Howdy all,
We are now well into January and the cows have settled into once a day milking. We always switch on January 1st. This is supposed to give us more free time but it seems to be taken up doing jobs that I was meant to do before calving.
The farm seems to be ticking along nicely, although it is a bit behind last year, mainly due to a few more cows having been culled early. I have developed a dislike of cows that get mastitis, especially if they don’t clear up properly or get it again. So, now if that happens, a truck ride is organised quickly. It makes sense as we are getting 7-800 dollars per cow at the sale yards.
After talking to a mastitis expert I decided to change my teat spray as I felt that mastitis was being spread from cow to cow. He said to use an iodine based spray. He also said that 32% of farmers use the right concentration of teat spray, 32% of farmers spray cows teats correctly, but only 7% do both. We must be slow learners!
Most importantly I have purchased a fishing kayak to use in all the spare time I have. I have managed to use it twice so far. I have also got back on my bike – trying to get fit again. I’m looking forward to spending more free time doing what I want to do.