It’s a balmy 30 this morning on the Knolltop and as I write, it’s still dark and I’m headed to cook up breakfast. I think we’ll have pancakes and bacon and sausage. Yes, I’m big on the pig…gotta have those nitrates…which I’ve recently learned they aren’t as bad for you as we all thought.

First of all…thanks to those of you who have already sent your Christmas memories…I’m so excited about this…like I said, I will be sharing these with 75000 readers in the midwest when they go in my column. Keep them coming…the way I teared up yesterday I know they will resonate with the farm community. There is just something special about farm folk!

Secondly, if you want to hear a good discussion about the use of technology in agriculture and the misconceptions of the consumer you need to listen to yesterday’s (Dec 7) Rural Route with Trent Loos, Kyle Bauer and Duane Toews. They really hit on some things in food production that we all need to think about as agriculturalists. Go to http://ruralrouteradio.com and click on Friday.

Thirdly…that’s not a word, I know…but it follows…today is a busy day. Jake and Sarah have basketball practice, Luke and JW will be working for the neighbor after they get done with chores here and I wanted to go get our Christmas tree and hit the grocery store before the ice storm hits tonight. We’ll see if I get all that done!

Here’s last week’s column, in order for you to get this week’s you have to read last week’s first…sorry!

Truth from the trenches
By Melissa Hart
I walked into the local meat market to pick up my fresh turkey. It was the day before Thanksgiving and the place was hopping with customers picking up their last minute necessities to prepare a special dinner.
I looked around and saw a woman who was waiting for her pork chops to be sliced and packaged. From the way she was dressed I knew she was not from around here. She had a hunter green wool cape, a matching beret with her bright red hair poking out from underneath. From the looks of her purchases she was preparing a meal for a big crowd and I just knew that if I struck up a conversation with her, it would be a good one.
“Looks like you’re cooking for quite a crowd,” I commented. She replied, “When you’re the chef in the family, everyone expects you to prepare the meal.” Inquiring about her employment, she explained to me that she was a chef at the local private country club and she was off for the winter season. I surmised that she would be a frequent Whole Foods shopper and one who wanted farm fresh eggs and all natural milk. I was correct.
Realizing this would be a great opportunity to enter into a dialog with someone who might actually know what rBST was and have an opinion, I asked her exactly that, “Do you know what rBST is?”
And the conversation ran full speed ahead. She told me that rBST was bad and that we shouldn’t give our cows that hormone and that it’s bad for people to drink milk from cows given rBST. When I inquired about her scientific research to back that up, she said, “Oh, I’ve read the research…and you know we could take some lessons on how to treat cows from the Europeans.” She continued, “Oh yes, they treat their cows with respect and really treat them nicely.”
Wanting to know what constituted respect, I pressed her for a list of respectful requirements. She listed a good diet, cleanliness and comfort. Yep, that’s right, I’m concerned about the same things. Why? Because research shows that a cow with a good diet will produce more milk and a cow that is clean will have less disease and produce more milk and a cow that is comfortable with produce more milk.
Although I tried to get her rBST research references out of her, I had no luck, because she didn’t have any. With that I shifted gears and said, “So, the cow’s happiness is important to you, right?” She agreed and said this statement, “I think cows should be treated with the same respect and care that humans have.”
Okay, that’s where she hit a nerve and I have to say my reply wasn’t the best. I said with a smidgen of sarcasm, “Oh my, my cows don’t have couches to relax on or latte’s to sip, but I think they are pretty happy.”
She bristled at my comment, but it did make her think. Just then her friend flew to her defense saying she had cows too and they were happy because they had 22 acres to roam and didn’t need couches or lattes.
This is a perfect example of what Dr. Wes Jamison of the University of Florida examined at the recent Michigan Farm Bureau annual meeting in Grand Rapids.
Dr. Jamison spoke on the topic of animal welfare and the tactics of animal activists. He told the large group of farmers if they wanted to continue farming they must change their strategies when their animal husbandry practices are attacked.
A strategy change is what we’ll look at next week….to be continued.

It’s so much warmer here on the Knolltop this morning….I think the thermometer said 20!

I’m trying not to use the furnace for heat, so I’m allowing the corn stove to heat the house…although I keep hearing complaints about how cold it is in the bathroom, I’m not giving in…as my dad would say….put some clothes on!

Jake had his play last night and of course it was standing room only. He did a great job and it was a very nice evening full of little kids singing and dancing and cameras flashing and videos being taken of every last step. I wonder out of the thousands of pictures that were taken last night, how many are actually printed off and then used in some form or another….I bet it’s low!

In other news…the last couple of weeks I’ve been writing about animal welfare and about a speaker that I was privileged to hear at the annual Farm Bureau meeting. Because many of you never read my column, because you live too far away to even know what the Farmers’ Advance is, I decided to start posting it here for you to read once a week. For those of you who get the paper, now you will get my column five days earlier than when it’s actually in print…and you can amaze your friends by saying, “Hey, I bet Melissa Hart is going to write about animal welfare this week.” Won’t you look clever?!

