye seed into a hay field. And as is the case when I get bored, my mind starts coming up with strange things. In this case, it was bending the words of "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" into something dairy related.  I came up with a new version of the song pretty quickly, but decided to wait until this week to shoot some video and piece it all together.

What I didn't know at the time was that the Peterson Brothers in Kansas were going to come out with another one of their farm parody videos. I nearly decided just to scrap my little project when I saw their new one online last night, but I decided to go ahead and publish mine anyway. It may not be well-produced, have mass appeal, or receive a fraction of the attention some other videos receive, but what the heck! "Have a Dairy, Merry Christmas" has all the key characteristics of my other song videos: I made it up, I made it on the cheap, and I made it with a message. Yeah, it's low (no) budget and the audio track isn't anywhere close to being in sync with the video, but it does have cows, a Santa hat, and it comes from my heart.

I hope you enjoy it. And if you can't laugh with me, it is completely understandable and acceptable to laugh at me.

Have a dairy, Merry Christmas! It's the best time of the year.

In your cereal bowl or your cup of Joe, add milk for holiday cheer.

Have a dairy, Merry Christmas, and when you sit down to eat

Ask for cheese...it's sure to please...and have ice cream as a treat.

Ho, Ho, don't you know Santa comes on Christmas Eve!

So pour him a glass of milk to enjoy before he leaves.

And have a dairy, Merry Christmas, and in case you didn't hear

Don't be contrary have a dairy, Merry Christmas this year!

Ho, Ho, don't you know quality is guaranteed.

'Cause the cows are milked with pride for you by dairy farmers just like me!

So have a dairy, Merry Christmas, and in case you didn't hear

Don't be contrary have a dairy, Merry Christmas this year!

Don't be contrary have a dairy, Merry Christmas this year!

Balancing Farm & Family during the Holidays

I've often joked that one advantage to dairy farming is that I have a legitimate built-in excuse to avoid going to my in-laws' house over the Holidays.  And while I say that lightheartedly, it really is very difficult to balance the demands of the dairy farm with all of the different family gatherings happening this time of year. Here's how my weekend schedule is shaping up:

Christmas Eve (Saturday, December 24)

3:00-7:00am: dairy chores

7:00-9:00am: breakfast, shower, spend too much time on the computer, maybe a nap

9:00-11:00am: travel to my inlaws' house (my wife & kids have been there since Thursday night)

11:00am-3:00pm: eat lots of food, exchange gifts, hope everything's running smoothly on the dairy

3:00-5:00pm: travel back to Lamar County

5:00-6:00pm: Christmas Eve Communion Service at church 

6:00-9:00pm: Supper and gifts at home

9:00-who knows?pm: Ho, Ho, Ho.

Christmas Day (Sunday, December 25)

3:00-7:00am: dairy chores

7:00-10:30am: breakfast, shower, unsuccessfully try to nap while the kids play with toys

10:30-11:30am: Christmas Day Worship Service at church

11:30-1:00pm: skip my aunt's Christmas lunch so I can pass out from exhaustion

1:00-5:00pm: dairy chores

5:00-8:00pm: eat leftover dressing from Thanksgiving (ah, the miracle of deep freezers!) at my parents' house

The Day after Christmas (Monday, December 26)

5:00-6:30am: dairy chores (yes, I'm sleeping in)

6:30-8:00am: nap???

8:00am-1:00pm: family Christmas brunch and gift exchange at my parents' house

1:00-5:00pm: dairy chores, and everything's back to normal

Of course, my schedule is subject to change if we get a call that we have heifers out, a cow needs assistance delivering a calf, or some other unforeseen (but not surprising) farm issue should arise. But somehow, someway, I'm going to enjoy time with both sides of the family, eat too much, and still find time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas without missing much time on the farm.

Please enjoy the following little bit of holiday cheer and, from my family to yours, have a "dairy" Merry Christmas!

***update, Fri., 12/23, 12:30pm:

Our two regularly scheduled weekend workers have expressed that they intend to work all four weekend shifts, so that will thankfully take a little bit of pressure off of me & Dad. Merry Christmas to us!

Working on Christmas

I hope you all have had a Merry Christmas and that you are enjoying any time off work that you might have. I know that many businesses close for several days before and after Christmas, but a dairy farm is one business that doesn't have that luxury. Whether it's Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, or any holiday, the cows have to be milked, fed, and attended to.

My father has worked every Christmas day as far back as I can remember, and I've been right there as well since I was about 15. It can keep you from traveling to the in-laws if they have their gatherings on Christmas instead of before (like mine) or after, but all the Gilmer family gatherings happen here on the farm. It's really not that bad of a deal, either. We typically work a "weekend" schedule on holidays and take care of chores before breakfast and then again after lunch. Our milkhand usually likes to work the early shift on holidays, and did so again yesterday. Dad and I were also joined by another employee yesterday afternoon who decided he needed a few hours away from his in-laws.


