By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
New Years always brings with it retrospect’s of the past year and predictions for the year ahead. As a result we get “top ten” lists, “most” lists, trends lists and all types of year in reviews. So in the spirit of year-end lists, here is my top ten “quirky” animal news items for 2011.
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By Patricia Grotenhuis, Agricultural advocate and lifelong farmer
Growing up on a farm was the best preparation possible for marrying a farmer. I knew that it meant Christmas celebrations, just like any celebrations, would start after the animals were taken care of.
Now that we are adults and are forming our own traditions, we are doing our best to support local farmers and the local economy while getting ready for Christmas. Our tree comes from a friend’s tree farm, where we can cut our own. Turkey and cheese come from a nearby store which carries local products. Other various items are picked up in a close radius as well.
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By Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Christmas morning. The kids wake up early, rush downstairs, see the presents and stockings that appeared through the night and promptly…walk right past, bundle up and head for the barn. Okay, we may have stopped for a quick peek in our stocking and to read Santa’s note, but that was it. To farm kids, waiting to open presents is a way of life.
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By: Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
When we think of Christmas and animals we may think of Santa’s reindeers or the manger in Bethlehem. We may think of turkey dinners and Beeswax candles or horse drawn sleigh rides, the Red Cardinal or fur-lined mitts. We don’t often think of music though.
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Farm kids are just a little different
By Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Even though a farm kid looks the same as their non-farming classmates and friends, inside is a completely different story.
I have a nephew who lives in town. He’s just a few months older than my son. My nephew does spend a fair amount of time on the farm, but not enough to completely erase the differences. When the boys were younger, my nephew had started talking while my son had just a few words in his vocabulary. If you asked them what a cow said, my nephew would dutifully say “mooo”. My son had his own way of answering that question. He would tip his head back, push his lips out, and make a “mmmmmm” sound. It was very cute to watch him try to mimic the cows.
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by Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
One day, I had someone with no farm background visiting me at the farm. When my husband came home from the dairy barn, I made a comment about how he was going to shower before joining us.
She asked if this was something he did every time he came in from the barn. On our dairy farm, that isn’t always necessary but many farms do require farmers to shower both before entering and before leaving the barn. In these cases, showers are often built right into the barns. This is called biosecurity and farmers use biosecurity measures to protect their animals from outside germs and bacteria in a variety of ways. In many types of barns, a strict biosecurity protocol is required by the industry’s on farm food safety programs and audits are done to ensure that the rules are followed.
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By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and Food Commentator
We’re often advised to drink our orange juice to help stave off infections. It turns out oranges are a good choice for cows too. And may be just one more tool in the tool box to reduce antibiotic resistance.
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