And just in time for Christmas I will be putting together a column that will include some holiday memories from the farm. Now that is where you come in…I need your special Christmas on the farm memory…anything counts! Start thinking now and either post it here or email it to me and then I will compile it and put it in my column. So start stirring up those memories about how you had to milk on Christmas morning, or how you couldn’t open presents until all the chores were done…or how you always really wondered if the animals really did talk on Christmas night…or how pretty your barn windows looked with lights in each one helping people remember where Jesus was born(mom).

Now it’s cold….really cold….it was 7 degrees this morning…but no wind and what a blessing! When we went to the barn, I expected to find something frozen and much to my surprise…it was quite pleasant in there. No frozen pipes, drinking cups or hoses!

Luke’s team is still undefeated, they beat Waldron last night…by a bunch. Tonight is Jake’s Christmas program at school….no rest for the wicked.

Yesterday I got a call from the school needing a recess attendant. One of their aids was sick, so on the coldest, windiest day we’ve had this winter, they call me! Knowing I was going to be outside in the wind, I layered and layered and the final layer was my carhart overalls, I usually don’t wear those, I don’t need them in the barn and that’s really the only place I spend any time outside. But yesterday while I watched bunches of kids play in the fresh snow I stayed nice and warm in my overalls.

I only had one problem with one little boy who wouldn’t put his hat on his head. When he threw his hat on the ground the second time and walked away defiantly that was it. I picked that hat up, marched up to him and said in my motherly voice, “Look here, I’ve got three boys and I can take them all down, so you don’t want to mess with me, if you don’t put this hat on, I’m going to take you down and spit in your eye!” Of course, I said it while I was hugging and tickling him. The reaction of the other five boys around him was priceless. They looked at me with their big eyes and one of them said, “Who are you? You’re not Mrs. Hardy.” I took my sunglasses off and said, “No, I’m Mrs. Hart and you’d better watch out!” Then I laughed and and the bell rang for the end of recess. It was a good thing because that little boy still wouldn’t put his hat on…and I didn’t feel like showing off my WWF skills!

Better get out and face the cold again!

Two inches of snow fell last night on the Knolltop….it’s Christmas! I finally broke out my Christmas dishes yesterday for dinner. It was time….although that is the only sign of Christmas in my house right now…more to come..when I get time.

Last evening JW had his first basketball game. Although he contributed 4 points to the effort…they lost by 12…I think. The varsity lost too. JW only had two fouls, that is outstanding for him. There are times on the basketball court that he forgets he’s not in the barn playing with his brothers and he gets a little physical. So to only have two fouls is great for him. Tonight we travel to Waldron for Luke’s game.

This morning I was caught in a parental no-no. I giggled when I should’ve been dishing out discipline. But I just couldn’t help myself. Jake was waiting for his basketball shirt to dry…he’s the manager of Luke’s team and he always wears his team shirt on game day…just like the big boys. So he was waiting by the dryer for it to dry and then came in with it on and was ready for school. The only problem was, the shirt was still wet. Like the good, concerned parent he is, Bobby told Jake he couldn’t wear a wet shirt to school, he would catch a cold, Jake said, oh, it’s not that wet, I’m okay. It was then that I began to laugh…when I should’ve been reinforcing Bobby’s point.

I couldn’t help it, as the baby of the family, I can relate to Jake. It really didn’t matter if it was dirty, wet or wrinkled, we would wear the shirt no matter what and we just didn’t care….it’s a youngest thing. While I was laughing I looked at Bobby and he was not. So I covered my face and laughed some more, thinking to myself I really should exit the room and laugh in private. All of a sudden I heard the hair dryer going…it was Jake drying his shirt…it all broke loose then, I just couldn’t hold it back…the laughter overcame me as I tried to apologize and give some sort of excuse about being able to relate and that I would’ve done the same thing at that age.

But it was no use….Sarah was rolling her eyes, Luke was shaking his head and Bobby was saying something about how hard it is being a single parent of five children.

At that point, I got up and dashed into the bathroom to help Jake dry his shirt while he brushed his teeth….yes we youngests can multitask with the best of ’em!

We’re having a pretty sunrise this morning…the orange sky is casting it’s hue across the corn field outside my window. I guess I’m ready for cold weather…kind of…

Last night we traveled to Camden for Luke’s game and both the 7th and 8th grade won. So that keeps Luke’s team undefeated. Luke only had 6 points. It’s always fun going to a Camden game because I get to see all the people I used to work with at the Farmers’ Advance. Although it was 17 years ago that I worked there, we still see each other throughout the year at sporting events…they are like family to me. They were and still are and awesome bunch of people!

