......ten Hoeve Dairy LLC......

Decided to stop...

2011-03-05T07:11:00.001-08:00

I decided to stop this weblog! I can't really find the time anymore to work on it and I still have my personal blog. We will post things on our personal blogs when things happen. You can find the link to our personal blogs on the right side of this blog.

More activity

2010-09-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

Emptying the manure pit...

Seeding grass

2010-09-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Gerben and Theo have been busy preparing the remaining ground around our house to seed grass. They seeded today and the next thing will be fencing around it. This way we can rotate the dry cows better in the summer and that one piece that is already fenced of, won't turn into a mud hole again.
The tractor in the last picture isn't ours...the custom worker is here again to empty out the manure pit.

more pics

2010-09-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

Chopping

2010-09-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

More chopping

2010-09-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

It rained on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday so yesterday it was to wet to chop corn. Last night at 9pm they started again and filled up the smaller bunker. Because they were expecting rain early in the morning the guys went out around midnight to close the bunker so no rain would come in. It didn't rain so they started chopping again this morning and if the weather cooperates they could be done today with the bigger bunker. Then they still need to close it today because they are expecting a windy day tomorrow.

they started...

2010-08-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

It's corn silage time

2010-08-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

Today the custom worker arrived to chop our corn. I will post more pictures when they start chopping.

Repair, shed and posts

2010-08-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Last month the brakes from our telehandler failed completely. We just had a major repair on it and this would be another big one. We really were not waiting for this. The guys figured out what was wrong and to save money we bought a huge handbook on the Internet and that allowed Theo to fix it again! We were allowed to work in the neigbhor's shop( thanks John) so we only had the costs for the parts.

Today something else is being finished: the little shed for the manure scraper is being finished. This is the shed Danielle's dad build when he was here!

This month the railroad ties where straightened out. Now it looks a lot better and we hope that there will be no more trucks and cars in our lawn.

Oldtimer group

2010-08-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

The museum in Shell Rock organizes a tractor tour every year and this year they decided to stop on our dairy.

Mower

2010-07-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

We had so much weeds around the farm and they were growing so tall that we decided to buy a mower. It is just a simple one but it works miracles... It looks a lot better around the farm!

Posts around the yard

2010-06-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our yard with new posts(railroad ties). We were tired of everybody driving through our lawns and through the mud, leaving their tracks behind so Gerben and Theo put posts all around our lawns. With the rain they couldn't finish it yet but once it is dry again they will straighten them and fill up the holes.

Wind gusts

2010-06-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

This morning we had really strong wind gusts...so strong that our commodity storage is destroyed. The roof just lifted up. Then the wind settled down and the roof fell in place again. here a few pictures.

Historical moment

2010-05-21T09:28:00.001-07:00

Today is an historical moment for ten Hoeve Dairy LLC. The milk didn't fit in one milk truck...Because of that we had three trucks to come and pick it up... One completly full and the rest was divided...here a few pics.

What is going on...

2010-05-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Two projects planned: just didn't get to it yet....Suddenly they are getting done! Danielle's parents are here and her dad finished the workbench for the tools and started the little shed around the manure scraper. This shed was in the planning because in the winter it freezes and the scraper stops, then it needs to be thawed out. It also brakes down once in a while and needs to be fixed and in the winter that is not a fun job if there is snow or a blizzard. This will make that job a lot easier for the guys.
The workbench still need to be organised and cleaned but it is a work in progress...

Yesterday the guys went to Menards and bought used railroad ties. Some truck drivers don't know the difference between lawn and gravel, they just drive through our lawn and that makes a mess if the ground is wet. To stop this we are going to put railroad ties in the ground around the farm. I will put up more pictures about that when that is getting done.

Just a few pics from our dry cows. The last month we bought 36 more heifers and they are all calving. Plus our own cows are calving so we are having a calving boom(baby boom).

Busy week

2010-04-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

Busy week.... This week there was a lot of activity going on... Field work started last week around here but around our house started this week. Both the manure pits were emptied out again and that took about two days, our crop farmer is busy around our house fertilizing....and the barn was emptied out. This means a lot of tractors driving around and for Ian this means a great time. He is with his dad in the telehandler or skid loader and when that isn't possible he sits in front of the window on his chair....that is his show!

