Dairy Farming is DAMN hard

[InfiniteNow]

Growing up, my best friend's family had over 200 head of cattle. Each morning at the butt crack of dawn, they had to wake up and strap on the milking machines, which fed the raw milk into the pasteurizer.

After that, the morning was spent feeding them, taking hay from the barn's loft and forking it in front of the cattle.

I got to help with the chores. I was a kid with pretty bad ADD, and drove my mom batshit crazy, so she welcomed the days that I'd spend the night at my friend's farm with him and his family.

Well, feeding the cows leads to cows deficating. So, we'd hook the manure spreader on to the tractor and back it into the barn. We'd then take shovels and scoop the poop into the spreader... for HOURS. My weak little arms sure got bigger when we did this. I even had a few times where I was too small to lift the entire shovel load, and had it spill all over me. Ah... to be a 7 year old again... We'd then drive the spreader out to the fields to fertilize the corn, the hey, and whatever else was growing at the time.

I even helped to deliver a few calves. They are so damned cute when they pop out!

Ah... farm life. Farmers are amazing people. Hard working, dedicated, and engaging in a set of activities that helps us all to survive.


Do YOU have any interesting farm stories to share? I have some, including the legendary "petrified manure wars" with my friend Johnny, but I'd like to hear your stories first.

Let's connect.

[Boerseun]

Yeah, farm life is awesome.

A few years ago, I dabbled in hydroponic tomatoes. Cost me an arm and a leg to put up nine tunnels, each with a thousand tomato plants inside. They grew in 20l bags stuffed with sterillized wood shavings.

Each of the nine thousand plants in total had to be fed from a little "spaghetti pipe" which basically dripped from a main line which was fed from a central pressure pump and a mixing tank that fed all nine tunnels.

Setting up the whole deal was a lot of hard work, but didn't even begin to compare with the effort of guiding the vanes. See, we spanned thick cable over the lines of tomatos in the tunnels, and dropped a string from the cable to each and every plant. Nine thousand individual pieces of string, each one tied to a cable. Keeps you busy for a bit, lemme tell you. And then, when the little baby tomato plants are growing, you have to show them where the string is. Each and every one of them. And then you coil the plant around the string to is can follow it up to the cable. But being a vine, it doesn't follow orders. You have to keep guiding them, once every three or four days as they grow. All nine thousand of them.

And then they start popping little tomatos. We were so happy on seeing the first little baby tomato! The next day, there were thousands upon thousands of little babies. We watched in awe as they grew in size, thickened, and ripened. And then we realised than we have to harvest! And that's where the hard word begins.

Roughly three tons of tomatoes, every day. Three tons that have to be picked, taken to the shed, sorted, cleaned, classified, and packed in individual 1kg backs. By then, you're so fed up you can really knock back a lager. Which we did. In copious amounts. But not too much, because by three the next morning you have to be up and packing three tons worth of long-life hydroponic tomatoes on a trailer to be taken to market. Where you hand all of it to the market agents, and hope for the best. And then you turn around and get back home just in time for coffee and breakfast, after which you have to go back to the hydroponic tunnels to give them their first feeding session of the day. Which consisted of about 50kg's of liquid fertilizer mixed in a 5,000 litre tank, and then you chuck in about ten to twenty liters of hydrochloric acid to get to the proper pH level so that the tomatoes actually ingest the fertilizer and you don't just pump it out for no good reason. This happens about four times a day. Oh, the fun I had with hydrochloric acid (which burns your skin to hell and gone on accidental contact, but doesn't seem to do much to frogs - don't ask me how I know that).

The other fun part is that the tunnels were made of about two-inch boiler tubing, covered in a thick transparent PVC plastic imported from Israel specifically for harsh and dry conditions, what with the severe sun they get in Israel. Ours didn't even last one season before cracking to hell. We had to replace the sheeting once a year. In Israel, the same sheeting lasts around five years. I guess the African sun is really as bad as they say. But the wind kinda screws with you. I have a pic here somewhere of a tunnel being mangled by the wind - looks like a hurricane went through it. All fun and games.

What finally killed it, was the water. Our farm used to be a tobacco farm in the old days, and tobacco farming actually stopped because of the bad water quality. Our EC levels were too high, and we actually spent more money on a daily basis just in treating the water we fed to the tomatoes than we made from selling our product. So we gave up after around three years. Initially, it was very profitable, but then the Rand fell through the floor against the dollar, and import costs for the necessary chemicals became too expensive.

