Trautman Family Farm

Dairy Happy

in Wisconsin 

Anyone guessed that I love my work? Even in the face of crisis, like now, I know what I was put here on this planet for. To farm, to dairy, to teach; these are my passions. Add in there -- to innovate -- a restless curiosity and need to move forward -- especially in an area like dairy that has been heading in a non-constructive direction since....well...that 50 years again. Opportunity! Love it!

I love all of my work, even the parts some would say are redundant, don't you hate the routine of chores? No, I really don't -- some tasks I do, including, say, fieldwork -- time on the tractor - I put to good use. Thinking time. Thinking positively -- thinking about a problem - thinking sometimes about nothing, wham, there it comes. A thought. Incoming!

How to make less milk.

I know how! Pick me! I know  it!

What? Less milk? Yep -- less milk. Taken by itself, yes, that is wacko-crazo-nutballiness. You mean, feed the same feed, all the same
costs, but make less milk? No! I mean

reduce costs by at or more than the amount of milk you don't make

put more milk towards alternatives to shipping it - that have surprising benefits

Imagine: If instead of the deathrace each farmer has on in a poor price dairy market (oversupply) like this: make as much milk as possible, and hope your money lasts longer than your neighbors before markets recover: Somebody Has To Go, Let it Be My Neighbor and Not Me.

What if -- each farmer instead reduced the amount of milk they made by 15-20% -- and reduced their costs by a little more -- 20-25%. And preserved their ability to go back up that 15-20% at any time.

Here's what we're doing: 

- feeding high quality, but 1st crop hay. Keeping the good stuff for when we need to make milk -- or for sale even.

- not feeding any supplements other than minimum salt & kelp, Ah: but we've earned the right. Have you? Soil Fertility program & good haymaking are the heroes.

- maintaining body condition because of high quality and all grass background and probably also due to us milking once a day.

- growing calves longer -- heifer or steer - dairy or meat - with milk: we leave calves with cows. This last group of calves got an extra 3-4 weeks of momma's milk: It WILL pay off in the future - nice big healthy calves. Project out 2 years from now: Beautiful, and ready to serve.

- chickens - hogs - get quite a bit of milk - premium quality products from milk-fed animals

- our pets: cheap dogfood it is lately, but supplement with high quality milk: better health and vitality

- NOT feeding the oversupply of milk in the system. I think most dairymen could haul back on the corn to about nothing -- and see milk come down, but health go up. But you need quality forages -- balanced grass & legume -- energy -- carbohydrates -- is the issue. Get off the "I make big milk" kick. The game is survival; the big game is happiness. We're happy: we're not on a treadmill, we're not a money for agribusiness machine.

- when we're low on carbs? Molasses, fat supplement in a mineral mix. Individually or group: and I am watching how my cows are - there are 2 that are less conditioned than the rest. Cull? Not our future? Experiment with the individual supplement. Close monitoring. Daily!

- mastitis treatments: I listened to David Engel, great organic dairyman who no longer does much treatment of mastitis in his herd. First, he doesn't have much mastitis. We are getting there too -- wow, great number on my girls from last DHIA - super healthy udders - super healthy cows. They get rid of a low level, high cell quarter -- and that's all it usually is for us - in their own time. We have an alternative use for their milk: the chickens: and we don't spend a lot of money on medicines that end up being less  than effective anyway. Massage/mint oil; maybe some garlic, aloe, but really, we used to know how to spend money on an organic treatment. We're to the point where we don't need to. It goes down on its own, in its own time, which can be a day or two -- or a month -- even a lactation.

Other than the sub clinical mastitis - no health issues. We have one sore. One foot corn. A couple cows with chappy teats. That's it. We run cheap and don't need any vaccines, no medicines, no vet visits, no nothing. All a part of the benefits package of no grain and high quality forages. No lost calves, no calving problems, no ketosis, no milk fever, no da's, no lameness, no laminitis, no halitosis. That's bad breath and that's my problem not theirs.

Refigure your costs now: health budget next to zero. Insignificant.

- calf raising  costs: $0

- calf loss: $0

- cleanup/handling/feeding: $0

- quality calves: Super High

- PRICELESS!

- we figure 10% of lactation: 300 days -- so 10% - of milk production allocated to our calves. Say tops, 15%. A guy can change his milk by 15% no problem with some ration changes. So then you get the calf for free! Or at least figure it based on what it took you to get 15% more milk, if that's how you want to do it. We do not futz with calves here ever. Momma does that until weaning, and at weaning, we just still don't have any problems.