Bremer County Dairy Princes

2010-04-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is Katie. Katie worked for us an still does once in a while. Katie asked us to sponsor her to be the Bremer County Dairy Princes and we did because she always did/does a good job. We were sorry to see her leave . We were invited for the banquet where she was crowned Dairy Princes. Now it is her job to talk to people/ kids about how important Dairy is.

Our Dairy Farm

2010-03-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago a guy came on our farm with air pictures from our farm.

We liked what we saw so we decided to get a framed picture. Here it is... This was taken in September and I hope you can see it but we are closing our silage bunkers, the custom worker was just finished chopping so it was time to close them of with plastic. the first pic is the whole picture and the second one is just a close up so you can see better(I hope).
I can also report that the cold weather is over( I hope officially) but it is still just March so a lot can happen( lets hope no more snow and cold weather).
It is thawing since last Saturday and I must say that the snow is disappearing quickly. Now of course there is mud everywhere because it is not only melting snow but also rain. But everything is better now that freezing cold and snow so we are not complaining.

Waiting for spring....

2010-02-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

I had complains that there is nothing new on this blog...well I want to do something about that but there is just nothing happening that is really exciting. It is winter...in the winter there is nothing else we can do and sit it out... waiting for spring. In the winter the only thing we can do is trying to keep everything running smoothly with the cold, snow and ice. Building stuff and big repairs is something that will be done again in the spring.

Business Christmas present

2009-12-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to give our employees this business sweat shirt and we decided to get some for ourselves..

You know you're an American dairymen.....

2009-12-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

You know you’re an American dairyman/dairywoman if:
•You don’t remember the last time you showered before work
•You get home at night and find syringes in your pocket
•You laugh when your friends complain about having to work on a Saturday
•You have ever accidentally (or non-accidentally) medicated yourself with animal-grade drugs
•You have experienced a wet tail to the face before breakfast
•You have seen a dog eat a week-old placenta
•You have drank milk straight out of the bulk tank
•Every pair of pants you own has a teat dip stain on them
•You agree the five-gallon bucket is one of the greatest devices ever invented
•All beef cows look fat to you
•You have ever said “good enough for a barn” while working on your house
•You have ever witnessed a cow nearly killing herself trying to jump over, under, out of or into something
•You have ever combined pajamas and rubber boots to do midnight calf checks
•You own a pair of insulated coveralls/bibs, and they are usually crusty
•You’ve ever broken an Olympic track-and-field record running away from a bull
•You have ever been shoulder-deep in a cow
•You know the value of a mid-afternoon nap
•You have ever taken said nap in a barn
•You wake up at chore time even when on vacation
•You have ever used milkhouse chemicals to clean your bathroom
•You can accurately weigh a cow with your eyes and be within 50 pounds
•You can back up a manure spreader with your eyes closed
•You have ever pulled a manure spreader with your pickup, through town
•The smell of corn silage is one of the best smells in the world to you
•Your biggest fear in the world is milking a treated cow into the tank
•You can name at least five antibiotics and their milk withholds off the top of your head
•You don’t know what to do with a day off
•Putting in a new barn cleaner chain changed your life
•You own more syringes and needles than a heroin addict, but you recycle them anyway
•You are better than MacGyver at repairs, when your equipment breaks down during milking
•You have ever used a cattle trailer to move your personal belongings or somebody else’s
•You mention a dam and people think that you’re swearing

Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2010 from us...

2009-12-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!! From all of us....to you!

Snow storm..

2009-12-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

The calves were ok...cozy in their wool blankets...this year we don't have calves outside or in our equipment room like last year...this year we bought them wool coats to keep them warm.

Really ready....

2009-12-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

Now the guys are really ready for the winter.....

Political Science for Dummies

2009-12-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.

REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST
You have two cows.
The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one..
You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows.
You are surprised when one cow drops dead.
You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch and drink wine.Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.
Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.
You break for lunch.Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have some vodka.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You have some more vodka.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two.
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.
You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.
They go into hiding.
They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow.
The cow is schizophrenic.
Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish.
The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.
The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.
The cow asks permission to be cut in half.The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.
Everyone votes for the best looking one.
Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.Some people vote for both.
Some people vote for neither.
Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.
Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows.
They make real California cheese.
Only five speak English.Most are illegal.
Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

Every day

2009-11-30T13:07:00.000-08:00

Every day is a good day right now, without snow and to much cold.
Tomorrow it will be the first day of December and there has been no snow yet. I looked back on my blog and last year we had snow on November 7th and again on November 29. and it was cold....Until now it hasn't been really cold.
Every day without snow is a day less from the winter this year. We are not looking forward to the winter although we can say we are prepared.
We are getting a lot new calves. We are so happy with our automatic calf feeder right now. Two weeks ago we had 3 sets of twins in two days...plus all the other calves I won't mention....isn't that amazing!!
It is so much fun to see cows walking into our parlor an around in the barn that were born and raised here. Maybe you don't think about something like this but it feels great!!

Perfect team work

2009-11-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago we had a flat tire with the tmr wagon. It took a while before we had a new tire(they are fixed airplane tires) and in the mean time Theo took the whole wagon apart to fix some stuff. They took the gear out with the telehandler but yesterday they had to put it back into place. This is harder than take it out. It required perfect teamwork but the brothers worked well together. Theo in the wagon and Gerben in the telehandler with their phones on speaker otherwise they couldn't hear each other. I wasn't there to see it but Danielle took some pictures.

Pictures taken from the Sky

2009-10-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

Here is our Dairy...
Thanks to Mark Mueller who took these pictures a couple of days ago.
If anybody has questions about it, just ask.

Windbreak 2

2009-10-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

The windbreak is not completly finished yet but it is getting there, only the back side needs to be done.

The silage is done!!!

2009-09-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

The first bunker is full...

A little break... we worked from 2 pm until 6.30 pm to put the plastic and the tires on the silage. But both bunkers are full and finished!!

Halfway the telehandler stopted working so gerben called the implement dealer...this is why we had more work putting the tires on.

Finishing the ends, closing it with sand.

Silage season

2009-09-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Silage season. This morning everybody had to help...(even Anna to babysit Ian). The custom worker came to chop the corn this morning and we had to pull plastic over the sides of the bunker. This was a difficult job because it was very windy. It had never been this windy before with corn chopping and plastic pulling....but we pulled it off and it is done. We only hope that it isn't windy anymore when we have to pull the plastic over the silage when the chopping is done.

Wind break

2009-09-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Theo and Gerben are building a wind break around the lactose tank and the protein mix bin. We hope this will help prevent the bad freezing in the winter.

We had the electrician at the farm to get electricity at the end of the barn for the new manure pumps.

Pipes and manure

2009-09-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

The manure from the old pitt was pumped to the new one so we will have liquid manure to flush the sand in the sand settling lane.

They are really busy putting all the pipes in the ground from the manure pit to the sandsettling lane and back...

Update

2009-09-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything on this blog because we have been on vacation in Europe. This doesn't mean that nothing happened around here. Here is a quick update in pictures.

The making of a new concrete manure pit.

Red sky

2009-08-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Fans

2009-07-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Gerben and Theo put the fans together and they were installed in the new barn. Now the electrician need to install electricity so they can actually do what they were made for.

The missing part....

2009-07-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

This week the barn is finally completely finished. As you can see in the picture, the top part was still missing. This part goes over the ventilation gap in the roof. This needs to be on there so the rain will not come in.

Last Monday we got some visitors. 4 guys and 2 girls from the Netherlands, more specifically from around the place where Gerben and Theo lived. They were touring America and wanted to come and visit us. They stayed for one night and slept in their camper. Most of them come from a dairy farm so they were interested in how everything works over here.

New bull

2009-07-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today we bought a bull to breed our heifers.

