The Bovine Bugle

A wonderful Thanksgiving on the farm

The Thanksgiving holiday was a very happy, and very busy one here on the farm. My siblings started arriving Tuesday afternoon and left Sunday morning. All the kids were busy having fun from morning till night. It's great seeing the kids together here on the farm. With the extra help around, we had a little young stock round-up and moved animals to where they will be housed for the winter. The big crew made it easy to move the nervous group of animals into their surroundings.

My dad, brother, brothers-in-law, and son, Ben, spent varying amounts of time in the woods looking for the elusive white-tail buck, but only saw a lot of doe. They are all very respectful hunters, and enjoy the outdoors and each other as much as actually taking a deer. The number of deer in the immediate area is very high, and it is good to harvest some of the herd to make it easier for the remaining animals to make it through the harsh northern Vermont winters.

Turkey sales were excellent this year. We sold 27 of the 28 turkeys we had processed this fall, plus we sold 8 of the larger toms we had left from last year. And of course the family celebrations of both sides of our family featured Howmars Farm turkeys. It is very gratifying to know so many family gatherings enjoyed one of our turkeys. Hopefully enjoying a grass-fed, organically-raised turkey will make some of the families think of using more locally-grown or organic food and products in their daily diets.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Learn about other organic dairy farmers and the Organic Valley family of farms.

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From the heifer barn to the pole barn and a little pick and shovel work

Mom had pretty much taken care of closing up the heifer barn, so I turned my attention to the pole barn that we use to house the older heifers and steers through the winter. The major thing to do for the pole barn was to make a ditch along the east side of the barn to divert any water away from the inside of the barn. This would, of course, keep the bedding and the animals inside the barn drier and cleaner.

I used the loader tractor to move the bulk of the dirt and rocks. I moved about 3 dump trailer loads, 7-8 yards, before I had to do some hand labor. I used a pick and shovel to finish the ditch, making sure that it sloped the right way so that the water would flow down and around the perimeter of the barn. Noah was already at his afternoon kindergarten, otherwise he would have been glad to run the pick for me. He would have pretended he was mining for diamonds and jewels.

Tomorrow I'll head to McCuin's to buy some 16' X 52" wire panels to close in the east side of the barn so that the animals won't tread around where we did the ditching and screw up the flow of the runoff. Then we just need to add some bedding to start the pack and the barn will be ready for the animals. I'll feel better once the animals are over here on this side of the road with access to some better shelter against the weather.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Learn about other organic dairy farmers and the Organic Valley family of farms.

Buttoning up the heifer barn for winter

The recent cold weather motivated us to winterize the heifer, or young stock, barn to keep the young animals housed inside comfortable and healthy. I say us, but mostly it was my mom. After a trip to O.C. McCuin's, my brother-in-laws farm and home store, she had all the supplies to tackle the job.

The ten windows in the barn were covered with new, clear plastic. Each piece was cut to size, stapled over the window opening, and secured with strips of wood fastened to the wall studding. This process took Mom 3-4 hours total. It's a job she always seems to end up doing, so nobody else seems to take the initiative in the fall to do it. We also make sure to start covering the pitching holes, too, especially at night. The term pitching hole refers to a hole cut in the barn ceiling to provide access to the haymow above the animals. Farmers used to "pitch" the loose hay down through the hole to the animals. This was when the haying was done with horses, and the hay was not baled into bales but loaded with pitchforks onto wagons and the put into the haymow as loose hay.

Once we close up the young stock barn, we make sure to have the barn fan running properly. The fan keeps the air in the barn moving, keeping it fresh for the animals. This is a big part of keeping the young animals healthy through the winter, helping to avoid respiratory problems such as pneumonia. With this barn ready for the young animals, it's on to the pole barn where we house the older heifers/steers who overwinter outside.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Back in the mud again

For the past two days, things had been pretty frozen up around here. Today it has warmed up enough to thaw out the ground and make mud. I'd much rather be traveling around the barn on nice frozen ground and by tonight things will be that way again.

After hustling through chores this morning, Karen and I headed into Burlington to do a little, I hate to say it, early Christmas shopping, and to deliver 8 turkeys to a customer living in the Burlington area. I always feel like I'm doing something illegal when I meet someone in a store parking lot and hastily transfer a box or boxes of beef or poultry from my car to the trunk of a waiting vehicle. As I recieve payment for the "goods" I expect the "meat police" to jump out and arrest me.