- once again: Our saved time - not running around the farm doing jobs the animals would rather do themselves - is utilized in a diversified farm. Marketing to individuals. (you know every one of you could have your own customers: even if it were a dozen family & friends: That is an economic impact to your farm. And trust me: It is so nice to hear from people: Wow, love your work.)

- we save enough on simplicity -- and time -- time we use to diversify -- with the meats for example -- so that we are never backed into a corner.

- conduct our finances responsibly and have a reserve to buffer setbacks like this dairy crisis has been. Buffer you build: I can last one month now. Now 2. Now 3, from what I have the discipline to put away. What if every dairyman could last 6 months reducing milk output by 20%? What would be the effect on prices?

- crisis like this puts a guy in the position to really think everything over top to bottom. There's been changes in our household. I noticed wow, quite a lot less garbage going out. What's going on? Less packaging. Packaging = purchase. And food: More from nature, more from our farm - and other local farms, more time allocated to cooking and family. Perfect! We drive so very much less. In a peak, we could be spending $300+ per month on gas. How about less than $100 when I use this computer to communicate, stay on the farm, we make our trips efficient -- and local -- into our coop, to the library, combine trips. Re-allocate our food money on quality raw ingredients we can prepare ourselves. Result? More vigorous health, more energy, a drawing together of the family. (Quinn is the kid with the cooking interest!) 

An aside, but tragic: Talked to a 70's winner of "Farmer of the Year". He was having severe stray voltage problems. Spending huge money arguing, fixing, still problems. Did you learn anything from this, other than about stray voltage, get any ideas? Nope. Really: No. Then indeed it is nothing but a bad situation. My one thought to him -- in one ear and right out the other -- is GET THE COWS OUTSIDE, no stray voltage out there, minimize contact to stray voltage. Nope, keep 'em in the building. Sheesh! That is a dedication to futility to stand the ages.

- how we look at thing: Positively: We cannot help but take good from no matter what bad we think it starts off being. We're coming out the other side of this STRONGER -- WAY STRONGER than we went in. Lessons learned -- to handle any situation. I told a friend and they didn't quite understand me when I said, "I'm functional under a wide range of conditions". Good times: enjoying, appreciating, taking advantage of in its own unique ways: Bad times: NOT really bad times, challenging times: reevaluation times. Resting times, and expansion times. Defense, attack, hold. There are challenges and solutions. When you're out of solutions: you schedule the sale. There is no sale now, not any time I can think of in the works for Trautman Family Farm. We're needed! 

We're happy in our work - we're happy in our life - and our joy is spreading, as it is in abundance. Come get a heaping helping any time!

Scott Trautman, Proud Wisconsin Dairyman 

April 4th. Forecast: 3-5 inches of snow, after the wettest March on record, after the wettest February on record. Challenging keeping animals clean and out of the mud yet not destroying good pasture, as anywhere they are is a mess.

But spring is here, the warmth, the green, the lift of mood, the hope of a new season of growth: they must come even with these fits of weather-rage clawing at the edge. It's time to be ready for grass!

Most farms run a dairy and that's it. And that is quite enough, most especially when you follow the standard practices of the day. Milk twice per day, farmer takes care of the calves, feed stored hays, grains: that's pretty much a day. We've got lots of things going on here, we celebrate diversity- in income, in customers, in feeds, in demeanor, but they all have a way of fitting together.

With many things going on, a person has to have a time budget, too. It's easy to assume things take less time than they do; and especially where you wish you could have 5 people for one day, not one person for 5 days. So you have to keep a time budget and not go to the point of burnout or exhaustion. Often.

So our dairy practices are holistic -- whole-istic -- we the farmers are part of that, too, and it's important for us to stay engaged, enjoy what we do, and make money doing it.

What we do for ourselves: we milk once per day. The usual is 2 or 3 times each day, or with  the natural system, a calf, 5-8 times per day! We do indeed get less milk. 1/2 the milk? Well -- no -- but towards that, at least so far, with our skills as dairymen. Getting there.

October 10, 2009:

The above has sat in the 'draft' folder SINCE end of April. A lot has changed. And I'm not ready to say much of any of it without anger.

I'm arranging to have the dairy herd slaughtered. I guess that's that. Everything but everything worked, but no one cared.

Our philosophy is "if the animals can do it, let 'em", and "the animals will always do a better job than we will". That pretty much sums up a bull. He has one really really important job: To make sure the cows are bred. Great work if you can find it.