Last year we bought a bull but we sold him this year because he wasn't preforming and he was becoming dangerous. So it was time for a new one...and here he is a Jersey bull to breed our heifers.

another thing is finished

2009-06-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

The holding area for the hoof trimming cute is finished...

Our own....outside

2009-06-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today we let some pregnant heifers outside. These heifers were born and raised here and will have their first calf(all our own!!!)

Straight into the chute

2009-05-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

The guys are busy... They are making it so that when they are going to trim(hoof trimming) the cows go into the chute a lot easier than they do right now. They are making gates and a holding pen. When they want a cow into the chute they open a gate and that cow can just follow a path straight into the chute. This will make life a lot easier. Theo knows how to weld so that is a good thing because there is a lot of welding to be done!

Planting corn

2009-05-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

This morning Mark and Howard started to prepare the ground to plant our corn (for our silage). Right now they are preparing one field and planting the other.

How we are doing...

2009-05-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we got 14 new heifers(they all calved before coming here). Last week we sold a few cows who were not preforming anymore to the sales barn so we needed some new ones to fill the barn again and put milk in the tank.

Gerben and Theo are in the Netherlands right now...we are doing ok with all the work but there are always things that don't go like we want them to go....But until now we managed broken gates, escaped cows, difficult employees that don't want to admit they are wrong and then don't want to do part of their work anymore so I have to do extra, rain and mud, unexpected visitors that take us from our work, employees that show up late for work and a lactose pump that doesn't work....that is it until now, but nothing we couldn't handle...

Girl power

2009-05-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated this blog for a while...but that is only because there is not that much happening.
Right now there is actually. Theo left for the Netherlands yesterday and Gerben is going on Wednesday(their youngest brother is getting married). This means that Danielle and I have to do most of the work that they normally do and we have our milkers do extra milking. So all the work is covered but the girls will be in charge for 5 days........

Spring cleaning part 2

2009-04-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days Gerben and Theo have been cleaning around the farm. With all the construction going on last year (and this year) there was a lot of stuff and garbage laying around. During the winter it was hard to do because the ground was frozen. We have great weather the last week...so the perfect time to clean up!!

With this great weather they also opened up the curtains in the calf barn and the doors can stay open. It is great to have spring here again!!!

Spring cleaning!

2009-04-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

Time to clean out the barn again..... Ian just loves to watch!!!

With this beautiful weather the curtains can be open again....

Brainstorming....

2009-04-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Saterday was a great day do do some fixing...

Some of the old gates needed to be fixed and the new gates adapted to the old gates and that took some brainstorming....

Finishing things...

2009-04-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Gerben and Theo are finishing up another part of the new barn. The guy who has to do this hasn't showed up for a couple of months and it needs to be done sometime. There was still a big gap under the side curtains and they are closing it up.

Empty the calf barn

2009-04-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today Gerben and Theo are cleaning out the calf barn. This is the first time it happend. To clean it out they put the calves in one side of the pen. This way they could clean out one side and then swich claves and clean the other side.

Happy cows....

2009-03-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

Tires and plastic

2009-03-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Pulling off the tires from the silage...

Cutting off the plastic and pulling it off...

Taking the plastic to the fire...and burn it!!

Position filled

2009-03-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to let you know that the job opening we had is filled. Until now he is working out great. He never milked before and that is the way we like them. This way we can train them the best.

Fence and paint...

2009-03-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Gerben spend the afternoon making electric fence in the new barn. This is a prevention. We don't want the cows to lick holes in the tarp!

Theo spend the afternoon spray painting the new feed pusher(This attachment goes on the telehandler and you can push up the feed for the cows).

Videos

2009-02-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

I had made a nice video, I trimmed and pasted it. It wouldn't upload. So here are the videos, in pieces. For now this is the best I can do. I will look into it further to see if I can come up with a nice video, all pasted together, that will actually upload.

Hooftrimming day

2009-02-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

In the last couple of months the guys couldn't do much hooftrimming. Or it was too cold to do it or there was no time. We asked one of our weekend milkers if he could come and milk so that they could trim. It really needed to be done!

I am trying to publish a video but it won't work (it always worked so I don't know why it won't work right now)....so for now a couple of pics.

