Robotic Cow Milkers

Well, today I traveled to Annapolis with the fine folks from Western Maryland Rural Leadership. And along the way, we stopped at Mason Dixon Farm where Richard Waybright showed us around his super-efficient farm complete with robotic milkers.

The Waybrights employ 43 people and milk 2,400 head of holsteins daily through the use of robotic milkers. The cows self milk. As they want to be milked, they enter the a milking station, where a robotic DeLaval arm automatically does an udder wash, a milk test and in begins to milk. A computer automatically records each cows milk yield. Waybright's blue-ribbon cow milked 20# of milk per day.

This wasn't the only super-cool thing though. The Waybrights created a tractor that can mow down a 30' swath of silage, utilize a methane digester, and a irrigation thing on wheels to spread manure across their fields at a press of a button. Well, worth the tour!

Gardening Workshop

Plant peas and beans twice...
Swiss chard manages heat better than lettuce...
Make cucumbers grow to make them climb..
Heritage Tomatoes - cross between Heirloom (taste) and Hybrid (yield)
Plant seed twice as deep as it is wide
Tamp down soil but not compact
Okra takes a long time to grow... more of a Southern plant
transplants: tomato, pepper, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli, herbs

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium,
nitrogen - leaf growth, too much not much fruit production, manure, blood meal, cottonseed meal
phosophorus - rock phosphate, bone meal, cottonseed
potassium- wood ashes, manure, green sand, compost
synthetic fertlizers are more readily available because they are water-soluable
new garden - Nitrogen - Phosphorous - Potassium 10-10-10
2 cups = 1 lb. synthetic fertilizer
don't fertilize until you get the first set of true leaves
water after planting seeds or transplants, water especially when flowering and fruit
65 gallons
dig a hole 3 or 4 inches deep don't water it is until it is dry...
best time to water - late afternoon before sundown or early in the morning don't water in the heat of the day...
soaker hose cuts down on evaporation..
Add organic matter to soil to conserve water...
2-4 inches deep but don't let it touch the plants - encourages slugs


Weeds
skinny trowels, hand pull, mulch
plant in a row, weed every 10 days...
check label to seed how soon you can spray after using insecticides
slugs - pans of beer, half of cantelope upside down...

www.growit.umd.edu

Aphids - most common - most easy to deal with when they are young....
Whiteflies - in hoop houses mostly
Stink bugs white specks on tomatoes indicates
squash bug - red, adult brown, usually comes after you are sick of squash
Japanese beetle - hand pick - defense mechanism is to fall off so have cup underneath
Cucumber Beetle - yellow and black stripes - tough to control organic

Beneficial Insects
Ladybeetle fit on a pencil eraser
Syrphid Fly - maggot
Ground Beetle
Lacewing - hang under a leaf
Parasitic wasps - eats its hosts - mummy -
Tachinid Fly

Wordless Wednesday

SALE: Coffee & Cream Kitchen Soap

Who wouldn't like a little coffee & cream in the morning?
A treat for the senses, the coffee smells so de-li-cious while the cream (made with real goats milk from here on the farm) nourishes your skin. This soap is also great for removing all those icky kitchen smells like onions and seafood from your hands...

$4.50
Approximate 4 oz. bar

Everlasting Fence Posts

Take boiled linseed oil and stir in it pulverized charcoal to the consistency of paint. Put a coat of this over the timber, and there is not a man that will live to see it rotten." (From "Lee's Priceless Recipes" 1895)

Check!

I received one of the books on my want to read list. Goat Medicine by Mary C. Smith and David Sherman. I am such the geek! At least my family thinks I am... I would rather read than do almost anything else besides be in the barn. They can't understand why I like the barn so much either...

PSA

Martha Stewart's Soil Recipe

The weather here is wonderful today. So, my planting urges are on full alert. Between checking the goats for new babies and lugging peat moss out of my truck, I'm cruising the net looking at organic soil mix recipes. I found Martha Stewart's recipe here.