So whether you're enjoying a holiday feast or just snacking any other day of the year, savor it happily and know that a farmer's commitment to care for his animals and to provide you with quality food never takes a day off!

And in closing, here is a new episode of our MooTube Minute in which I give you a quick tour of our "milk room". Enjoy!

Full-Throttle Monday

It's going to be a full-throttle Monday here on the farm to kick-off Christmas week. Luckily we're going to have good weather today, so we are going to accomplish as much as we possible can.

Our cows have already been milked and fed once and will be again this afternoon. The heifers, dry cows, and calves are being fed right now, and in about half an hour we'll begin trying to catch some of our youngest stock and move them into a new pasture. After that, things will really start picking up. We have 7-8 calves that need to be vaccinated and moved into a weaning pasture. Several bales of hay need to be distributed to pastures around the farm and at least two loads of baleage need to be hauled from the stackyard to have on hand for grinding in our feed wagon. Throw in some "cleaning up" chores and the inevitable Monday surprise, and we'll have plenty to keep us busy today.

I'll "tweet" about our activities as I get time (and my cold fingers allow), so if you don't have a Twitter account you can simply look over on the sidebar to find my posts. Meanwhile, you can check out our newest MooTube Minute and get a quick tour of our milking parlor.

The Gilmer Dairy Farm Christmas Song

Did I ever tell you about the time Santa Clause milked our cows early one Christmas Day? Well, watch the video below and listen to the story. Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings from Gilmer Dairy Farm...have a "dairy" merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Gilmer Dairy Farm and the Gilmer family! We hope each of you has a joyful day as we gather with our loved ones to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Eve Recap

It was just another day on Gilmer Dairy Farm to be honest, but here's the recap in case you're interested:

• 3:00am - start milking
• 5:00am - put the TMR in the milking herd's trough (my first responsibility of the day)
• 6:00am - finish milking and go home to eat breakfast
• 7:00am - employees arrive, wash out holding area and begin feeding calves and heifers
• 7:45am - Dad and I get back from breakfast, everyone gets busy with "odd jobs"
  
• 8:30am - begin process of moving a concrete trough section from a dry cow pasture to add to the milking herd's feeding area
• 10:15am- finish installing trough section, begin cleaning up feeding area
• 12:00pm - go home for lunch
• 1:00pm - milking and TMR building/feeding begins
• 2:30pm - I start putting out hay bales for heifers and dry cows
• 3:30pm - milking is done, rain begins to fall on me as I put out hay bales
• 3:50pm - finished with the hay, I help feed the calves
• 4:10pm - everything's finished...go home, clean up, and wait on wife and son to return from the in-laws.
• 5:30pm - begin writing this blog post, which doesn't really offer much information or entertainment to the reader.
• 5:55pm (projected) - Finish this post and log off the internet. The remainder of the evening will include supper, opening Christmas presents, going back to the farm to help deliver a calf (because that always seems to happen on holidays), working the late shift for Santa, and then getting a little shuteye before Christmas Day begins for me at 3:00am in the dairy barn.
  

Debating Animal Agriculture

I came across an interesting conversation today about animal agriculture. What started in the "comments" section of this article moved over to the comments section of this blog post about said article.

On a side note, I participated in one of the training seminars described in the above linked Capital Press article. In fact, you can read my evaluation of it in a previous entry, "Telling the REAL Story".

Now, back to the issue at hand. As a dairy farmer, it's probably wouldn't be too hard for you to figure out where I stand on animal agriculture. I believe wholeheartedly that our ultimate human purpose is to serve and glorify our Creator. I also believe He has made us the stewards of the rest of His creation. There are many of us that believe these basic truths but disagree as to what our actual responsibilities as "stewards" involve. Here's what I'm convinced it means:

I believe that we have a responsibility to USE the world around us in a manner that will best enable us to serve and glorify God both in the present and future. A significant part of our duty is the production of food, both plant and animal. When I lay down at night, I know that what I do for a living contributes to the health and well-being of hundreds of people, thereby extending their opportunities to be of service to God (whether they choose to or not is up to them). And I treat my animals and the environment around me the best I can so I can continue to make this contribution efficiently and for many, many years to come.

In closing, let me say "Merry Christmas" to both those who share my beliefs and to those who vehemently disapprove of what we in animal agriculture do for a living (and everyone in between). We're all God's children and look forward to the day that the issues that presently divide us will be totally inconsequential in the presence of His glory.

Feeding Calves

My son Linton loves riding in the tractor with me when I'm putting out the TMR for our milking herd. So, I figured I would let him "drive" his tractor into the calf pasture behind our house and give them some hay. Kind of in keeping with what we did last year, we decided to use this picture on the Christmas cards we're sending out. Unfortunately, I couldn't get him to wear the Santa hat again.

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!