Help wanted

2009-02-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

We need help!
Last week one of our employees just stopt showing up and nobody knows where he is or why he isn't coming anymore. He doesn't pick up his phone.
This means we have an opening...
We need somebody(man, woman) who wants to milk 10x a week(afternoon and evening) and get $45 a milking(milking is around 3.5 hours). There is an option to do a little more work.
Anybody interested let us know or show up. We milk at 1.30pm and 9.00pm.

Replacing poles

2009-02-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

Our farm yard has turned into a meeting and storage place for the electric company. The electric company is going to replace all the poles on our road. They asked us if they could put their stuff on our farm. Last week they brought over a load of supplies, this morning poles and gravel. This morning we had 7 of these trucks on our yard and a couple of cars. It was pretty busy around here. Later they went to work.....

This whole thing will probably take 2 weeks....

Sand and scraping

2009-02-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

Sand in the stalls from the new barn

Scraping manure in the new barn.

The end wall...

2009-02-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

Gerben and Theo taking off the end from the old barn. This way both barns are connected without a wall in the middle.

What is going on....

2009-02-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

Today we had great weather again....time to go out and take a few pics from what is going on on the farm...

Gerben and Theo started taking off the steel from the old building:

The big door is in the end of the new barn(this is the end door from the old barn)

Filling the mixer:

Feeding and eating...

New straw bedding for the calves in the new calf barn, using the new manure spreader. When it is all done it is very dusty in the barn.

Hooftrimming

2009-01-31T14:27:00.000-08:00

Because of the beautiful weather the guys did some hooftrimming.

4 down, 1 to go....

2009-01-31T12:11:00.000-08:00

It is beautiful day today... the sun is shining, ice and snow are melting....not too much wind, only a lot of melt water that turns into mud....but this is so much better than it was.....it is weather to leave our insulated coverall inside and put on the normal one...

Last week our barn got 4 new doors. Only the big one in the middle is still missing... it makes a big difference in the barn, no more drafts, wind and snow in the barn....

The other end of the new barn, the one that connects to the other barn looks like this right now.

It looks a little weird but the steel that is missing was reused for the top part from the new barn. The rest of the steel(the whole blue part that you see) will be taken off(when we have time). Then the two barn are really connected.

Closing

2009-01-21T15:34:00.001-08:00

Most of you already know this but last week we had temperatures as low as -31C(-23F). This was a difficult week because everything took us longer to do...milking took from 6.00am until 11.00am. Everything was frozen, even the milk pipes and water pipes in the milk parlor and the automatic calf feeder(only one night). We are so glad that this week is over...right now we have nice temperatures, it is still below 0C (32F) but it is nice and the sun is shining...that by itself makes everything a little better and brighter!

Last week it was too cold to work on the building but this week they are back...they are closing off the rest of the connection between the two barn sections.

They are taking parts off the old barn(the end that is now connected with the new barn) and they are putting that on top...right now the inside of the barn looks like this.

Manure day...

2009-01-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

Today it is time to clean out the manure out of the barn again...difficult job when there is ice everywhere... They had to put sand and salt on the most difficult part, that is in front of the barn, they were sliding everywhere...

Gerben is digging out the barn and filling up the manure spreaders, John, Mark and Howard are spreading the manure and Theo is doing the rest of the things that need to be done...

Here a few pictures.....

Every time a little better...

2008-12-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

Every time they come a little more is done....last week they started closing off this part you see on the picture, the connection between the two barns(last week they even came on Saturday...that never happened before).

We are milking around 250 cows now(there will be more)...this means that the milking time increased...
Right now Gerben and Theo milk in the mornings (and Saturday evenings) and we have two full time milkers and two part timers who take care of the rest of the milking.
We also have a lot of calves that need to be fed, Danielle and myself take care of that and when we are done we help G and T with the milking.
Sunday mornings are becoming harder because we want to be in time for church. Last Sunday Danielle helped the guys milk in the morning and I started getting up half hour earlier every day to feed all the calves so that we can be done earlier. Yesterday and today we were finished with everything around 9.00am. This means that in 3 hours(G and T get up at 6.00am) we milked 250 cows, cleaned the parlor, scraped the alleys, stirred the bedding and fed more that 40 calves. We are getting better all the time!!