Organic Soil Mix

2 bags Organic compost
1 bag peat moss
1/2 bag perlite
1/2 bag vermiculite
1 bag pumice dust
6 cups bat guano
6 cups worm castings
4 cups bone meal
2 cups lime

Organic Tea Recipe

5 gallons purified water
1/2 cup Fish emulsion
1 cup Bat guano
1 cup liquid seaweed
6 table spoons Molasses

Treatment for Lice on Goats

This website suggests the following for treating lice on goats

In our area, cattle susceptible to lice will get them about July, especially if they aren't eating enough of the mineral lick. We haven't had lice in goats on Irrabina although we have had lice in sheep. We've had them in the cattle at times and rather than use a pour on as we have done in the past, we use a very simple and easy cure. Mostly it takes 4-5 days but can take longer depending on how bad the infestation is. We use SULPHUR. You can buy it in bulk from your produce supplier.

For goats,
use 1 TEASPOON per animal mixed with warm water. Administer orally using a drench gun or syringe at the rate of say 20ml per animal. That is, mix up enough sulphur at 1 teaspoon per animal in 20ml water times the number of goats.

For cattle,
use about 1 TABLESPOON per head per day, which works out to be about 30 grams per head per day. For 35 head (don't worry about size and weight, just number head), that's about 1kg. For 35 head, buy 5kgs of powdered sulphur (not the grains) which will last 5 days. We see a reaction (ie no licking of the body, no rubbing against trees, the coats are dry with more sheen) after 2 days but complete the 5 day treatment. Mix up and feed out as per giving treatments.

After 5 days, even if you see only one animal still licking itself or rubbing, continue the treatment for all for another 5 days. It's simple and relatively cheap.

Farm bank thrives amid crisis

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-ha.farm21dec21,0,6327261.story

Ted Shelby's article for the Baltimore Sun, (12/21/08) opens with the following sentence.

Our nation would not be in the midst of the greatest financial crisis since the Depression if we had more grain farmers, dairymen and poultry growers running our lending institutions.

and goes on to say

Farm Credit's balance sheet is the envy of the banking industry. Net income for the six months ended June 30 is up nearly 20 percent to $1.55 billion from the same period last year.

and

Conventional lenders reported nearly 8,000 foreclosures in Maryland during the three-month period ended Sept. 30, and that is with state programs aimed at keeping people in their homes.

By comparison, MidAtlantic Farm Credit, which serves most of Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Delaware, has reported fewer than a dozen foreclosures over the past year.

While other banks have been cutting or completely eliminating dividend payments of shareholders, MidAtlantic paid out $28 million in patronage payments last year. This is a form of profit sharing with its borrowers who are also owners of the bank.

"Having farmers on our board of directors helps keep us focused on our mission," said Frazee. "They are fiscal conservatives and prone not to repeat mistakes of the past."

Sixteen of MidAtlantic's 18 directors are farmers.

Country folks can survive!

I think the key here is farmers don't typically repeat mistakes of the past. There are a few alive who lived through the Great Depression. My father just missed it, but my grandparents didn't and the stories were told and passed on to the next generation about how hard it was.

Brandied Apples with Goat Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:
1 baguette
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 green apple, sliced
2 tablespoons brandy or apple vodka (this may be omitted)
1 cup softened goat cheese

Preheat oven on low broil setting.

Slice baguette into 35 small rounds. Coat each round with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper them. Place them on a cookie sheet. In a small saucepan, melt butter and add apple slices. When apples are coated, add brandy and toss gently for about 3 minutes, until apples become slightly soft. Remove from heat.

To construct, place 1 apple slice on a toast round and spoon about 1 tablespoon of goat cheese on top. When all of them are constructed, place entire cookie sheet under broiler and remove as soon as the top of the goat cheese is slightly browned. Be sure you don't forget them, because they will brown quickly.

Goat Cheese Dumplings with Sambal Chili Oil Recipe

Girly goats! Hurry up and freshen 'cause the recipe sounds de-lish!

Ingredients:
24 won ton wrappers
5 ounces goat cheese
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons sambal chili paste
parsley to garnish

Lay out won ton wrappers. Place a thumbnail size piece of goat cheese in center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper and fold wrappers into a triangle. Seal edges making sure to eliminate any air pockets. Blend oils and Sambal paste in blender until smooth. Bring large pot of water (and salt) to a boil. Drop half of the dumplings into water and let boil for 2 minutes,

Remove and boil remaining dumplings. Arrange 4 dumplings on each plate and drizzle with the chili oil mixture and sprinkle with parsley.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Goat Cheese Dumplings with Sambal Chili Oil serves/makes 6

Bamboo as a goat forage?

