Ray-Lin Dairy
kids
Family Time
Enjoying the first vacation my family has been able to take that includes my parents in quite a few years. My parents and my one brother who has kids old enough are all here at Disneyland having fun with us. The dairy is finally at a place labor wise where we can coordinate days off together and enjoy family time together. With a little addition of technology I can also keep the cow records on the dairy computer up to date.
Growing a Farmer
Teaching my son how to care for cows.
How can I be a farmer? What does it take to be a farmer? I have heard these and other questions before so I decided to jot down how my on-farm experiences have grown me to be the farmer I am today.
When my dad started our dairy years ago, the day-to-day jobs on the farm almost all involved something with the cows. Now, decades later, my day-to-day role on my family’s dairy farm has evolved over the years from milking cows, to now where I spend more time meeting regulations than in the barn or in the field. That job is as important as it ever was caring for our cows and ensuring the safety and health of the milk we provide, but a lot more has to happen on the farm now too and my job has changed a lot over the years.
As a young child I started working on the farm by feeding hay to the cows. This was before we fed a Total Mixed Ration (TMR). Before and after elementary school my brother and I would go out and either feed hay off the trailer into the hay mangers or climb the haystack several stories tall and throw it down to the feed bunk. I remember my first concussion when I took a misstep and fell off the hay to the concrete below. My brother had a few accidents as well, I remember he pierced his eye rolling up the wire securing the hay bales and to this day has deteriorating vision in that eye and needs glasses.
When I was old enough and tall enough to properly operate the equipment in our milk barn I was promoted to those duties before and after school. I would milk before and after school while my father worked off the farm because the economics of the dairy industry at the time mean that he had to end up taking an off-farm job. The dedication to getting the job done was instilled in me at a young age. One day I even watched the smoke from our house burning while I had to finish milking. Taking responsibility, I even tried calling my absence in to the school and they would not believe me.
By the time I was 16, I had spent more hours driving farm equipment than can be calculated. I also got on the job training so I could be entrusted with treating cows for ailments. I could handle a calving as long as there were no complications and also administer an IV. We also transitioned to mixing more feed on site and that became my new duty as younger brothers took on the milking.
Between my sophomore and junior years in high school we moved the dairy 80 miles. Having my driver’s license I was sent ahead to be the one to get things running on the new facility. As my dad loaded cows on the old farm I was unloading them and making sure they were okay on the new dairy. It was my responsibility to be the last line of defense for problems and make sure everything went as close to the plan as possible. Nearly 12 hours later we had finished the move and were all exhausted.
Through the rest of high school and college my jobs were everything from milker to feeder and mechanic to irrigator. As time went by my skills increased and so did the responsibilities. I was diagnosing and treating cattle. If we called the Vet for a calving he knew not to waste time because I was able to handle everything short of surgery.
After leaving college I spent some time off the farm working for other dairies and businesses. I gained even more knowledge and upon returning to our dairy again worked directly with the cows. Over the course of several years, we built more facilities of our design and expanded the dairy to support more of our family. As our herd expanded so did the workload, to the point where it was time to better utilize my skills elsewhere in our business.
Even though I had been handling everything as it related to the cows, I was also the maintainer for the milking equipment thus relying less on outside companies. I also started taking on more of our regulatory compliance work. And as we added land to our farming operation over the years, and regulations grew in complexity, a lot more paperwork and record keeping have been required.
Today I am still in touch with the cows everyday by analyzing data and records I make decisions about how we can manage the cows health better. I fill in were extra help is needed however the majority of my time is spent riding a desk chair, staring at a laptop or stretching the capabilities of my smartphone. I also work with our herdsman to stay on top of any problems that might be arising that need to be corrected. Even though I am personally not doing ALL the work with our cows I am still heavily involved with their health, care and our productivity as a business. Through all this I also work closely with my father so he can make sure we are on the same page. I also handle all of our regulatory compliance with agencies such as the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, CA Department of Fish and Game just to name a few. There is also work to be done to remain in compliance with many health regulations and inspections as described by Brenda Souza Hastings in her Blog titled “The Milk Inspector is coming”. There are also financial and crop records to be maintained and evaluated. There are also a lot of off farm things to be done so I can help my children have the opportunity to farm if they so choose, a great friend of mine and the cowboy version of this dairyman explains it best here.
I may not be the picture of a “farmer” my dad imagined as he started our dairy, but in today’s world, I’m a fairly common model. Sure I still get a handful of hay for a cow now and then… I just also know a lot more about the balanced diet required by our animals and how best to deliver it. I have no idea what a farmer’s job will include for the next generation, but I’m hopeful I’ll see my kids rise to the occasion. They certainly seem to love where we are and what we do.
Dairy helping to lead the charge against childhood obesity!
As a member on the board of directors at the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and Dairy Management Inc. I have been aware of this announcement for some time now and am excited to see it come to fruition today.
