No Sick Days for Dairy Farmers

Heifers enjoying the bright sun on a frigid Minnesota day.

Well, I'm back ;)  Part of my 2013 resolution is to get myself back in the blogging mode!  So to start my year out right...here we are!  2012 was chaotic and busy, but hopefully will lead to a less stressful 2013.  I'm sure many of you are recovering from holiday celebrations, as we are, but we are also trying diligently to stay healthy.  We found out recently that we were exposed to Influenza A this weekend at a family gathering.  In dairy farming there are no sick days.  I can remember my father milking cows with a bad case of the flu, and I have done the same. 
I find myself washing my hands for a few more extra seconds, making sure I'm taking my daily vitamins, and also enjoying a little more Vitamin C in my diet. If we (Farmer Jon and I) were to get sick, there would be no one readily available to feed the cows, feed the calves or bed in everyone.  Sure we have employees hired to milk cows and help with clean up in the parlor...but it's the rest of our daily tasks that make the biggest difference for our cows.  Hopefully, in the coming years we can train other employee to cover these tasks for us, but for now...no sick days for us....well until next week.
The second reason we're being extra cautious about getting sick is that Jon is scheduled to have surgery next week.  After battling through 3 years of sinus infection, after sinus infection....daily headaches of varying degrees of pains and unbearable ear pressure....Jon is finally having surgery on his sinuses.  The surgeon made it sound incredibly successful, so we are hopeful, but the surgeon also made the procedures sound painful and potentially life threatening.
Jon will be forced to stay in the house for at least 1 week, and be on limited farm duties for 3-8 weeks depending on how he heals.  This is no easy task for a dairy farmer to do.  I know already it is going to kill him to be "locked" in the house for that long, only to watch me run around the farm covering his chores.  BUT...I also know that if he is a good patient, he will heal faster and return to work sooner.  So in the coming weeks please help us pray for Jon's quick recovery & successful surgery....our cows are depending on him (and me too!).

Got a cold :( Prepping for the milk inspector

It's a beautiful 50 degree day in MN, and I can't enjoy it because I got a cold. YUCK! I am usually very healthy, but thanks to a VERY busy weekend taking care of the farm and getting my husband Jon to his band performance (yep, Jon plays in a rock band which played at a local bar this weekend) I was running myself too thin. It caught up to me. 5-6 hours of sleep is not enough sleep to fight off a cold, and so now I suffer with a sore throat and runny nose right before Easter. So it goes, cold or no cold, there's really no sick days on a dairy farm.

So sniffles and all I headed out to the farm with a full schedule on our plate. We worked to bed in all of the heifers and calves today. It is important that they stay clean and dry every day, making sure that they stay healthy. I also worked to continue my efforts in the milking parlor. We are expecting the milk inspector any day now, so we are cleaning like mad. The milk inspector comes every 6 months to check out how well we are taking care of our cows and facilities, assuring that we are shipping a safe, wholesome product-milk. The milk inspector goes through EVERYTHING on a dairy farm! They have the rights to look at everything, and they do. SO....we need to clean everything. I am a bit of a perfectionist, so I am always striving for a perfect score on our inspection. A perfect score is nearly impossible to achieve, but its a goal. Today I crossed off pressure washing the parlor and cleaning the office....it was a good day, sniffles or not!