Farm Show Twenty Twelve- part 2

When we got to our designated area- they gave us ear tags to put on.  Say what?

You'll notice that Jr's is missing, it's because he took them literally and is actually wearing it in his ear.  Nah, that's not true, but he does have it hanging in his room.  They outfitted us with vests and made sure that everyone knew we were in the presence of a VERY important person.....The Dairy Farmer is in da house!

We were given a calf.  The punks acted like they'd never seen one before.  They told us she was about 4 months old and she was housed in a "real" pen that would be used for an inside calf facility.  It consisted of 4 fiberglass panels with enclosed sides.  The front had a bottle holder and an area for a feed/water bucket.  The back panel was a wire screen, so even the littlest visitor could look through and see her.   These pens come apart very easily and are able to be pressure washed once the calf  has moved on.  We liked the idea of no wire side panels so there is less calf interaction- and less chance of spreading anything between them.   (You're all getting our "spiel" that we were to talk to folks about....aren't you privileged?)

Beside us was a cow.  She was in a mock stall, complete with freestall bedded with sand.  She was donated for the week from a local farm.  She is a dry cow, so she was able to hang out and no one had to worry about  milking her.  

 You know what that means, right?  A dry cow?  You don't?  Sweet....teachable moment!   Time to drop some knowledge!!!!   A dry cow is pregnant.   When she is about 2 months from her due date, they aren't milked anymore.  That way their body can concentrate on growing the baby.  And there you have it.......

Her stall came equipped with a big ole fan too.  Gotta keep momma comfy, she's busy cooking a baby.  Many barns have fans to help keep the cows cool during the hot months.  The fan blew air on her (and boy, it was a big help in blowing that hog smell away too!)

Our barn has fans that look like this:

There are 30 in each barn.  They are exhaust fans and they are designed to pull air from the front end of the barn through to the back.  Air flows about 6 miles per hour and helps to keep the girls cool.  It keeps fresh air flowing and when it's really hot, we have a sprinkler system in place to mist the cows.  The air flowing through the barn helps to evaporate the water off their backs and aids in cooling.   Boom.....all kinds of knowledge up in here!

Girlfriend was even equipped with her own brush.  Cows love nothing better than to rub up against one of these....scratches all those hard to reach areas.  I did hear The DF say that studies have shown that having these in the barns can increase milk production by 1/4 pound.   They felt that the scratching increased blood flow and made her happier.  And as we all know....when momma's happy, every one's happy.  Guess I'll be getting one of these for Mother's Day.

The boys of Brechland Farms:  they had just finished handing out Got Milk? wristbands to all our visitors.  We ran out quickly....went through 300 in less than an hour.  We'll be better prepared next time.

After our time was up, we of course, grabbed ourselves some mozzarella cheese cubes, a couple sandwiches, fries and....if you've ever been to the Farm Show, you know that you CAN NOT leave without a milkshake.

Then we headed over to the vendors to find Pappy Jay's Bar B Q sauce.  The Farm Show is a family event, because Pappy Jay is OUR Pappy Jay.   The Dairy Farmer's mom makes this sauce herself! 

And there they are now!  Grandma and Pappy Jay...they are so..... saucy!

We always have to stop by and visit the giant butter sculpture, sponsored by Land O Lakes.   Amazing...that whole darn thing is butter!

Here's the low down on the butter sculpture.  It's still there, so if you are heading to the Farm Show this week, check it out.  It's right around the corner from the 735 pound pumpkin. 

Now this.....this is the highlight of our trip.  Watching these cute little ducklets climb up the ladder and slide down the slide.  They do it over and over....and we watch and watch.  They had a whole crowd around them and we all were enthralled.  Why?  Cuz their stinkin' cute, that's why. 

This concludes our Farm Show tour.  There is a WHOLE bunch more stuff there that we didn't get to see, so go check it out!  It ends on Saturday.  And if you can't get there this year, be sure to make your calendar for Farm Show Twenty Thirteen.   Tell 'em The Dairy Farmer sent ya!