The customer, who had brought along his 21-month-old son, thanked us for saving him some driving and said he appreciated the work we do raising such good, wholesome food. We chatted about society's general lack of concern about where their food comes from and what they put into their bodies. Our customer even quipped that, "People take better care of their cars than they do of themselves."

People will pay more money for cars, houses, clothes, or vacations, but when it comes to spending a little more on organic food, then the price is too high. Often it takes illness or health problems to make someone change to a healthier diet.

After having such a positive interaction with one of our customers, it gives our sense of self-worth a big boost and sends us home ready to get back to work on the farm. Even in the mud and grayness of November.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Learn about other organic dairy farmers and the Organic Valley family of farms.

A cold winter day (already) in early November

It was cold out this morning. Ten degrees above zero by the thermometer and snow on the frozen ground. But, I'd rather have this than cold rain and mud, which is also common this time of year. November always seems to be one of the more challenging months here on the farm, when we are transitioning into "winter mode".

When Noah and I went out after snack break following morning milking, the temperature was still only in the low twenties. We tackled the manure spreader, frozen solid by the cold overnight temperatures. After banging and chisling for about 15 minutes, I dared to turn on the PTO (Power Take Off, not Parent-Teacher Organization~) to see if the bed chain and beaters of the spreader would turn. Luckily everything moved, slowly and with a lot of creaking and groaning, but moving. I parked the spreader at the end of the barn and, with the loader tractor, finished scraping the manure from the alleys in the barn around and into the spreader. Later in the afternoon I added some stacked manure to the load and spread it on one of the grazing paddocks. Four trips back and forth to the stacking area later, I had another grazing strip covered with manure.

Earlier in the afternoon, while all the boys were in school, Karen and I headed over to the Christmas trees to do some shearing. I wish I had brought the camera. It was beautiful with the snow falling down and the trees with a light dusting of snow, making them look even prettier than usual. It's very peaceful to go over and work in the trees for a couple of hours. You're there in the trees, surrounded by the woods, the sky overhead, and your own thoughts. Each balsam fir or spruce tree you come to presents a new challenge on how to shape it into the "perfect" Christmas tree. A nice change from the cows and everything that comes with taking care of them.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

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We say goodbye to three good ol' girls

Today we sent three cows down the road on the beef truck. It's always a little sad to have to cull cows out of the herd even when the decision is obvious. But today was even a little harder because all of the cows had been here on the farm for at least ten years and the oldest one turned 13 just yesterday. Rudy was born 13 years and one day ago, Brianne was 10 and 3/4's years old, and Lassie was just over 10 and 1/2 years old. That makes their average age about 11 and 1/2.

Brianne and Lassie were culled because of milk quality problems. They both had chronic mastitis that had persisted for the last 2 lactations that had not responded to any treatments I had used. Since we are paid extra for having high quality milk, and are penalized when our milk quality is poor, it makes sense to cull animals that are causing you problems and replace them with new animals. Rudy had a severly bruised rear quarter that had the potential to abcess, which could cause even more problems, so it made sense to sell her at this time, too.

You may ask, why am I making such a big deal about the age of the animals. It's because on the average farm, cows remain on the farm for an average of 5 years, not 11 1/2 like the three we sold today. Cows on large, conventional, freestall farming operations just can't last as long because they are pushed hard to produce as much milk as possible. Because of the way these cows are housed, fed, and treated for health problems, they just can't last under the stress. The goal on most organic farms is to reduce the amount of stress on the animal, keeping her healthier and happier for a long time. Letting them grazing, feeding them certified organic grain and forage, and using less stressful health treatments contribute to keeping the cows healthy and producing a high quality milk for a good long time.

Goodbye girls, and thanks for all you have given to Howmars Farm for the last decade.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Learn about other organic dairy farmers and the Organic Valley family of farms.

A change in clinic day for the cows raises a question for the farmer

Our herd vet, Steve Wadsworth, stopped by today to talk with me about changing our monthly herd clinic. Another vet service in the area had recently closed shop and his vet association is picking up some of that service's clients, putting a strain on their already busy schedule. Steve was changing his schedule to make it more efficient with less running around, while still meeting his clients' needs.