Shim is a now 6 year old purebred Jersey bull. We bought him and brought him to the farm on October 9, 2007 to breed our heifers & couple cows. October 9 I know because it's Julie's (my wife) birthday. Some birthday present, eh? I am one suave husband.

We bought Shim from Art Johnson, who has a 32 acre grazing farm by Milton. I will surely write a blog entry about Art at some point, he is quite a character and a super person. Art's wife died 6 years ago now, so he's there alone, and he's in his 70's. He mostly raises bulls at this time, and Shim is a fine specimen of a bull; a son of Sambo, a quite famous bull that has had many daughters who have won many awards.

If you know anything about cattle, and bulls, and Jersey's, Jersey bulls -- the first words out of your mouth (to me) will be, Jersey bulls are the most dangerous bulls there are. Unpredictable. Vicious. Etc. And I believe they are indeed like that, and we treat Shim with great care. So no need to drop me a line about being careful. Being careful means always knowing where you are, the bull is, and making sure you have an exit plan. And having a stick of some sort in your hand is a must as well. Respect the Bull.

That all being said, Shim is a peach of a guy. He's past his macho years (2-4 years old), and into his middle age. Part of why he's such a swell is Art's handling of him since birth. Art talks to his cattle constantly, and works with them often. Shim is used to and has respect for people.He will do the whole macho thing of pawing the ground, but yell at him good and he'll stop and go on his way. A reasonable fellow

Did I mention that Shim still has his horns? And he knows how to use them like you and I use our hands. Why the heck does he have his horns? All the better to gore you with? Not according to Art; who believes in event of an attack, that he's going to get you one way or the other, that the horns are a useful grabbing point to keep him away from you. Now I'm not necessarily all in on that idea. But at 6 years old, not a lot I'm able to do about it. I would like Shim a wee bit more if not for the horns. But I have appreciated, too, that Art can throw a lasso over his horns quite nicely. I do rather enjoy standing on the other side of the fence in the parlor, and I'll go to scratch Shim and he'll nod his horns at me, which says, thanks but no. Touching the horns? He doesn't like that.

I get a chuckle out of macho Shim when he'll give a bale of hay what for. Uses his horns to scrape some out, invariably leaving him a rasta hat of hay.

My weird little deal is somewhere along the way I've decided that an Australian accent is my Shim & me voice. "Oooh yeah, you're a rough one aint you mate, yeah, that's right." Steve the Crocodile Hunter style.

So he goes in with the heifers on October 9. And starting July 14th (2 weeks early, but twins), 281 days later, the calves start a comin', with 92% within a 20 day window. 20 days is how often cows come into heat, plus or minus a couple days, so that's when Shim can "get them". So, it says good things for us that our girls were in good health and were able to be bred quickly, and for Shim as a bull that takes care of business.

We all know that the bull is the one that determines the calf sex. And we had 75% bulls, which, for a dairy farm, is going the wrong way. You'd be a lucky fellow indeed to have 75% heifers! (girls that is). So King Henry the 8th would have stayed at one wife if like Shim. We shall see how 2009 goes. He was in with the bulls later in October, and we've seen no heats in the cows, only one young heifer appears to have not caught on.

So what do most farmers do? Bulls are too dangerous and hard to handle, and limit their choices for genetic diversity. So they hire or AI (Artificially Inseminate) the cows themselves. Now that was going to be right difficult for the 2007 group of heifers, anyway, having been out in the field, and well, wild. The gals aren't exactly willing for a human to AI them like they are for a bull. The next big problem, even if they're in the stanchions in the barn, is detecting their heats. Humans: flawed. Bulls: flawless. They know, and since their right there, take care of business. Hence, the bull. Problem solved.

Unfortunately for Shim this will be his last year here; the following year he would be in a position to start breeding some of his own offspring, and that is of course not what you want. And we do desire genetic diversity, and towards some goals other than more Jersey. Our aim is to maintain about 1/2 Jersey in our crossbred cows.

So we will be looking -- and doubtful of finding -- a fellow as level headed and generally agreeable and capable as Ol' Shim. But I will insist that Shim go to a good farm where he will be appreciated as the fine fellow he is. He deserves no less.

Answers to a couple questions that come up about the whole...breeding thing...

Do bulls just "do it" to do it? They do not. It's because a cow is in heat or they don't. It's just a job to them. Okay, I'm sure there are some exceptions, and perhaps even the odd gay bull (okay now I've really lost a few of you haven't I), but as a rule, business use only. Harumph.

So how do they/us know when a cow is in heat? Cows in heat give off an odor that can be detected. If there is not a bull in with the cows, another cow will mount or the cow in heat will mount another cow to demonstrate being in heat.

