Monday, July 23, 2012
Total calf count = 105
This morning I was at the farm
at 7:30 AM and it was raining…and it is supposed to rain all week…But anyways,
I started by helping Becs feed calves and there were 3 new calves that had to
be tubed colostrum as well. At 10:30 the morning milking was done and my next
job was to help Bong wash the walls in the cow shed. We finished by noon and before
going home for lunch I checked on Becs, who was just finishing feeding
colostrum to 7 new calves that had just been dropped off at the calf
sheds.
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| More new heifer calves |
I went home for lunch and had a
nice long break because I did not have to be back at the farm until 3 PM to
feed the calves their afternoon feeding. There was only one new one to feed
colostrum so feeding went well, despite the continual drizzle of rain.
Tomorrow will be an early day –
I am starting at 5:15 AM because Ashton is milk testing tomorrow. It should be
an interesting day!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Josh, Becs, and I started at
5:15 this morning at the farm with the other milkers and the LIC technician
there for milk testing. My job was to organize new test tubes that attached to
the testing jar on every milking unit of the parlor. Standing by the cups off (removing milking units) station, Elmer would take the test tube full of milk from
the test jar, cap it, and then place it in the rack for test tubes. I made sure
to keep the racks of new test tubes ready for Elmer and he would replace the
full test tube with a new one. After Herd 1 was done, I took over Elmer’s job
during Herd 2.
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| Empty test tubes waiting to be filled with milk |
 |
Test tube filling with milk attached to milking unit of each cow
It was raining that day - hence the more-dirt-than-usual cows |
Milking did not take too much
longer than normal but the pennos are taking a long time because of
the recent increase in mastitis. Currently, all of the colostrum cows are milked
first and separated from the pennos. The first milking of colostrum cows is
collected in milk buckets and fed to new calves. After the first milking, all
colostrum cows’ milk is milked straight into a small bulk tank outside to be
fed to all other milk calves.
 |
Small bulk tank for "seconds" milk fed to calves
Colostrum (AKA "Gold") is the first milk fed to calves |
Also, there is a new mastitis protocol that was
put in place last week while I was on vacation. Every day one teat of every cow
is stripped before milking. So if today the right front teat of every cow was
stripped, tomorrow it would be the left front, then the right rear teat the
next day, and finally the left rear teat the last day. The cycle would start
over the next day so every teat on all cows will be stripped twice a week. According to Josh and Becs, this is a typical stripping schedule and mastitis
detection program on New Zealand dairy farms. The SCC has dropped to the low
300,000 so far so at least the new program has proved to be working. Becs also
had a new mastitis protocol poster with pictures posted on a
white board near cups off, where all penno cows are treated, whether it is for mastitis or another illness.
New mastitis protocol board
After milking was done everyone
helped to dissemble the testing equipment from the milking units as well as
clean everything.
By noon I was done for the day
because it was still raining and too wet to do any outside work. The new calf
rearer started today so I did not have to feed calves. Honestly, I did not mind
the job but it feels good to give my lower back a break…not to mention my
patience!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
I did not have to be at the farm
until 7:30 this morning…and it was still raining…imagine that! The pasture next
to Josh and Becs’ house is full of heifers that are currently calving. On my
way to the farm I counted at least 6 new calves on the ground, one of which was
lying in the middle of a puddle with no cow around it. I stopped my bike and
carried it over to a patch of grass because I knew it was going to be collected
soon.
Once I got to the farm Josh told me where to shift the pastures of dry cows.
I drove the 4-wheeler out to paddock 59 first to put up a new
fence reel. Then I moved the mob of dry cows from pasture 53 to 59. After
collecting the two reels from 53, I drove to paddock 80 and had to set up 2 new
fence reels in the corner that was 75 paces long by 60 paces wide. The second mob of
dry cows was next door in paddock 70, so I moved them into 80. The job took
about two hours but I got soaked...well, only my face, hair, and hat. I am starting to be very thankful my wet
weather gear is going strong!
 |
| Paddock map of Ashton |
Back at the cow shed I entered
data into MINDA (the farm’s software system) onto the new office computer that
was installed after the burglary a couple of weeks ago. It was the same type of
information I have entered before so it did not take long.