He had stopped to see if I would change my scheduled monthly clinic for a second time because of another farmer's concern over losing their clinic on a certain day. I said of course, that would be fine. Because of our small, laid-back operation we are very flexible and I would do what I could to help out Steve. What really bugged me was the main reason why this other farmer didn't want to change the day of his clinic. It had to do with his breeding progam.

Like many farmers in the dairy industry, this farmer is using a program of timed hormone shots to bring their cows into estrus for breeding. The cows are no longer allowed to cycle normally and come in to estrus on their own. Farmers rely on hormone shots to get their cows bred. Add in the shots of BST to get their cows to produce more milk, and shots of antibiotics with no milk witholding time for any little problem, and I start to get really scared about the milk from conventional farms being put on the market for the consumer. It makes me feel even prouder of the product I produce for Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm to sell to the consumer who knows how important it is to choose organically produced food for their families.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Learn about other organic dairy farmers and the Organic Valley family of farms.

One of the last calves of the season is born

Yesterday afternoon I could see that a cow had calved down in the pasture. Usually we wait a couple of hours before going to get the calf to let the calf dry off before we have to handle it. I kept working on a little project I had started until I thought I should head down to get the cow and calf in order to have the cow at the barn in time to be milked at the end of the milking string.

I asked Noah if he wanted to give me a hand and we headed down with the 4-wheeler to get Mom and her baby. Ring Ding, the mom, and her calf we doing fine and the calf was nice and dry. We call the cow Ring Ding because she has a ring in her nose that stops her nasty habit of sucking on other cows. The cow's actual name is Jasmine. The calf, a heifer, was very frisky so I had to walk behind the 4-wheeler holding the calf in the basket while Noah drove the 4-wheeler slowly up the lane to the barn with Ring Ding in hot pursuit. Noah did a great job driving all the way to the barn door leading into the maternity room. I picked up the calf out of the basket and Ring Ding followed me and her baby into a pen in the maternity room.

We love having the cows calve outside during the grazing season. It's a clean, natural environment for the calf to be born into, and the cow has better footing and more room to get up and down during and after the birth process. With the onset of colder weather and the end of the grazing season, the last of the calves that will be born from this calving season will be delivered inside in one of the large pens.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

Foliage splendor and a foretaste of the frost to come

The scene from Howmars Farm, one bright day last week. Franklin, Vermont is only
a few miles from the Canadian border, and so winter makes an early entrance.
If the trees look like this, can winter be far behind? No, as evidenced below,
with frost clinging to the shrubbery in the mornings.

Photos by Jonathan Gates

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Getting the freestalls ready for winter

With the end of the grazing season, the cows are starting to spend more time in the barn and less out in the pastures. This means it's time to repair and spruce up the freestalls that the cows use in the barn for lying down and resting. We call them freestalls because the cows can go in and out of them as they wish. They are not tied or chained up in the stall. Our barn has 40 freestalls that are used by our 50-60 cows. The stalls, approximately 4' wide x 7.5' long, have a sand base with dry sawdust on top.

The tandem dump truck hauled in the 14-yard load of sand a couple days ago. We waited until today to put the sand in the stalls because the boys were home and we would have extra help. We bring the sand into the barn with the loader tractor, dump the bucketload of sand on the concrete floor in front of the stalls, and then shovel the sand into the stalls. It's not a lot of fun, but with a few good helpers it only takes about 3 hours total to fill all the stalls.

Once the sand in the stalls is leveled out, we fill the dump trailer with dry sawdust and bring it into the barn. We then put a wheelbarrow-load of sawdust in the front of each freestall. The sawdust on top of the sand keeps the cows a little cleaner than just the sand and keeps the cows a little warmer in the cold northern Vermont winter.

We use dry sawdust because it helps reduce the incidence of mastitis infections in the cows' udders when compared to using "green" or wet sawdust. Dry sawdust cost a little more but it's worth it. The cows love it when the stalls are all bedded and ready to use. They stick their heads in the fresh sawdust and roll and rub them from side to side. Some will even start pawing the sand and sawdust out of the stalls, much to my dismay. If I catch them doing this I chase them out of the stall and threaten them that I'll stop bedding the stalls if they keep doing that.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont