Behind the Scenes of Cattle Feedlot - From a Vegan Perspective

I found this link on a dairy blog. Seeing how there is so much negative press for agriculture right now, this was a nice change of pace. I was skeptical to read it at first, but I was pleasantly surprised. The author did a fantastic job of dispelling a lot of myths and keeping it honest. So read it here.

I Got A New Car! Whoohoo!

Isn't it pretty? I really didn't want gray, but our options were pretty limited. They had a very nice blue one, but it had 11,000 miles on it and to me that's not really considered new anymore. If I'm going to pay the price of a new vehicle, I want a new vehicle. But that's really here nor there. I got a new car!

We had been talking about getting rid of the van for a while. Pat absolutely hated it. I liked it, but there were things I really didn't like and I'm willing to bet that by the end of the summer we would have had to put a new motor in our power doors. That was our main reason for sending the van down the road. Power doors and gravel roads don't mix.

We did a little shopping around, online and at the lot. For us it has to be a short process. We are limited to Chrysler and GM dealerships anywhere close and those vehicles are not an option for me. So we have to drive 2 hours to get a decent selection. I know, I know, "buy American!" I'll buy "American" when I can buy a vehicle and not have it depreciate faster than I can pay it off. I'll buy "American" when after a year or two it doesn't sound like I'm driving a convertible when I'm not. I say "American" because what does that really mean anyway? I don't think 100% American really exists.

So here you are, my car reviews.
What I didn't like about my 2007 Honda Odyssey EX minivan:

• no auto headlights or DRLs
• The second row middle seat was pointless unless you know someone who is only 6 inches wide.
  
• Only 3 latch plates - in a minivan! Aren't those supposed to be geared toward families?
• No MP3 port

What I will miss:

• The storage! I was packing the Pilot and I miss the center floor storage, the second glove box, and the middle dash storage.
  
• the radio controls on the steering wheel. ( We got the bare bones model Pilot)
• the window shades for the kids.
• My kids being able to climb into the van and their seats on their own
• Being able to open the doors with the push of a button
  

What I love about the Pilot:

• The auto headlights
• The 4 latch plates
• The evenly split 2nd and 3rd row seat. No 6 inch humans required!
• The MP3 port! I'm so excited to listen to my music without static from the radio!
• Not worrying about dust in the doors
• It looks a whole lot cooler than the minivan, and I'm all about appearances! :)

We also test drove a Toyota Highlander. I really liked it, but there were a few things I didn't like. It had the mini seat like my van had. The 3rd row didn't have a split so it was all up or all down which left no room for storage. If we have a 3rd kid, family vacations would be interesting trying to cram 3 kids across the 2nd row so we could have room for luggage. It only had 2 latch plates which I just don't understand. Everything else we loved so we were nearly sold on the Highlander but needed to go try out the Pilot first. I'm glad we did. The Pilot is bigger than the Highlander but not huge. Price-wise they were about the same. The Pilot isn't terribly powerful, but I don't plan on towing much more than a paddle boat, if that. Our other vehicle is an F350, so it's not like I need a towing vehicle. Although, Cole keeps saying now we need to get a boat. At any rate, I'm glad we went with the Pilot, cuz it would have been stupid to buy something we didn't like. I'm hoping we'll keep this more than 3 years. My van was just starting to get good gas mileage...

June Review

I know, June isn't over yet, but by the time I post again, it probably will be :)

• The boys started swimming lessons. Cole's were every morning for 2 weeks. He wasn't the strongest swimmer in his class, but he did ok. I learned that he can be bought with donuts. After realizing that his teacher wasn't going to make him go under water, I tried bribery, and it worked! I'm hoping to hit up the pool a few times this summer so he can get more practice.
• Tate is also in swimming lessons, with me. We go twice a week and he is doing pretty well. He's more daring than his brother, but not overly so.
• Cole got his kindergarten shots. His doctor likes to do them at age 4 since their memory isn't quite as good and they are easier to restrain. When she broke the news to him he cried and flinched every time he heard a door in the hallway. Try getting a urine sample out of a 4 year old after 4 shots. We had to go back on Monday to attempt that and he was almost in tears when the tech said the nurse would call with results. I think he was terrified she'd come give him more shots.
• Cole's stats: 31"=21%, 36.8 lbs= 55%

Upcoming events:

• Pat's 10 year reunion
• Cole's first birthday party
• Cole's dental visit to attempt to fill a cavity
• Family trip through our dairy Co-op
  

Family Vacation 2010

A couple of weeks ago we took a family vacation. This was the first real vacation we've taken since Cole was just over a year. It still involved a wedding, but the wedding only dictated the location, and wasn't the majority of the trip. Anywho, our trip didn't start out so hot when only 2 hours into it Tate looked like this:
We stopped on our way out and bought a tent for our first night. Just so you know, 2 small children in a tent in western North Dakota, in early June, don't equal a good night's sleep. Cole did fine. Tate was another story. He refused to go to sleep until it was dark, so with the time change that was close to 11PM our time. Then the temp dipped down into the 40s and he had thrown all his blankets out of the pack n' play. So for the first time ever we had to have a child sleep with us. Three people on a partially deflated air mattress (air compresses when it gets that cold) equals not so much sleep for mommy.
To top it off, the boys were up at 5:30 AM our time. We managed to hold them off for another half an hour and went to breakfast. Then we packed up and went to a park until the dinosaur museum opened.
The museum was ok. It was a lot of rocks and not so much dinosaurs, but it was something to do and the boys didn't care. Next stop, Theodore Roosevelt National Park:
If you have never made the trip west, I highly recommend it. There is a 36 mile driving loop around the park. The ranger at the gate told us it would take an hour and a half. We exited 3 hours later. We stopped and hiked trails, took pictures, chased prairie dogs...
The boys got a little lesson in flowers,
like this gorgeous blue flower. I've never seen anything, besides the sky, so naturally blue.
We saw wild horses and their foals.
We even saw a lone buffalo.
We stopped in Medora, the home of the Medora Musical. We didn't get to see the musical. I would have liked to, but we had a wedding to attend!
We spent one night with a college friend and headed to the wedding and reception on Saturday. Tate loved dancing.
Cole did not.
It was great to see so many "old" college friends.
So side story, we stayed at the old Super 8 in Lemmon, SD. From here on out we will call it the Creepy Clown Motel. When I went to check in, the office was jam packed with clowns. Ok, I'm not scared of clowns, but they are pretty creepy and a lot of people are afraid of them. Why would you display them in your hotel office??? Anywho, it was a place to sleep and we survived. I did have some flashbacks to that horror movie where the couple gets locked in their hotel room. No idea what it's called, and never seen it, but anywhoodle...

We even had time to see some petrified wood before we left town.
On the way home we stopped at Storybook Land. It was a good break for the kids and I thought this sign would have been helpful about a year ago:

So there you have it, our vacation in pictures. I've got some blogs written in my head, and maybe if you are lucky I'll actually put them on the computer! Wouldn't that be special?

School's Out For Summer!

Ok, so it's been almost a month since Cole's last day of school, but I have had very little blogging time lately.

Cole's last day went well. They had the parents meet the kids and we ate lunch, had recess, then finished the day with story time. It was a little precursor for school readiness next year. During recess, the teachers were telling me about the petting zoo and farm safety day the FFA put on that day. Apparently Cole, being the farm kid that he is, piped up and started sharing about the cow that had died and had stuff coming out of her. We had an older cow who gave birth to a large bull calf and had prolapsed (expelled her uterus) and died the previous weekend. He's so full of wonderful information. Anyway, the teachers had told him that that was sad that the cow had died, but he isn't too bothered by death. He has a basic understanding that things die and aren't around anymore, but he really hasn't lost anything important to him, other than Benny the goat and Cole was too young last summer to get it. Death is a natural part of farm life and right now that's all he needs to understand.