So, now I'm still livin' on a farm (a different one) but I'm not farming any more. I've started another business in graphic design and newspaper layout, and I'm working comfortably from home, on the farm. I don't see myself moving back to the town or city ever again - the farm life is just too good for me.

Farming is a good lifestyle, but it sure is damn hard work, lemme tell ya.

[Michaelangelica]

The Dairy Industry here has just gone though ten years of crippling drought and even worse a govenment sponsored deregulation/free market "get big or get out" scheme that had milk selling for 15c a litre (at the farm gate not at the supermarket)
A lot 'got out' some got bigger.
Now we have a milk shortage and milk is selling at near record prices!

And, just before I logged in here, I read

Record rainfall destroys pastures
Dairy farmers in the Manning Valley have started to assess flood damage to pastures following nearly 400 mm of rain in just eight days. Milk tankers had trouble accessing some properties forcing farmers to dump milk. Record rainfall destroys pastures. 29 Apr 2008. Rural Online. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

I could not be a farmer. I would not have the courage.

[mynah]

Originally Posted by Boerseun

What finally killed it, was the water. Our farm used to be a tobacco farm in the old days, and tobacco farming actually stopped because of the bad water quality. Our EC levels were too high, and we actually spent more money on a daily basis just in treating the water we fed to the tomatoes than we made from selling our product. So we gave up after around three years. Initially, it was very profitable, but then the Rand fell through the floor against the dollar, and import costs for the necessary chemicals became too expensive.

So, now I'm still livin' on a farm (a different one) but I'm not farming any more. I've started another business in graphic design and newspaper layout, and I'm working comfortably from home, on the farm. I don't see myself moving back to the town or city ever again - the farm life is just too good for me.

Farming is a good lifestyle, but it sure is damn hard work, lemme tell ya.

Following tobacco with tomatoes can be problematic for another reason: Being closely related they are prone to many of the same eelworm species and viruses, and these may lay in wait for some time. (Same applies to chili, peppers, potatoes and flowering plants such as petunia, which all belong to the potato family.)

Must say, having a farm at Hartbeespoort without actually doing farming chores sounds like an infinitely better idea...

[Thunderbird]

I worked as research company for a year we would call up farmers to interview them on their use of antibiotics pesticides fungicides etc. I was amazed at how many hours were put in by dairy farmers their whole life revolved around an ever expanding utter. They never went on vacation they were up by 4am and didn't get to bed till 8-10 pm.

I once interviewed a farmer that was 82 years old, sounded like 30 on the phone he had marched across Italy in WW2 with Patton, received two purple hearts. After he came home he harvested 50 consecutive years of 500 Acers of corn and 500 acres of soybeans, he was working on 51 as we spoke. I did some quick calculations it came to the millions of tons of grain.

This man really put things in perspective of what a hero is. All I could think say to him was.. Thank you for everything.

[Moontanman]

I grew up in a little farming community in WVa, no one had any farm machinery all the plowing, discing, pulling and hauling was done by horses and mules. We hoed corn by hand and had to maintain 100 aecers of corn. all the livestock was feed by the corn and hay we grew. Little or no feed was ever bought. all our heat was with firewood we cut and all our food was grown and canned by us. we kept ducks for thier eggs and down, chickens for eggs and meat, pigs, cows, and hunted and trapped. Was it hard? yeah but it was all we knew so it didn't seem that way. I loved that life and my adult life has never been as enjoyable as those years spent on the farm. I miss it but i doubt I could do it now.....

[Michaelangelica]

Saving the Family Farm with A2 milk
Just purchased some last week. twice the price. I didn't change into superman.
There is hype everywhere else so why not with milk too.

TREVOR MARTYN: But it's a very slow and drawn-out process and you've got to find someone who is willing to have you come in and test his herd and hoping that you might get three or four cows out of his herd that are A2. So it makes it hard. At the moment we've got mainly Holsteins. There are a few pure Jerseys and some Jersey crosses. There is probably one cow in the background here that is a Guernsey.

PIP COURTNEY: The Scott family farm at Nanango, too. They signed up because of the 11 cents a litre premium.

IAN SCOTT: The industry was looking a little bit shaky and I was looking at what other options I had in the industry. I looked into it and I thought, "This is where the future has to be." They will always have to pay their farmers a premium price because of what's involved in the A2 supply.

PIP COURTNEY: Do you think, though, that you will always get a premium for producing A2 or do you think that the prices will one day be the same?

IAN SCOTT: No, I honestly believe and management of A2 has assured me that it will always be a premium price for A2 because of the extra that we have to do to produce this product.