About Gen YOUth Foundation
Today, over one-third of American children are either overweight or obese. If the trend continues, today’s children may be the first generation with shorter life expectancies than their parents. In response to this epidemic, Gen YOUth Foundation was founded to inspire youth behavior change. Gen YOUth Foundation gives leaders in health, business, government and communities nationwide the opportunity to create a movement that relies on participation, collaboration and action to reverse childhood obesity rates. Gen YOUth Foundation will demonstrate that when youth are given a voice, change can happen. For more information, visit www.genyouthfoundation.org.
Alexis Glick Named CEO OF Gen YOUth Foundation.
Dairy and NFL encourage schools and students to get fit
Happy 8th Birthday!
Today is a special day in our house according to my dear daughter as she keeps telling me it is because it is her 8th birthday. I tried to convince her it is special because it is the Chinese New Year Day, I must not be very convincing though. There is a special breakfast being made by mom and dad to be eaten on a special plate, then for lunch a surprise will be delivered by her mom and I.
Our Little "B" sitting in front of the Chicago Skyline made from legos
My daughter helping me check cows
A special birthday plate for a special birthday girl!
One of a kind Carousel Horse for a one of a kind girl!
*Our kids nicknames are Big B and Little B some how they both ended up with names that start with B so Brsyon and Brielle quickly came to have these special nicknames.
What do cows eat?
The cattle on our dairy farm eat diets that are made specifically for them by a ruminant nutritionist. Here on the dairy we mix together individual ingredients to make a ration that is then fed to the cattle. In addition we do have some pasture to supplement the rations.
The ingredients are:
Dried Distillers Grain – this is the grain left from brewing and distilling spirits and is a good source of fat and protein.
Dried Distillers Grain
Almond Hulls – Outer protective skin when the Almond grows on the tree
Almond Hulls
Cotton Seed – the inner part of the cotton boll that is left after the cotton fiber is removed
Cotton Seed
Various silages – made from Corn Plants, and various small grain plants
Silage Bags
Alfalfa Hay
Alfalfa Hay
Various minerals and vitamins
Rumen Buffer
We also include steamed flaked corn, water and some concentrated energy additives to make the ration.
Cow Food
To learn more about technical information on cattle rations please visit the blog of my great friend Jeff Fowle he is currently doing a series of posts on cattle nutrition.
Related articles
- How does hay help cows digestive system (wiki.answers.com)
- Cows play in sprinklers? Wordless Wednesday (raylindairy.wordpress.com)
Building Bridges, Connecting Communities
One of the things I am extremely passionate about is telling my story on my own terms because no one knows it better than I do. It is this passion that drives me to find common ground with others outside of farming and have discussions about farming when the time is right. Speaking up for farmers and farming is as simple as talking to an old friend who moved to the city or asking a person what motivates them to buy certain things in the grocery store.
I have taken the opportunity on many an airplane to reach out to others, however one time stands out. I was on a flight from St. Louis to Salt Lake City and was seated next to two young boys travelling with their families for a ski vacation to Utah. Throughout the flight I kept to myself because the boys were having their own conversation and as an adult I did not want to create a weir situation. As the flight was nearing its end the show friends was being shown as the in flight entertainment. The episode was one where Ross dumps a whole gallon of milk down the front of himself. One of the boys then said something to the effect of “that’s a lot of milk”. I then proceed to say no I have 4000 times as much at home. Then conversation then moved to me explain that my family operates a dairy farm. One of the boys then proceeds to ask me “Are your cows free range?” After I picked my jaw up off the ground I answered that some do and some are housed in open air barns and in nice weather have access to outdoor exercise pens. I also explained the stalls in the barn are groomed and kept clean. The cows also have free access to fresh food and clean water. The concrete the cows walk on is cleaned frequently and there is soft rubber where the cows walk. The young boy then said “Wow it sounds like you take great care of your cows.”
Another time I was engaged in a local community on twitter and through several meet and greets created several longtime friends. One of those friends asked if he could bring his boys out to the dairy and being one to not miss an agvocacy moment I agreed. His boys loved the tour and to this day nearly a year later he continues to remind me his young sons remember what they saw and did on the dairy thus creating a lifetime impression. In addition to his sons the gentleman also came to realize that many who try to paint farmers and ranchers in a negative light are not always being the completely truthful.
Here are some videos from their visit:
It is so easy to build bridges between communities in our lives, they can be virtual, social, religious, or hobby based communities however they have all started with common ground outside agriculture.
If we farmers and ranchers think about it enough becoming an Agvocate and letting others know why and how we do what we farmers and ranchers do to feed, fuel and clothe them becomes second nature. We are given opportunities to Agvocate daily it is up to us as Agriculturalists to take advantage of them and not let the opportunity forever slip away.
Curious about the camera
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