After helping Bong and Rodel
change some liners on the milking units, it was time for lunch. Thankfully I
was able to take the blue ute home (it was still raining) because I had to drove through
four spots on the driveway where water is overflowing!
The weekly staff
meeting was at 1:45 PM after lunch. Once that was over Sam and I drove the heifers that are kept next to
the house (in paddock 9) back to their pasture from the holding area by the cow shed. They
were driven to the holding area this morning to let them “stand” on the
concrete because it is so wet and rainy. In New Zealand it is common to let cows "stand" on either concrete or the hard races for a little bit of time. This way, when the cows return to their pasture, they are tired and will lie down
instead of walking around, mucking up their paddock. Becs told me today that
this is the first time they have ever had to do this at Ashton because it has
never rained this much.
Once the heifers were in their paddock I drove
across the road to help Josh and Drew (a new employee who started Monday) to
draft some more "springer" cows (cows that are due to calve this spring calving season) that look like they will calve within the
next week. Becs joined us shortly after and we sorted through the two mobs…in the
rain.
With the cows sorted, it was
finally home time around 4:30 PM. I sure hope it stops raining later tomorrow
like the forecast says it will!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
I started out this morning at
7:30 by shifting both mobs of dry cows that I moved yesterday. I shifted the
cows in paddock 59 by 30 paces and then set up another reel in front of them.
Next I went to shift paddock 80 cows but found they had gotten across the reel
I set up yesterday and took up one half of the pasture. Bugger! I drove back to
the cow shed to tell Josh and he just said to let them have
that half of the paddock for the day. My last job for the morning was to drive
to town to pick up some farm supplies from Farmland’s.
 |
| More water on the drive to town |
When I got back to the farm it was lunchtime and Ashton was having the monthly
BEL Group BBQ. After about an hour for lunch, I
spent the rest of the afternoon doing the following jobs with Drew (the new employee):
1) Bring
springing heifers back to paddock from holding area by cow shed
2) Move
6 new bulls into paddock 34
3) Move
2 bulls into paddock 50 (with the rest of the bulls)
4) Move
40 drafted springing cows down Ashcott road to a field of crop (ryegrass and
oats) where they will calve
Friday, July 27, 2012
This morning at 7:30 Josh,
Reynor and I went to paddock 9 of springer heifers to gather cows and new calves. There were 10 new calves waiting for us
and only 2 were bull calves! We drove all of the heifers in that paddock down
the races back to the feed pad for the morning after gathering and tagging the
calves.
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| Fresh heifer and her calf |
Once we dropped off the new calves I went to shift the dry cows in
paddock 80. Thankfully they had not gotten over the other reel and I was able
to shift them to another corner of the paddock without any issues.
Next Drew, Reynor, and I took
the 43 springer cows from across the road that Josh, Becs, and I had drafted
out in the rain on Wednesday, and we drove them down Ashcott Road, joining them
with the other cows that we moved yesterday into the field of ryegrass/oats
crop. A cow that we moved in there yesterday had calved when we arrived so
Reynor and I picked the calf and cow up after going back to the cow shed to get
the calf trailer.
After a longer lunch break today
I had to drive two cows from the cow shed down the races to a paddock near
Josh and Becs’s house. Once that was done Josh, Rav, and I drove to a crop of
fodder beet on Ashcott Road where more springer cows are kept. There were two
fresh cows and their calves to collect, making today’s total new calf count to
20! While we were with the cows we spent time drafting ones that look like
they will calve soon. It was a tough job in all of the mud that was in that
pasture. We were successful in sorting out the cows we wanted and moved them
into the same paddock as the other cows on the crop of ryegrass/oats. I dropped
off the two new heifer calves at the calf shed and by then it was 5:30 PM.
Time to go home and then out to the local pub with Josh and Becs for our traditional Friday night fish
& chips!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
I started at the farm this
morning at my usual time of 7:30 AM. Josh, Reynor, and I went to paddock 9 to collect the new fresh heifers and their babies - 4 new heifer calves! After putting those calves in the shed, Reynor and I went to
feed the weaned calves their calf meal. The calves had been split into two separate
pastures so we had to move a few trough feeders as well. When we returned to the cow shed I took the 4-wheeler and calf
trailer out to paddock 80 to get another new calf. My last job at noon before
lunch was to move Herd 1 cows from their pasture (paddock 48) onto the feedpad to eat before
afternoon milking.
