Monday, February 15, 2010

Blizzard-like Conditions. . .

. . .but the animals still need to be fed!

Wow! It is so cold, windy, and snowing hard outside!

My father-in-law is the one who feeds the cattle in the mornings - scoops silage into the wagons with a shovel, drives it down to the cow herd, feeds the calves in the barns hauling buckets of feed and big sacks of silage and bales of hay, beds them with straw, fastens the hose to the hydrant to water them. Then when the first cow herd is finished eating silage, takes the wagons to fill them again for the second cow herd. Then he'll walk down the hill to check to make sure the cows have access to water - but if it's frozen he'll have to chop a hole in the ice. This takes on a good-weather day almost 3 hours.

Does any of that sound like fun in those weather conditions I described?? Not only that, but with at least 4 inches of snow already on the ground, and patchy ice hidden underneath!

Thank you, Danny, for your committment to feeding not only the cattle on our farm, but in turn when the time comes, feeding the people who will ultimately eat the beef. Thank you to all farmers - your dedication to doing the right thing regardless of your own personal comfort is admirable, and rare.