From http://www.wildthymefarm.com/agrobamboo.html

An excerpt from Wild Thyme Farm about Bamboo as an animal forage

On our farm where we run dairy cattle and goats on an open pasture we are faced with food shortages during the winter months when grasses are dormant or no longer meeting the nutritional needs of the animals. Consequently we have had to invest in either purchased feed or the energy and labor of cutting and storing grass hay. Recently we have begun exploring a number of perennial crops that hold the potential for extending the forage capacity of the bottomland pastures. Bamboo has become a prime candidate as a perennial forage species as it holds its foliage year round making dormant season harvest possible. Having a high protein content (12%-19%) it is comparable to alfalfa in nutritional value yet does not require the intensive cutting, drying, and storage process of an annual crop.

Bamboo thrives in the rich, moist alluvial soils of the farm's bottomlands. We are therefore researching the feasibility of growing bamboo in proximity to grazing animals. Feeding can be managed by either cutting bamboo and "throwing it over the fence" or allowing animals to g raze in bamboo paddocks on short rotations. WSU is also experimenting with producing silage, a product of fermented foliage or biomass, from bamboo leaves. Silage is typically produced from grass hay and is a common strategy for providing a food source to grazing animals during seasons when pastures are dormant.

Party Games

From http://www.mommyswahmplace.com/partyplangames.html

Name That Candy

Hand each guest a list with all the questions, the person who gets the most correct answers, wins!

1) A Famous Trio
2) A Galaxy Not So Far Away
3) She Loves Chuck
4) The Mighty Twins
5) Good For Laughs
6) Draw a Blank
7) Sultan of Swat
8) The Best Day of the Week
9) Pile It On
10) Happiness Abounds
11) A Rainbow of Color
12) Don't Go To Sea Without It
13) A Hot Planet
14) I Forgot...?
15) Superman's alter ego
16) Ritzy New York
17) Nothin' Between The Ears
18) Lotta Moola
19) Goofy Geeks
20) Tubby Hubby


TV Game

Tell the guests you are playing a game, and give each a piece of paper and a pen. Tell them all to listen good! After you are done reading, have them write down all of the TV shows that were in the story. The one with the most, wins!

I was THIRTY SOMETHING, living through THE WONDER YEARS with my FAMILY and my husband taking ONE DAY AT A TIME. We were doing okay, but THE FACTS OF LIFE were that we were not born with SILVER SPOONS in our mouths. Our savings were in JEOPARDY and we didn't want to be in debt for the rest of THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES. I finally told my husband, it's time to get out of THIS OLD HOUSE or at least make some HOME IMPROVEMENTS. I don't want to start a FAMILY FEUD but I'm YOUNG AND RESTLESS and I want to contribute to the family finances. It's time for me to GET SMART.

Don't be THE CRITIC, I'm in search of AMERICA'S MOST WANTED job. FAMILY MATTERS to me and I don't want to miss out on the PRIME TIME with the kids by hiring THE NANNY. [Your company] offers a great opportunity. THE PRICE IS RIGHT, no investment!!! Part-time work with full-time pay! And WHO'S THE BOSS? I am! But could I get up in front of a FULL HOUSE of PERFECT STRANGERS for 60 MINUTES and tell people how to take home their BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL with [Your company] merchandise and become DESIGNING WOMEN?

Of course, I have experienced some GROWING PAINS, but soon I was able to spread my WINGS and watch my business BLOSSOM. [Your company] has made me feel like I'm part of A-TEAM. I have GOOD TIMES at home with ALL MY CHILDREN. My family CHEERS when my weekly profit-check arrives!

Pass the Gift

This is a very easy one to play! Bring a wrapped gift to your show. After you have introduced yourself, have everyone stand up and get into a circle. Hand 1 person the gift and have them follow the following directions. The last one with the gift in hand wins.