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| Paddock 9 of springer heifers (Rhox's house int he background) |
After lunch Becs, Rav, and I
drove across Ashcott Road to Turner’s block where we sorted through more springer cows and removed 37 that looked like they will calve within the next week.
There were two new calves when we got there so Josh picked them up once we were
done. It took the rest of the afternoon to draft the cows and move them to the
nearby paddock of ryegrass/oats crop with the other springer cows. Before I
went home I moved two other new calves from the vet area by the cow shed to the
calf shed. These were calves that Becs had to pull this afternoon because the
cows were having a difficult time by themselves.
Tonight Josh and Becs and I are
meeting Sam and Rachael at the movie theater in Havelock North (a nearby town)
to see “Ted” and then dinner at a local Italian pizza place that Sam’s aunt
owns. Should be fun!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
This morning came early after a
late, but very fun and entertaining evening yesterday. Josh and Becs and I
picked up Sam and Rachael around 7:30 PM for an 8 PM showing of Ted. The movie
was a good laugh and finished around 10 PM. We walked about a block down the
street to the
Pipi Cafe, owned by Sam’s aunt, who is known around New
Zealand for her
cookbook. We each ordered our own personal pizzas; I ordered half of my
pizza with chicken, onions, and feta cheese and the other half the winter
special of wintergreens with caramelized onions and roasted pecans. The pizza
was amazing! I told Sam and Becs that I have to get back there before I leave.
By the time we made it home it was 12:30 AM and way past my bedtime, but well worth it for the fun night.
There was a heavy frost this
morning so when I got to the farm at 7:30 AM I had to wait for it to lift
before I could shift the two mobs of dry cows in pastures 59 and 80. The sun
was out, which helped clear the fog and frost, so I was able to get out to the
pasture about an hour later.
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| Sunrise this morning with the frost |
I took the 4-wheeler and hooked it up to the
“duster”
(looks like a
giant barn limer) to 'dust' the dry cow paddocks with
Cal Mag 90 powder, a MagOxide supplement that contains both calcium and magnesium. The duster spreads the powder over the
grass the cows eat, which helps prevent cows from getting milk fever (calcium deficiency) and grass staggers as a complication of magnesium deficiency after calving.
 |
| Pasture 'duster' for CalMag90 and Lime flour |
Shifting and dusting paddock
59 went fine but the mob of cows in 80 had broken across their fence reel into
the part of the pasture they were supposed to get today, so I just took down
the fence reel they had broken over and made sure the other one would hold up
until they get shifted again tomorrow. I also set up a new fence reel in front
of the existing one and finished by dusting the area of pasture they will get
tomorrow. Next, I dusted the new area of pasture the colostrum cows got today
while they were being milked. My last job for the morning was to get the cows
from Herd 1 off of their pasture in paddock 48 and drive them down the long race to the
feedpad to eat before the afternoon milking.
At 12:30 PM I drove home,
changed clothes quickly, and drove to Sam and Rachael’s house. From there we drove to town
to meet David (the feeder at Ashton) so he could take us to his son in law and
daughter’s sheep and beef farm. When we got to the farm we met Paul, David’s
son in law, who took us around his 1000 hectare farm (we took 4-wheelers). Paul
owns 3700 ewes that have just begun to lamb. The land is very hilly, especially
on the outer edge of the property, and you could see ewes and their newborn
lambs all along the hillsides. Besides his sheep, Paul also had some Holstein
steers he grows for beef. During our visit, Paul explained to us the various
crops he grows besides pasture – alfalfa, fodderbeet, and oats, all for which
Paul had a reason for their purpose and location on the farm. Overall, Sam and
Rachael and I were very impressed with the farm and it was apparent that Paul is
a very knowledgeable farmer who cares about his animals. It was nice of David to show me another operation besides Ashton so I could learn about what other farming
systems New Zealand has to offer.
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| Paul's farm goes until just past the top edge of the hills in the background! |
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| Crop of fodder beet on Paul's farm |
Monday,
July 30, 2012
Total cows calved = 205
And…it is raining…again. And…it
is supposed to rain all week…again.