How is it that a video auction can be so addicting? Every day at coffee time when Bobby and I sit down to drink our afternoon cup of coffee before heading out for chores, he looks to see if there is a cattle auction on RFD-TV. For the past two weeks we’ve found ourselves glued to watching a video of beef cattle meandering through pastures while we hear an experienced auctioneer cry the sale. It’s an addiction…we could watch it all day long…our kids can’t figure it out…they just shake their heads and walk through the room. I guess it’s a great distraction for a few minutes…and it’s cheaper than being there with a bidder number in your pocket.

Time for heifer pen cleaning!

We had so much fun with the three kids that stayed with us over the weekend. Jennifer, Jessie and Josiah were great to have around. For not coming from a farm, they sure didn’t mind pitching in and helping out with the tail washing.

I made Luke take time out from seeing if his Farmall would start in the cold weather and cleaning his pens to pose for a picture for me. Yes, he had to start my tractor first to get it out so he could get his piece of junk out….and yes, mine started right up….I think.

When it came to the cow tail washing extravaganza, Jen even had a smile on her face! I didn’t make them stay out too long, they got through soaking all the tails and then I went through and washed them. When they were finished, Sarah took them in the house and made hot cocoa for all.

Jessie got to curry the manure off the cows, although she is an animal lover and she thinks she might like to be a vet…after the tail washing I think she decided she’d be a small animal vet. Heck, she’s just a wiff of a thing, the first time she had to preg check a cow and put her arm up a cow’s behind, if that cow moved from one side to the other, I’m afraid it would pick her up and move her too! No, she better stick to dogs and cats…in the south…this weather is way too cold for these kids who spend 12 months out of the year wearing shorts and running around barefoot.

Well, now I need to get another load of laundry started and get on dinner…we travel to Camden tonight for Luke’s basketball game. Tomorrow JW has a game, Wednesday we’re in Waldron for Luke’s game, Thursday we have Jake’s Christmas program and Friday JW has a home game….and we’re off!

Well, it was a good day out in the barn this afternoon. Just like we wanted, Holly went excellent…with 90 points. We wanted 91, but he said she needed another calf through her and her best days are ahead.

The real surprise was Elvira who also went excellent. She was in one of our first heifer crops and she has just steadily gone up a point every time she’s been classified. Now she is excellent and we didn’t expect it at all! That is kind of an early Christmas present for us.

After the classifier got done scoring the cows, he came in and had coffee and a sweetroll with us and he and Bobby talked cows and cow people and I just sat and marveled at how they knew all the same people and all the same cows but didn’t know each other. I just love listening to people talk about cows and when they start telling stories from the old days…that’s even better. I’m sure the stories are much better than the actual events…but I don’t care, it’s still fun listening.

Here on the Knolltop we are busy getting ready for the classifier. For those of you who have no idea what that is…I’ll give you the Readers Digest condensed version. A classifier is a person who works for the Holstein Association and goes to farms and puts a numerical score on a cow. He is “judging” her bascially. There are many different areas that he judges, breaking down the total cow into different categories like mammary system, feet and legs, dairy character etc….giving all these a score, he computes her overall score.

One hundred would be a perfect cow and so from 90-100 they are excellent, from 89-85 is Very Good, 84-80 is Good Plus and so on down the line. Anything under 80, I don’t want to discuss…I don’t want any cows like that…and so far we don’t have any. Bobby said he was at a guys farm clipping for classification and he had a cow score 60 and was proud of it. So I guess it’s all relative.

Today, the big event is when Holly will be scored…she is 88 right now and as a two year old she could only score as high as 89, so today we are looking for her to go excellent. I think she will score 93, but Bobby is skeptical and says he’ll be happy at 90. Only having two calves, she can only score as high as 94.

Well, that’s it…I’ve got to go wash dishes and then head out to wash tails! Results will be posted later!

It’s a cold, breezy, kind of sunny day here on the Knolltop. They say we’re in for a snow storm tomorrow…I’ll believe it when I see it.

JW had a scrimmage last evening and I guess they did well. We didn’t get to it simply because it was too early. He loves his new uniform…the warm ups have snaps all down the legs so he can just snap them off and toss them on the sidelines. Kind of reminds me when he was a toddler and all his pants snapped up the inside so I could change his diaper. He used to love to unsnap his pants….I haven’t reminded him of that….yet.

I’ve still got to write my column today…yesterday I had other things I was writing. I just got a new writing contract with Farmworld, it’s a weekly paper much like the Farmers’ Advance that circulates in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and is now moving into Michigan….hence the demand for Michigan writers. My first story will be in next week.

The Indonesian kids will come tomorrow and spend the night. When they visited before they were begging to stay the night, so we set up this weekend….little do they know they will be washing cow’s tails tomorrow. The classifier will be here at 2 pm, so they cows have to look good. I wonder how they will take to standing behind a cow and scrubbing her manure filled tail. Hey…it’s all a part of visiting the farm!

Better get to writin‘!