You thought all the gifts were meant for you. But I have other items too.
So hold up this gift and look around, and give it to the one with eyes of brown.

You think you are the lucky one, but let us all share in the fun!
Look around with eyes discreet, and give it to the one with the smallest feet.

Your feet are tiny and very small. Now hand it to someone very tall.
Please, take your time and don't be harried. Give it to the one who is longest married.

You must be proud of your married life, now pass this on to the newest wife.

Of this parcel you are bereft, give it to the one on your left.
The largest earring I'm looking for now, if you're wearing them, step up with a bow.

Now to the person with buttons-- big or small, any kind, the most you can find gets the gift at this time.

Now don't get cross and please don't fight, but pass it to the lady third on the right.

We should stop now, don't you agree? The gift is yours to open and see.

The Detergent & Soap Game

Let everyone know you are playing the detergent and soap game. Tell them you are going to read them a short story and have them right down all of the detergents or soaps they spot in your paragraph. The one with the most, wins.

With joy in my heart, I made a dash for the mailbox. What a thrill to find that my special package had arrived. Giving a shout I raced into the house like a Haley's Comet. "Why all the excitement?" asked my husband. "If you'd use some of the energy to keep the house spic n span and to get the laundry done, I might have enough clean clothes to tide me over." "So, you think house work is a breeze. "I retorted."

Here's the whisk broom now why don't you climb down from your ivory tower and give me a hand?" "And as for the laundry, I thought I woodbury that in the back yard." "One more bold remark like that", he replied" and I'm going to dial the dress shop and cancel the order on your new chiffon dress. How duz that strike you?" "Not on your lifebuoy" I said, grabbing the phone from his hand. "I was only teasing Sweetheart he said, "Now go and open your special package to cheer you up.

Carding, carding, carding

I have been hand carding mohair in preparation of dyeing it for a wonderful yarn I hope to spin. Maureen Pritchard, The Barefoot Spinner, loaned me a pair of carders at the end of her wonderful spinning class held at Millicent's (yarn shop) on the Downtown Cumberland Mall.

I have a long way to get all this fiber carded. And I still have wool to wash and pick thanks to Carol Manger at Briarwood Farms. I yearn for a spinning wheel of my own. All in due time.

Trying to find time to satisfy my curiousity of it all amongst the soapmaking, the 4-H meetings, work, getting ready to kid, and starting seeds for the garden.

Life is busy, but I am blessed.

Homemade Electrolyte Mixture

Courtesy of Fiasco Farm's website

Fiasco Farm has a wonderful website full of useful information. Molly's Herbal Wormer is wonderful, too. I have used it to stop diarrhea in kids that I suspect were dealing with coccidia.

Mixture #1
1 package of Jam & Jelly pectin (Surgel).
1 Tbs baking soda
1 Tbs potassium chloride, Lite Salt (can find in the grocery aisle with the diet foods)
Mix with 2 quarts of water.

Goat Milk Lotion

20 grams stearic acid
42 grams emulsifying wax
22 grams Shea Butter
38 grams Apricot Kernel Oil
32 grams macadamia nut Oil
20 grams Sweet Almond Oil
32 grams sunflower Oil
10 grams glycerin
2.50 grams citric acid
776 grams distilled water
7 grams germaben II
1.8 grams lemon F.O.
1.2 grams vanilla hazelnut
+ 3% goats milk ultra pasteurized at 200° for 60 seconds

Banana Butter recipe

Ingredients

3 cups of mashed banana. Three cups is approximately equal to 10 to 12 bananas

1/4 of a cup of lemon juice

1/2 of a cup of minced maraschino cherry

7 cups of sugar

6 ounces of liquid pectin

Step by Step

1. Measure the three cups of freshly mashed bananas in a saucepan.

2. Mix together the lemon juice, maraschino cherries and the sugar

3. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil and continue to boil for 1 complete minute

4. Stir the mixture continuously to prevent sticking

5. Remove from pan from the heat and stir the pectin into the mixture

6. Mix all the ingredients well

7. Ladle the completed butter into sterile hot jars and immediately seal

8. Process the jars in your boiling water bath at least for ten minutes per pints.