I started my work day at 7:30 AM
by taking a motorbike and riding out to the mob of springers across the road
from the farm at Turner’s with Josh and Nestor. We picked up 5 new calves (2
heifers, 3 bulls) and sorted out their mothers to take back to the farm. After
driving the cows to the cow shed and unloading the new calves, I returned to
Turner’s and shifted the mob of cows 35 paces into their crop (ryegrass/oats)
for the day. On my way back to the farm I noticed a new calf and her mother in
the crop of the adjacent pasture. Therefore, the next job was
to go back to this mob of cows and sort out more springer cows. Josh, Nestor, and I spent a couple of hours out in
the rain drafting any cow that looks close to calving and then moved them into the pasture we collected cows and calves from this morning.
After lunch I returned to the
farm for the afternoon milking at 2 PM. Becs gave me a list of things to do in
the cow shed during milking in order to better organize the herds:
·
Take
30 cows with tail paint from Herd 1 and move to Herd 2 (to make room for more fresh cows)
·
Write
down the numbers of cows without tail paint in Herds 1 and 2 (these are cows that need to be dried off soon)
·
Draft
any cows with red tail paint from Herd 2 and put in Herd 1 (these are fresh cows that need to be in Herd 1 so they get enough food)
·
Take
20 cows with tail paint from Herd 3 and move to Herd 2
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| The new automated drafting gate that was recently installed |
Tuesday,
July 31, 2012
This morning
I woke up and it was raining. At 7:30 AM Josh, Rodel, and I drove across the
road from the farm to Turner’s block to gather today’s fresh cows and new
calves. There were 3 calves that we collected but came back with 6 cows – 3
were the mothers of the calves, 1 was a cow that had calved later yesterday,
and the other 2 appeared to have calved already. After getting the cows home, I
returned to their pasture to shift the group onto their crop for the day. While
I was doing this I noticed a baby calf lying in the tall grass – these calves are everywhere! By now its getting to the point where if you do not want to see a newborn calf you just have to close your eyes.
I got
back to the cow shed where Josh had me drive Herd 2 back to their pasture after
milking. Next I went to the calf shed to tag the three heifer calves we had
picked up this morning. By then it was pouring outside with no sign of letting
up. Josh called it an early morning at 11 AM so I went home for lunch.
I
returned to the farm at 1:45 PM for the weekly meeting. I spent the rest of the
afternoon stripping all of the cows in Herds 1, 2, and 3. There were only 5 new mastitis cows that I found but it is good to know the stripping routine
during milking is working well. I finished at 5:30 PM and drove back to the
house, done for the day.
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| Milking! |
Wednesday,
August 1, 2012
When I
got to the farm this morning at 7:30 AM it was my job to draft out any
remaining cows that are going to calve this spring from Herd 3 for dry off
today. These cows will calve later this spring calving season (by the end of
October) so they will still have a long enough dry period.
 |
| Cows entering (left) and exiting (right) the milking platform in the cow shed |
Once I
was done drafting cows, Josh and I drove out to the paddock near Ashcott Road
where today’s fresh cows from Turner’s were waiting to
be taken to the cow shed. It started to pour once we got to the pasture so it
took a little bit of extra work to round up all 14 cows/calves and bring them home in
the rain.
The
last job before lunch was to move the group of springer cows in Turner’s back across Ashcott Road to the farm and into the paddock next to Josh and Becs’s
house. I drove the 4-wheeler with the calf trailer while Sam, Drew, and Josh
rode their bikes. The mud was so deep in the spots where the crop has already
been eaten (hence moving the cows) that I could barely get through to pick up the new calf that had
just been born on the today’s fresh crop, which was not muddy. Once the calf
was in the trailer Sam and Drew drove the cows onto the road and followed them
to the house driveway while Josh and I stayed in front of the cows to turn them
into their paddock. I drove back to the farm to drop off the new heifer calf
after tagging her.
 |
| The heifer sheds are getting full! |
After
lunch I milked Herd 1 and then shifted the pennos (treated cows) in their pasture near
the cow shed. It rained all afternoon so I was done by 4:30 PM. Unfortunately, the extended forecast until next
weekend predicts rain every day from now until then.
Thursday,
August 2, 2012
More
rain…will it ever end!?