Update on daily activities...

2008-12-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

The last weeks we only had freezing cold with temperatures between the 0 and -23C.
Yesterday it finally was above zero and a lot of the snow(I can say mountains) disappeared. Today it is freezing again so there is ice everywhere because of all the water...we have to walk really carefully because we fall in no time...and on top of that we have freezing rain today....this means: more ice.
We are thankful that the new addition is finally closed, well not completely closed but it has a roof on it and curtains, but it still need to be finished(when it snows there is still some snow coming in through the parts that are not finished yet).
Because it is so cold we started putting the newborn calves in the equipment room again(like last winter). In the calf barn it was really cold and they couldn't handle it. Now they stay in the equipment room for 2 weeks and then they go to the calf barn (on the calf drinker). This works out a lot better!
What else is there to tell???
Gerben and Theo don't do AI(artificially insemination) anymore. Right now we get CRI here every day, they chalk the cows (paint on the tail)and the next day they can see witch cows are in heat(if the paint is gone). If they are in heat, they AI them. This takes a lot of work out of their hand and they really need that extra time!
W just bought 10 more pregnant heifers and a couple of them already calved...We have an average of 3 calves a day.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Finishing the end

2008-12-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

The end....

2008-12-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

If I stand in the middle of the big barn I see this....the first picture is to the west(new barn) and the second picture is to the east (old barn). Yesterday they put in the end part...now only the doors are missing..

In this picture you can see the hoof trimming chute... this is located in the old barn where we first had the calves...now it was filled with concrete and will be used for the chute (the cows will be trimmed there)and possibly to put the tractor inside in the winter.
On the other picture you can see the curtains on the side of the new barn....they finished that yesterday. It looks great and the cows are finally dry and out of the cold!!!

The new barn......

2008-12-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

How does that look??

2008-12-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

The roof is almost finished!!!!All 4 pieces are on there....

Right now they are working on the sides(curtains).

And they still need to do the end of the barn.

More roof and concrete...

2008-12-04T12:57:00.000-08:00

Today the Winkler guys put the third tarp over the barn.

We really hope this will be finished soon because it is freezing and we already had a lot of snow...

You all know by now... we don't have calves in the big barn anymore.... Yesterday Gerben and Theo cleaned out that part in the barn where they were staying and today the concrete guys are pouring concrete in that same space. This space is going to be used for hooftrimming(you all had a chance to see our new hooftrimming shute), and maybe some other things....

Picture from the dairy...

2008-12-01T08:35:00.001-08:00

This was a couple of days ago...

Snow on the farm.

2008-11-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

It snowed the whole night...we don't want the snow because the barn isn't finished but it is pretty...and we are just thankful that there wasn't much wind what would make everything a lot more difficult because then the covered part would have snow under it. Now most of the cows were still pretty dry.

Some daily activities

2008-11-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

Some of the daily activities are:
Spreading manure, unloading hey or straw(not every day), feeding calves(with the bottle and check the automatic feeder), feeding dry cows, feeding milk cows, shoot straw in the barn for the calves and dry cows. And don't forget the milking, stir the bedding, manure scraping, put sand in the stalls, clean the milk parlor, and there are a lot of other little things that need to be done every day or every once in a while....

New picture and tractors

2008-11-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a birthday party....and we drove over a brige. Under that bridge was a train with tractors.....Did you ever see so many tractors on a train??

More progress

2008-11-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

They are putting the roof on......

Just a little bit more..

2008-11-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days we only had one guy working on the barn...but it is very cold and windy so that means a tough job. Today he is laying out the plastic for the roof....

Gerben and Theo made some shelves inside the little thing where the calf drinker is in...this will make life much easier...

The last couple of days we had a failure in the feeder the last couple of days(nothing I could fix)but today they were here to fix it so hopefully I don't have a group of calves running toward me tomorrow morning because they are hungry. For the rest that thing is working out great!!