Are you enjoying these little postings of mine? Drop me a line and let me know. Better yet, if you are in the area, come by the farm store and purchase some of our fine quality meats. You'll love them and my writing will be upbeat and fun rather than desperate and bitter. Not so entertaining my pretties.

 All the best for now,

Scott

The Shim-inator, December 2007.

PS: If you have seen and enjoyed the PBS Specials on Barns, you will definately have remembered Art; he's the one with the beautiful yellow barn, but he's the guy who's talking to his cows and bulls

Wisconsin Barns: Touchstones to the Past and
American Barn Stories and Other Tales from the Heartland

..by Tom Laughlin. You can buy these films at his website

http://www.koviaonline.com/order.html

Rhoda is a 15 year old Jersey, with a little Holstein in her, 3 teated cow. She is my first cow; she came to our farm from my Amish friend Andrew Swarey by Dorchester in May of 2007.

Rhoda had been in Andrew's herd for a long time; she is a certified organic cow. I paid $500 for her; she was to be our "test pilot" cow for us diving into dairy. That's how we operate around here, dip in a toe, test the waters, then wade in a ways before we go all in.

We had no milking equipment ready the day she came. We had no facility to milk -- as I came to find very funny myself telling people -- milk cow. Now cow-s, but cow. As in "Time to go milk Cow". Well I STILL think it's funny. But as usual, we managed. We go from complete naivete, to adaption, to some kind of efficiency. Naivete - Guess what, cows don't generally just stand there and wait to be milked. There being in the pasture. In fact, Rhoda didn't even want to be caught, much less milked. Okay; so day one went by without milking her. Not good. With the help of our very good friend, and all around capable and inventive guy, Don Warren, we (or I should admit, he) lassoed Rhoda, and we put a halter on her, tied her up close to a post on the edge of the field, gave her some grain, and proceeded to milk her by hand.

To look at my soft white small hands, you would have to know I have not milked (many)(okay any) cows before. It is hard on the hands! It took a good 20 minutes and very sore hands later to feel like we milked her out good enough that first time.

I had borrowed an old portable vacuum pump (really an air compressor turned backwards: vacuum instead of pressure), and a bucket milker, which is a stainless steel bucket, around 5 gallon size, with a top on it and a device called a pulsator that would squeeze the teat cups on the teats of the cow to have her release her milk. But they were in pretty poor shape, and Rhoda came before I got them fixed. Well, the portable vacuum needed to be replaced, and waiting on it to be shipped to us. A couple days of hand milking.

As usual, the 2nd day went better than the 1st, and the 3rd better still, although I was ...pretty much on my own. The deal was, to get Rhoda here in the first place, was, this is YOUR project Scott, YOU milk the cow. This from "the boss", Julie, Chief Skeptic & Keeper of Scott from Doing Crazy Things. So it would not be good for me to complain, so I didn't, but I sure was happy to have that portable milker. And by this time, she knew the drill, too -- that some grain was in it for her if she came up to be milked.

Most dairymen milk twice a day. Some even three times a day. Us? Once a day. It is not unheard of, and there is logic and reason to it I won't go into here. To say I didn't have time to milk once a day, one cow (for which the setup and cleanup are the same as to milk 10...or 100, is an understatement. But to milk twice a day, with the setup and cleanup taking far longer than the actual milking, well, that would be pretty crazy. (as opposed to "pretty crazy" to be milking at all, or milking only one cow)

When I talked to Andrew about getting "a" milk cow, to smooth the wife into this whole dairy thing, seduce her with the beauty of it all, I communicated the need for a friendly, easy to milk cow, great disposition, a cow easy to fall in love with. Well, didn't quite work out that way, at least to begin with. Rhoda knew early on that I was the "herd leader", but Julie, and the kids -- they were put on this green earth to be bossed around, and that she did. She was generally a menace to everyone but me. Which in it's own way endeared her to me, as I was "special" (as anyone who might know me might say with another meaning..."special"....).

So all spring I would milk her; I'd ask for and get a hand from one of the kids. There was the bucket milker to be sanitized, put together, the tools such as the teat dip, the curry comb (my touch), warm soapy water & wash clothes to clean teats, paper towels to dry the teats. It took about an hour start to finish. And Julie helped along the way, and stripped (squeeze the teats to get the initial milk flowing) and put on the milker.

We would drink the milk ourselves; boy it was good. Yep, unpasteurized, death-waiting-to-happen (so they say). I would call it a "Rhoda-Soda", a tall glass of cold milk, from a bottle with a nice 2 inch head of cream on it.