When I
got to the farm this morning at 7:30 AM Elmer and I rode our motorbikes out to
the paddock next to Josh and Becs’s house, where the calving cows are on
pasture. Josh and Becs were already there with the white ute and large calf
trailer collecting today’s fresh cows and new calves. When I got to the paddock
I noticed the calf trailer was stuck in the mud, but at least the white ute was
free. After collecting the rest of the calves, Josh, Elmer, and I drove all of
the cows down the races towards the cow shed to the feed pad.
Once we
had the cows on the feed pad for the morning, I hooked up the small calf
trailer onto the white ute and Drew, Elmer, and I went to collect today’s fresh
heifers and their calves from paddock 9. In
the meantime, Josh took a tractor to pull the large calf trailer out of the
mud. We picked up 3 new calves and drove the heifers home to let them “stand”
in the holding area of the cow shed for the rest of the morning so they would
not make their paddock muddier.
After
getting the heifers home and dropping off the new calves at the calf shed, I
drove the white ute back to the pasture near the house to pick up the large
calf trailer Josh had pulled from the mud. I hooked up the trailer and drove up the
driveway to the house, spotting another new calf in the pasture along the way.
I picked up the new baby bull calf and drove to the calf sheds to unload the 8
new calves in the trailer.
 |
| White ute with the large calf trailer |
The
next job was to collect two more fresh cows and their calves from the crop of
forage rape across the road in the area known as “McGreggor’s” block. I drove
the 4-wheeler and the small calf trailer while Josh and Elmer took motorbikes,
plowing through the mud of the already-eaten crop without getting stuck (quite
a feat if you had seen the mess), and reaching the fresh crop with the cows (not muddy). We
picked up the calves – a heifer and a bull – and gathered their mothers to
drive home. One of the cows followed the calf trailer nicely, but the other cow
had a different plan and decided to run back through the crop and over the
fence reel before joining the rest of the cows.
A good thing to remember with
dairy farming – 1) cows will always go where you do not want them to if given
the opportunity and 2) you have to learn to pick your battles if you want to stay
sane because you will not always win. In other words, we will get the cow
tomorrow since we will be “springer drafting” that group tomorrow
anyways.
Elmer
and I finished bringing the cow and the two calves back to the farm from across
the road. I dropped off the calves at the calf shed, washed out the trailer,
and drove home – soaked and cold – for lunch. Lucky
for me I got to stay nice and dry in the cow shed this afternoon. I had to milk
Herd 1 and Herd 2 so Rhox could look for cows the bulls have bred in the last
week. We started milking 45 minutes late because there was no colostrum to feed
the new calves so we had to milk today’s fresh cows before starting to milk the
rest of the cows (normally they are milked 2nd to last before the treated cows).
After a
cold, wet day, I was ready to get home and light the fire! I think it is safe
to say everyone is getting sick of the rain.
Friday,
August 3, 2012
Can you
believe it? More rain today! This is starting to get just a little bit
ridiculous. The Hawke's Bay area of New Zealand received 200% more rain in the month of July than in a normal season. Everyone at the farm is joking I took the rain from home and brought it to the US, so they are hoping I bring it home with me too!
When I
got to the farm this morning at 7:30 I grabbed a bike and met Sam and Rhox, who
were driving the springer cows near Josh and Becs’s house to the feed pad.
Next we drove the springer heifers near the house back to the cow shed to
stand for the morning in the holding area. After dropping off those calves,
Drew, Sam, and I drove across the road with the 4-wheeler and calf trailer to
pick up the 2 fresh cows and their calves. One of the cows was
down, shaking, and had cold ears = milk fever. Sam and Drew helped lay her down and then I
gave her 2 bags of a calcium/magnesium mix – 1.5 in the jugular vein and the
other half bag under the skin. We also drenched her with a super dense energy
mix called Turbo Cow. After Sam and I gave her the Turbo Cow, she was
ready to stand up! We were able to bring her and the other cow home, as well as
the calves, with no issues.
 |
| Springer cows across the road from the farm |
After a
quick coffee, Sam and Drew went back across the road to drive the group of cows
on the crop into the small race in order to do more springer drafting. This is
the same group Josh and I took 2 new calves out of yesterday...and there were 2
more calves in there today! While Sam, Drew, and Josh were getting these cows
out of the crop, I used the white ute to dust the paddock where the cow we had just
treated the milk fever was with a calcium/magnesium lime. Since I was already
across the road, I drove out to help Sam and Drew draft about 40 springer cows from the
group of cows on the crop. By the time we were done drafting it was 12:30 PM
and time for a quick lunch.
