Barley June 20th

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Rob Hull" <hull.milk@gmail.com>
Date: Jul 24, 2010 4:53 PM
Subject: Barley June 20th
To: "go@blogger.com" <go@blogger.com>

First crop hay half way done

Started cutting hay today despite the chance of rain tomorrow. The field we are working on is very heavy, starting to lay down, and has many wet gopher mounds so we hope to get it cut before it gets any worse. The drier the hay gets before it rains the more damage is done so usually a little rain the day after cutting won't hurt too much.


I followed my dad around and cleaned the dirt out of the swather with a scraper every 5-10 minutes for 1-2 hours. Some of the dirt stuck a lot worse than what the picture shows. Luckily it gradually got better as the ground dried and we got away from the outside of the field.

Quality Milk

Superior Quality Milk Award  I was very excited to learn that we have been able to meet the qualifications for 5 consecutive years!! This is a result of many things including, cow health, cow comfort, cow nutrition, cow and equipment cleanliness, good genetics, awesome help, proper milking procedures, quick and proper cooling of milk to 38 degrees, and I am sure there are other things I have overlooked. Even for only 90 cows it requires a team effort to be successful.

Mike Rowe on the challenges faced by farmers

Here is a link to Mike Rowe's blog post where he discusses the need to support agriculture now and in the future. Mike is doing his part to help educate others that well funded special interest groups have gained too much power with their money. And that there is a huge disconnect between the general population and the farmers (2% of the population) that feed our nation and others also.

http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2010/05/the-future-of-farming/

"On Dirty Jobs, I’m no expert, and I’m even less of one here. But I have a theory, and it goes like this – all jobs rely on one of two industries – mining and agriculture. Every tangible thing our society needs is either pulled from the ground, or grown from the ground. Without these fundamental industries there would be no jobs of any kind. There would be no economy. Civilization begins with miners and farmers, and polite society is only possible when skilled workers transform those raw materials into something useful or edible."