Spoiled

After morning milking we had a farmer date : )  As usual we needed things in town so we ate lunch there before we came home. 

We once again have decided to contract some of our milk.  I know you are not supposed to make financial decisions based on fear but that is exactly why we contracted again.  We are heading into year 3 of the pricing cycle.  History says prices could drop significantly.  Rumor has it that the corn crops world wide are doing well which should drop the corn price.  If that price drops,dairy farmers will be more able to afford corn.  Cattle inventories are high so cheaper corn could create a large increase in milk production, which in turn would suppress the price we get.  In the end we know what a good percentage of our milk check will be through April 2012.  There is peace of mind knowing this.

Bruce worked on the silo unloader today.  Actually he repaired what he had temporarily fixed awhile ago, and while he was doing that he did basic maintenance stuff like greasing.  Hopefully the unloader will now be in good shape for winter.  The guy who will put the distributors in our silos stopped to check things out.  The good news is he is able to put them in tomorrow.  The bad news is his estimate is $700.  We think this is  high but of course we need it done now so we are ready when we want to do corn silage.  I guess that is the price paid to have something removed from Bruce's "to do" list.

We have been a bit spoiled lately.  I have weaned my calves.  I still have 3 in the hutches that are waiting for room in the barn, but they are no longer getting milk.  We have been milking straight through for awhile now with no special needs cows.  This morning we had a cow with a quarter that needed treating so once again we have a special needs cow.  Just a reminder of how simple things have gotten after the early part of the year.