They are doing something...

2008-11-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

Finally they are actually doing something!! It was about time!! On this picture there are still 3 hoops left to put in place. At the end of the day there were only two. They said they were going to finish with the hoops tomorrow! Hopefully by the end of the week the cows will be dry(when the cover is on).

It works...

2008-11-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

Today we put the first calves to drink on the calf feeder...it works really well!!! Once the calves know where to get the milk it will make everything so much easier!! They all got a transponder around their neck and when they go in the stall the computer recognizes them and makes the milk. It is actually not complicated!

Snow and change

2008-11-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

This morning it was snowing when I came outside..we weren't expecting that...It is a muddy situation. The last couple of days it rained a lot and now snow....it isn't freezing so it all disappeared but it is still snowing(and raining).

But there s a light on the horizon...The Winkler guys are still working on the barn. I think they got the message!!!!

Some of the calves were put in the new barn today....with this done there was space for the calves that were outside. So this means: no more calves outside!!!What a day in history!!!This will make work a lot easier and once the calf feeder is working that will make it even more easier!

Article

2008-11-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

If you go to this link you can see the article Karen wrote about us in the Dairymen magazine, this is Swiss Valley's monthly magazine(Swiss Valley buys our milk). http://www.swissvalley.com/member/dairyman/index.cfm?page=dairyman
Just click on our picture and then you have to scroll down until you see the article.

The first hoop

2008-11-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today they put the first hoop from the barn....and some more....

Calf feeder

2008-11-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

Today they installed the calf feeder...the plan is to finish tomorrow. The calves will have an neck band with a transponder and every time they go to drink the computer knows them and gives them milk. every calf has a certain amount of milk a day and the computer doesn't give them more if they had their share for the day...smart computer!

It helped...

2008-11-03T17:49:00.001-08:00

Gerben calling the guy in Canada really helped...a couple of hours after he called, the Winkler guy calls Gerben and said to him that the guy from Canada called him and that he understood that Gerben was pretty angry. Finally the guy understood that we had reached the limit and that this was serious!! He told Gerben that they were staying until the barn would be finished!!Well... what do you say about that?? a little miracle...but I will hold my breath until it is done because I really don't trust the guy.

Today the gates arrived and they have been busy putting them in the calf barn. Wednesday the calf feeder is coming and will be installed so hopefully by the end of the week the work load will be a little less.

There is a limit....

2008-11-03T11:55:00.001-08:00

There is a limit in every situation and we reached ours...
Last week the Winkler guy was here and he said he would be back this week but next week he would not be here. We were not happy at all to hear that but we talked it over and we were going to make him a proposition(I will not go into that right now) today to see if he would come back next week. Today....9.00 am: nobody; 10.00am: still nobody; 11.00 am still nobody....then Gerben really had it..he called the guy in Canada again and told him the situation(somebody from Winkler structures). This guy was really surprised that nothing had been done and he gave Gerben his cell number and told him to keep him up to date. Right now he couldn't do anything but he is able to take away the dealership from the guy if this continues much longer.
Finally around 11.30am some guys show up to work on the building but the guy himself is not with them(he is probably sitting on his combine harvesting, he is a crop farmer on the side). It is 11.30am....the day is half over.....!!!!

Terribly awesome!!

2008-11-01T19:37:00.001-07:00

Terribly awesome! That is my only explanation about finally having electricity in the calf barn! For some time now we have been feeding calves in the dark. In the morning it wasn't so bad but in the evening it was becoming harder and harder because it got darker all the time. Tonight was the first time with light and that makes such a difference!

A lot of new calves

2008-11-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

5 new calves in one morning. This never happened before. One heifer calf and two sets of twins: one set was two bull calves and one set was two heifer calves.

So out of three cows we had 5 calves...that is a pretty good deal!

We are out of calf hutches so they are waiting until Gerben and Theo make a new place for them to stay.

New heifers

2008-10-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening we got another load of 38 pregnant heifers from Canada. They are 8 months pregnant and we hope they all will calf soon because we need the milk.