Once I
got back to the farm Drew, Sam, and I drove across the road to
Turner’s block for more springer drafting. There were 2 new calves waiting for
us there as well. It took about 2 hours to sort through those cows and towards the end,
about 4 PM, Becs came to take over for me. My last job for the day was to drive
the blue ute to town to pick up a farm order from Farmlands. I made it home by
5 PM and was done for the day. Now time for the Friday night tradition of fish
& chips for supper!
Saturday,
August 4, 2012
It was
sunny this morning! Except for the lack of rain and the milk fever cow, work this
morning was almost the same as yesterday morning: cows and calves. The cows
that Sam, Drew, and I drafted yesterday morning were still across the road but
in a smaller paddock for calving. We collected eight calves from there after we driving the springer cows and heifers to the cow shed and collected their calves.
After
lunch Sam, Rhox, and I went across Ashcott Road to another group of dry cows
where we needed to do more springer drafting. There were two calves already out
in that muddy crop, which is not an ideal place for calving (hence drafting and moving these soon-to-calve-cows). We drafted 140
cows and drove them down to paddock 13 near Josh and Becs’s house where
they will calve.
Sam and
I went back to the crop to get the new calves with the 4-wheeler and calf
trailer. We made it through the mud to the dry crop where the calves were okay,
but going out was a different story. Even the 4-wheeler in 4-wheel drive could
not handle that mud with the added weight of 3 calves in the trailer. Needless to say, I got
stuck and had to push the trailer while Sam drove. We made it about 10 meters
before Sam got stuck. We had to pick the calves out of the trailer and I drove
while Sam pushed and pushed. Eventually we made it out okay and after the calves
were back in the trailer we drove home, done for the day.
Sunday,
August 05, 2012
There
was an eerie fog this morning until about 9 AM. By then Sam and I had collected
the new calves from the springers in paddock 13 and
driven them to the feed pad for the morning. Next, we met Josh with the white
ute and the large calf trailer in paddock 49 to collect fresh cows and their
calves. Once the calves were in the trailer and their mothers sorted out from
the rest of the cows, we drove across the road to get more cows and calves. By
the time all of the cows and their calves were home it was time to get the
heifers and their calves. I drove the white ute over while Sam took his
motorbike. There were only 2 calves so we drafted those heifers out and let the
rest of them stay in their pasture.
 |
| Sam hard at work - chasing down and catching a new calf |
After a
busy morning and lunch, I returned to the farm. Sam, Rav, and I did more
springer drafting this afternoon in the last mob of dry cows across the road in
Turner’s crop. I drove the 4-wheeler with the calf trailer because there were 2
new calves, while Sam and Rav drove their bikes. We pulled out 123 cows and
drove them home to paddock 49 and into paddock 13 with the other group of springer cows.
On my
way up the driveway to the farm, I noticed a new calf in with the colostrum
cows, so I went and picked up a little heifer calf and dropped her off at the
calf shed after tagging her. When I got to the cow shed Becs had another heifer
calf waiting for me to pick up in the vet area that she had assisted in
calving. After dropping off the calf, I drove down the road and up the
driveway to Josh & Becs’s house where there was a small jersey calf and its
mother lying behind a tree and beside the large creek that goes under (and
occasionally over when it rains heavy) the driveway. The cow was supposed to be
in the heifer group but had gotten across the fence reel and calved there. I
had to chase the calf a bit before catching him and putting him in the trailer.
He was a feisty little bugger!
 |
| The tree on the left of the creek by the house driveway is where I found the escaped cow and calf |
Today
there were at least 30 new calves, and 25 were heifer calves! I hope
the rest of this coming week is as good as today – with the weather and the calves. Tomorrow
I have the day off and I am excited to sleep in and catch up on a few things
before starting my last week of work.
TOTAL CALVED
COWS ~ 400
