The Bovine Bugle

Which cow ordered the 44 bales to go?

Today was a busy day for trucks here at Howmars Farm. The fuel truck from McCuin's was coming to put kero in our new fuel tank for the barn, the grain truck was coming from Morrison's with our two-week supply of grain, the milk truck was due to pick up the milk in the bulk tank, and two tractor-trailer loads of round bales were being brought in from Hardwick, VT, a town about 65 miles from Franklin. And at one point, three of the trucks were here at the same time!!

We had the round bales of hay trucked in because our supplier here in town was going to be about 50 bales shy of what we needed to make it to the start of the grazing season. My dad, Howard, keeps track of what Dennis, our feed supplier, makes for hay each summer and then records the number of bales we use during the fall, winter, and early spring. Knowing we were going to be short, I called a person in Hardwick who had advertised his round bales in the Agriview, a publication put out by the Agency of Agriculture in Montpelier, Vermont. His feed was going fast, but we managed to secure two loads, 88 bales, that would take us into the spring.

The seller of the hay, David, lined up a trucker, and today was delivery day. The first trailer load of 44 bales arrived around 11:30 a.m. As soon as the trucker had some of the straps undone, I started taking the bales off the truck. In about half an hour he was unloaded, and headed back to Hardwick for load number two.

The second load came in around 5:15 p.m. We had thought he might not be back until 6, so he had made great time. With sunset happening a little later these days, we managed to have the unloading all done before darkness fell. With the pile of round bales beside the barn suddenly swelling in size, it gave me a secure feeling like you get with a big pile of dry firewood at the start of winter or with a freezer and pantry full of the summer and fall harvest. Now for the real test--how will the cows like the hay? We'll find out tomorrow.

P.S. The pictures were taken by my son, Justin. He did a great job!

--Jonathan (left), Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

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Posted by Blogger Chris at March 9, 2006 10:27 AM