Landline - 06/08/2006: The A2 milk story . Australian Broadcasting Corp

A2 milk

The selling point

“A2 Milk is a pure natural milk with an important difference, it is rich in A2 beta casein protein.” A2 Milk

The reality

The A2 milk debate has been rumbling along since the late 1990s. Back then, it was hypothesised that the A1 beta-casein protein found in the milk of some cows was a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease and possibly also schizophrenia and autism. The A2 beta-casein protein, produced by other cattle breeds, wasn’t thought to be associated with these diseases. Milk produced in Australia and New Zealand is normally a mix of both. So the A2 Corporation was set up to produce milk from cows that mainly produce A2 beta-casein proteins.

In 2004, a report from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority looking into the claims found no convincing evidence to suggest that A1 milk is a health risk, although it suggested that more research was needed. A more recent independent review reached much the same conclusion. One of the many other misconceptions surrounding A2 milk is that it’s less likely to cause allergies than regular milk.

The verdict

With no substantial evidence to suggest that A2 milk is better for health than regular milk, you’re better off basing your buying on taste and price.

CHOICE - Test: Milk

A Brief Inspection of A2 Milk
eMJA: A2 milk is allergenic

FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET

A2 Milk

Thousands of years ago, the ancestor of the modern dairy cow lived mostly in the Middle East and Asia. During the period that cattle were domesticated and introduced into Europe, a natural mutation occurred which produced a protein variant in milk called A1 beta casein.



Today, most herds in Western countries contain some cows that produce milk with a1 beta casein, some that produce milk with A2 beta casein and some that produce a mixture. A1 beta casein has been linked to heart disease, diabetes type 1, autism and schizophrenia.



The A2 Corporation in New Zealand has developed techniques for identifying which cows produce milk with negligible A1 beta casein content, the way it was thousands of years ago. Milk from jersey cows, goats, sheep, yaks and buffalo is all A2.

In NZ, A2 Corporation chief executive Dr Corran McLachlan claimed that some farmers wanted to supply A2 milk but the dairy corporation Fonterra was stopping them. An editorial in the NZ Medical Association commented that it would be reasonably straightforward to change New Zealand dairy herds to produce only A2 milk if that was necessary. `The intervention would require no change in behaviour by New Zealanders and could be implemented with little personal difficulty for substantial health gain.'


A failsafe-friendly dietitian reports the use of A2 milk during an elimination diet for a boy with autistic type behaviour: `I placed him on a milk free elimination diet, but allowed A2 milk. He consumed several cups of this per day whilst on the diet. His behaviour, concentration and sense of humour all improved. However, when we challenged with normal milk, concentration etc deteriorated. So it is back to the A2 milk whilst we go through other challenges.'


We have received many other reports of both autistic and non-autistic children with a variety of food intolerance problems who improve when switching to A2 milk, although one dietitian commented that children who improve on A2 will probably be even better on soymilk or ricemilk. However, for the many failsafe families who are not prepared to go dairy free, it would seem that A2 milk is much better than A1 milk.


See the scientific research at the A2 website: A2 Milk

FactA2milk

The latest news on A2 milk

* Reporter: Helen Wellings
* Broadcast Date: September 19, 2007

Our past reports on the alternative milk, A2, had many people around Australia who are unable to tolerate ordinary milk, raving about A2's benefits.

They vouched it relieved their serious conditions like ezchema, stomach aches, headaches, asthma, heart problems, even autism.

Now, a controversial new book claims there's a convincing body of evidence that there's a "devil" in the normal milk we drink.

It's a tiny protein called beta A1 casein, which is linked to a range of serious illnesses, including coronary heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autism and schizophrenia.

The author, Dr Keith Woodford, Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness at Lincoln University in New Zealand, analysed evidence from more than 100 scientific papers and experiments from around the world, which studied the connection between consumption of A1 normal milk and serious health conditions.

Dr Keith Woodford said: "The evidence is overwhelming.

The latest news on A2 milk - Today Tonight

[Michaelangelica]

Got milk? Convert it into biofuel
Researchers tap organic waste as a source of energy production

INTERACTIVE
Image: Milk
Got gas?
As the alternative energy movement picks up steam, researchers are discovering that a little ingenuity can turn waste such as spoiled milk or discarded table scraps into a whole lot of power.

Bryn Nelson
Columnist
There’s no use crying over spilled milk in Japan. Not when it can be converted into biogas.

Got milk? Convert it into biofuel - Frontiers - MSNBC.com