Meanwhile back at the farm in Georgia

 

Here is the latest from Tim's e-mail report in his own words:

Well well well.

It has been a while since you got an update from us. This entry picks up just days after the last one.

Remember, Hallie, the milk cow? Sure you do!   Well, days after we saw her leave and days before we saw her come back (in boxes to be put in our freezer) a new cow joined the family.

It is a long story, and I will try to brief it. She was for sale and we bought her!

But in reality it was not that simple.

We tried to buy this particular cow from a dairyman in Madison, GA back in October of 2009. We visited the cow and left with a "Thank you Mr. Farmer. We will discuss the matter and get back to you soon."

In that "soon" period our little boy Luke was born and died within hours. Our lives, as you know, were shaken and as you can imagine, buying a cow was the last thing on our minds at the time. When the dust settled we tried to get back in touch with the farmer but found that we had lost his number. We were out of touch for three months and had given up on the cow.

Out of the blue, Mr. Farmer contacted us and said that he would be glad to send us his extra milk for free. For the following months I would commute to Madison (45 minutes away) about twice a week. I would leave some 20 gallon drums that he would  fill with his extra milk (for our hogs), and on the days I would go get them I would also take some large mason jars to collect some milk for our own house use. Our own milk cow, Hallie, was producing less than a gallon a day and drying up so we appreciated the 

extra milk.  The milk stored in the large drums went straight to my thankful pigs.

The farmer and I spoke about cow number 56 often. The reason he had originally offered to sell her to us is because he was getting out of the business. When he contacted us about sharing milk with us she was no longer for sale. Why this cow?

Well, she was a 'show' cow in earlier days (not that she is old now). Her showing did not consist of competition but rather of "show and tell" type events like kids days, or old folks visits. She was the only one he chose out of his herd to go with him because she was docile and friendly. He also spoke of her 'rating' and 'pedigree' and her calves and milking. All of these things were positives and in my visits to pick up the milk I was able to watch her closely. She was always on the back of our minds but we no longer had high hopes of having her.

A few months ago, however, we decided to ask again about buying her. We reminded him that we had tried to buy her last year but had lost contact. He took a while to get back to us, but when he did we were devastated to find that he wanted two and a half times more than he had originally priced her. Frustrated we declined to buy.  Weeks went by and again out of the blue he offered to sell her to us at just one half more than the original price. She was bred back with a heifer (had just been (AI) artificially inseminated with sexed semen: guaranteeing a female calf) so we finally decided to buy her before he changed his mind again. I tried to coordinate a surprise for her to show up on our farm with a pink bow on Allyson's birthday (HOW ROMANTIC!) but two days before he was to drive her to my farm

I received a text that felt like another (of many) kick in the gut. He matter of factly told me that the cow came back into heat (meaning she didn't take to the AI from the previous month). I said "Well certainly you will sell her to me for the original price, then, if she is not bred back with a heifer calf" (By the way, it may be a good time to explain here that when it comes to milk cows, a new baby boy is barely worth $20 at birth and a girl is worth $200-$400 or even thousands depending on other factors) 

"NO, price is firm!"

I growled to myself again. It is really impossible to describe to you the array of emotions I have felt with this particular friend. Allyson has been able to experience this 'array' with me and well... all I can say is "WOW".       I said "We'll take her!"

And soon after, our new cow "56" "Donny" came to our farm, and we were all thrilled.

She came with Jersey registration papers. She was bred back to Smart Bull which didn't guarantee a heifer but at least she is bred back. She came with a chain around her neck which makes her much easier to handle than our previous cow.    She milks 5+ gallons a day. She is friendly with everyone as you will see in the pictures. She is a better cow than the other one in ALL respects although I must say, I liked the taste of Hallie's milk better.

The very best part of the story is that I have finally been able to use my portable milking machine.

A Godsend!     Milking is still a chore but it is no longer painful and at times tormenting. I did have to hand milk her for a month until I got my milk machine back from someone who borrowed it. Milking that many gallons by hand is quite draining. So, I am MOST grateful for the assistance of the milk machine.

So there, you have officially met Donny. A name we continue to struggle to get used to but the cow has fit in very nicely and we are all very pleased with her. If you come visit, you will finally be able to interact with a nice cow. Allyson and the kids were fearful of Hallie as she sometimes charged at them and didn't like to be petted. Donnie enjoys company, enjoys petting and I even hug her quite often.