We are getting new calves every day..this means a lot more work because all the new calves give the most work. All the calf hutches are full already and, again, we have a lack of space. Today the electrician worked on the electricity in the new calf barn and next week we are supposed to get all the gates in and we will be getting the calf feeder(that will make life a lot easier when it works), so as you can see there is some progress in this barn.

Meet our calf Spookie......isn't she cute???

Better late than never!!

2008-10-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Today they started on the big barn....finally!

Today we also got our new manure spreader...we put this order this spring and it is finally here!

Still unfinished

2008-10-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated this blog for a while but that is because there was nothing to tell. There is still no building, the calf barn is still not finished and we still don't have all the cows because the barn isn't finished.

Today they are actually working on the calf barn but this work was supposed to be done a long time ago.

The Winkler guys told us that the big barn would be done before the snow was here....well, Sunday it snowed and it was really cold because there was a really hard blowing wind. Empty promises.....

Today they are also pumping out the manure pit...

The last couple of day's they have also been working on the sand settling lane...so there is something going on here...

Calf Hutches

2008-10-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

The calf barn is not finished yet but we are so desperate for a space to put all the calves that we put the new hutches on the feed alley in the new barn. Later when everything is finished we can put them where they belong.

Frustrations

2008-10-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are having frustration after frustration...... this is not fun anymore!!

Where to start.....??? there are so many.....

Lets start with the fact that nobody shows up....and when they show up, they don't come back the next day...they come just one day to keep us happy....

They want money for things they didn't do yet ...and even then they don't show up!

They accept to many jobs and then they have to much on hand...this means that there is still no building because they haven't started yet(only on the calf building)....no building means overcrowding in the old barn, wet feed because it rained the whole day yesterday and wet stalls. All this means less milk!! That means less money..and you all know what that means......

Gerben calls about every day to one of them...but don't think that it helps...

We try to make the best of it but this situation has gone out of hand!

The calf barn is being worked on but we are not there yet.

Right now we have 31 heifer calves that need milk twice a day and 10 more that need silage (the rest, 42 heifers, are staying at John's) and we get more calves every day... Because we have too many in one hutch, they get diarrhea. Last Monday Gerben made another place where they can stay because we need to put them somewhere...

Roof is finished

2008-09-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

More about the calf barn

2008-09-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Here some more pictures from the calf barn..What will I be happy when all those calves(I give milk to 23 at the moment) will be settled in that barn!!By then we will have an automatic calf feeder, and that will take a lot of work from my hands...Then I only have to feed some of the calves and put milk replacer in the machine and the rest works for itself.....and check the computer to see if all the calves drink what they need!!

Yesterday there was a ramp poured in the existing barn. This was made so that the person who stirs the bedding can go from the old barn to the new barn to scrape the alleys without going around the buildings...

Videos

2008-09-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here some videos...the first one is from yesterday when we put the cows into the new barn and the second one is from the chopping last week(I forgot to put it on the blog).

Introducing the new barn

2008-09-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the first hoop from the calf barn was raised!! After that two more followed! Hopefully they will raise all the hoops today!

Yesterday we also put 50 cows from the big group(in the existing barn) in the new barn without the roof on it. Then we put the small group in the big group pen and Ben brought 43 heifers from the field where he has them.

A little progress

2008-09-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

See here the progress they are making with the calf barn....

Gerben and Theo are cleaning up the mess the construction crew made so that the cows can come...even without the roof over it!!

And in this picture you can see they already took some steel from the wall out to put the gates from the new barn on...this wall will be completly removed once the new barn is up.

The other picture is the new manure scraper.

Night work

2008-09-22T18:01:00.001-07:00

The Winkler guy didn't show up today.....but finally showed up late afternoon and is working right now.

Gerben and Theo are also working late...they are filling the stalls from the new barn with sand. We want to have everything done as soon as possible.

Calf barn

2008-09-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Winkler guy finally showed up... but didn't do much.....they started on the calf barn. We really need that calf barn...we have a load of calves in one little hutch...

All the material is ready to be assembled...

The place is ready for it!!!