Birthday Review

Cole's birthday went very well. He woke up in the morning, came downstairs, and asked me "Is it my birthday today?" He was so excited! We had his birthday party with some of the Grandmas and Grandpas last night. So here is the night in pictures.

First the dinosaur cake. When I originally asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he said "Um, a circle cake?" So I rephrased and asked what he wanted on his cake: "Triangles?" So we went to the library and looked at their selection of cake pans and he picked out a dinosaur. I should have gone with the circle cake. Anywho, he decided on a dinosaur cake with chocolate sprinkles and I complied.


A couple of months ago we were out for dinner and someone was celebrating their birthday and they had balloons. He was nearly in tears because he wanted a balloon. No fit, just tears. So I told him he could have one for his birthday and he periodically reminded me that he would get a balloon with stars on it for his birthday.This was the second take with the candles. The first time he blew them all out before we could sing.

Grandma and Grandpa R bought him a set with 3 semis and a loading bin. They even brought real corn, soybeans, and wheat to put in. Lovely.No birthday would be complete without semis, trucks, tractors,
and of course, BUBBLES!

Happy Birthday, Cole!

Cole is 4 today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. He keeps me on my toes with all of his nonstop questions. He loves to do chores, play farm, and tattle on his brother. I love watching him grow and learn. Happy Birthday, Cole! I love you!

The Ohio Dairy Abuse

I'm sure some of you have seen the latest dairy cow abuse video. If you haven't, I don't recommend it. It's not pleasant to say the least. I finally watched it and it made me want to cry.

First, the abuse is horrific. It's sadistic and serves absolutely no purpose other than to smear the dairy industry and make good controversy. I don't know a single dairy farmer that would knowingly allow that type of abuse to happen on his farm, much less contribute to it. I honestly believe that the abuse did happen, but that it was staged and not ongoing abuse. My reasons are this: the cows were clean, healthy, and well fed. Like any being, human or otherwise, enough abuse will cause you to lose hope and stop struggling. Those cows still fought and I was hoping one of them would kick the a-hole in the head. Abused animals are lame. Lame animals don't eat. Those cows were pretty healthy looking.

Second, if an engineer built a building that wasn't structurally sound, he'd be out of a job. If a teacher taught all lies, they'd eventually be found out and fired. The same is true with a dairy. Unfortunately, it may take time to uncover the abuse, but it would be uncovered and the workers would be fired. If an owner treated his cows like that, they wouldn't produce very well and he'd be losing money. It just doesn't make sense to work that way.

There has also been a lot of blame placed on the camera man and here's why. He sat by for weeks without a single word of "why are you doing that?" Some say it was so that the world is aware of how dairy cows are treated. I know animal abusers exist. I don't need to watch it. I know children are abused, but if someone filmed that for weeks they'd be charged as an accomplice.

We as a society are so much more interested in the horrors and the controversy. We want to point fingers and place blame and say "see, you're worse than I am!" Our dairy industry isn't perfect. There are bad dairy farmers that manage to scrape by. There are also bad teachers (we can all think of some) that are still teaching. It happens. It's not right, and just like in education, it's hard to find a way to weed out the bad from the good.

There isn't a single decent dairy farmer out there that would watch that video and think treating animals like that is ok. I realize that I'm preaching to the choir but my hope is that the few people that read my blog that don't have a connection to agriculture have enough common sense to know that our products come from a safe environment. Our cows and calves are fed before my own children are. I've said it before, but dairy farming is so much more than a career. It's a way of life. I'm proud to be a dairy farmer and I'm proud that my children are dairy kids.

I'm just so tired of these videos. It's not like we're big oil and are getting rich anyway. They can handle a little bad publicity, we can't. If the video wasn't upsetting enough, the comments made it even worse. The general public is VERY poorly educated on where our food comes from and how. Do people honestly think we could treat our animals like that and that they would still produce a decent amount of milk. Let's use a little bit of common sense, people.