Rhoda was all by herself. Which we now understand to have been the source of ...most... of her "anti-social" behavior along the way. Cows are herd animals -- and especially if they have always been IN a herd, they act weird if they are OUT of a herd. What herd order? In the case of Rhoda, clearly a herd leader, who to boss around then? Well, not me, we'd established that <I> was the herd LEADER, but Julie & the kids? Well well, they could be bossed.

By late June, GJ, Maidengirl (GJ's Sister) and Baby GJ (GJ's daughter, we just call her "Baby") came to the farm from Richard's (see prior post about My Friend Richard). After some time, Rhoda was integrated with this group, and of course, Rhoda, being even the smallest of the group, took over leadership. GJ is about the most passive cow you'd ever meet, even being probably 1400 lbs vs. Rhoda's 900. Size doesn't matter: attitude does. With her finally being back into a "herd", even if it was only 4, she mellowed out some. I had been able to touch her all along since I milked her; I brushed her, complimented her on how nice she looked (girls do like that, even bovine ones) and generally made a fuss of her.

GJ freshened (had a calf & started to milk) August 11th; a beautiful bull we promptly named "Little Richard". Rhoda, being the bossy girl she is, and GJ being the passive cow she is, pretty much gave up her calf to Rhoda, who, being 14 years old, had had probably 12 calves but never been left to keep a single one (calves in dairy...except for a few Very Odd places like ours, are taken away right away from mom....I hate that with a passion), was getting in 12 calves worth of mommy-ing all at once.

When we were only milking a couple -- there were a few days where Rhoda was "difficult" and didn't want to come in, or be milked, or whatever, that we massaged some "hamburger"-like thoughts, and half convinced ourselves she "just wasn't working out", but like so many things, looking back, they were our problems, not hers, we weren't working things out very well, she was being....a cow...

We are now milking 22 cows -- and Rhoda isn't exactly the leader anymore, but if she has a chance to be the boss of anyone - of Baby and Maidengirl and a couple heifers anyway -- she does. Now Rhoda is more "in the lead" -- as in that nosey gramma-like person that always has to know what's going on and be at the front of the crowd. She always wants to be first for new grass, hay, to be milked. Very assertive that way. And eat -- she can really pack it in! Julie especially calls her "Rotunda" -- positively ROUND from filling up on as much grass or hay as she can pack in. That is a mighty good characteristic of a cow -- the more they eat, the more milk they give.

 GJ, Rhoda, Maidengirl's calf Karen Marie, and Little Richard

We had some trouble getting Rhoda bred; she is at this time in her 650th day of lactation -- almost two full years -- which is way too long. We didn't get the job done like it should have been. We use a bull, and Rhoda being old-ish has some old-person issues on occasion and weak hips kept her from allowing Shim the Bull to complete his work. But he did, this last spring, and she will have a calf in around February 20th. So we'll be drying her off here any day. She still gives a nice amount of milk; lots of butterfat & good protein, and low somatic cell count. We are really hoping for a heifer calf, to continue the legacy of Rhoda The Wonder Cow.

Rhoda in the new parlor, along with our daughter Lilly. And Bob from Tri-County Dairy in the background. This was day one for the new parlor - 8/27/08

Even Julie now is very fond of her, she is nice to all humans and that certainly helps. Or think of it as everyone's used to everyone's quirks and needs by now. We know how she is, she knows how we are, we get along.

I hope that she can be a productive happy member of our herd for many years yet. She is in good health, and could be around for 5+ years yet, before she's considered really old. For a herd like ours, that is. 5 years old is really old and worn out in many herds today, and that is sad because it doesn't need to be like that.

Come on out and see Rhoda the Wonder Cow and see what I mean.

I ran across this again and thought it would be a nice little pensive day brightener type of thing. 

 The Book is "The Cow" by Jared Van Wagenen, Jr., 1922
From the Steenbock Ag library, University of Wisconsin campus

"When the soil-miner has wrought his perfect work and the earth no
longer gives her increase-when seed for the sower and bread for the
eater grow scanty--then the cow comes to the rescue. From the
beginning she has exemplified the doctrine of soil conservation. Where
she makes the land her own, green carpets of pasture possess the
fields, alfalfa throws its perfume to the breeze and corn waves and
rustles in the sunshine. There great new barns rise in place of the
old, and white walled farmsteads speak of peace and plenty. There
contented farm folk found dynasties by striking the roots of their
lives deep into the soil. And of such is the Kingdom of Heaven"