Well, some already know that I am a DHIA supervisor/tech...glorified milk tester. I have about 22-25 herds "on the books" usually, and most are on 1 x milk testing meaning I go to only one milking. Most alternate morning one month, evening the next. Some mornings I leave by 1 am to go to a barn that starts milking at 215 a m . The other day I left at 615 for a farm that starts at 7 a m but they never start on time. Most milk at about 12 hour intervals so the afternoons are usually about the same milking time, except have a few that start at say 5 a m and 4 p m ...a 11-13 hour difference. Milk prices being really bad for about a year or more, many would skip a month and go 2 months between tests. This is not required by law but a management tool for the farmer. Often required by say farm credit if there is a fair amount of debt, so they can see how the dairy is doing....also required for independent records for registered cows especially when merchandizing any.
No two days are the same, and there are always 6 farms that want to test the same week and then no-one for the next week. I can work that to my advantage somewhat during hay season...I do more mornings and will test weekends if we are in the hayfield and it is calling for rain and we need to get done now...All the farms I test know that we farm also, and are pretty good about it. But I am also pretty acommodating with their schedules and equipment failures, hoof trimmers, etc. Been doing it 25 years. Had 4 farms sell out last year with several more that the owners are in their 50's to 75+ look for a few more to go out in the next few years. I'm 63 and will be done at 66 to "just our farming" if all goes along...
My son, Michael (43) is a supervisor at our VDOT headquarters. He puts in a 40 + hour week. Our hours do somewhat compliment each other. They work 8-4:30 and 7-3:30 in the summer. He is on the night crew when there is snow/bad weather in the winter. So, he cuts hay in the afternoons when I am often in the barn testing. I will do the tedding/raking during the day when he is at work, and get it ready for him to bale when he gets off and I have to sometimes go to work. I have helped stack hay on the wagon until my ankle and knee joints got so bad, but I do still sometimes ride the wagon and help some until he gets other help to show up. We get some part-time help from guys/kids that work elsewhere or go to school but it is hard to find any real good help anymore.
When not making hay, he does alot of the feeding...taking round bales to the different fields, pastures and feeds some corn silage in the barn to the weaned calves and some of the "old cows" that we pamper a little more when they have calves.
I can also do hay feeding with the truck/bale bed and with the big JD with the bale spear.
We rent alot of land and do as much rotational grazing as we can.
We both do bush-hogging at pastures, and I often will haul cattle to the sale in town if he is working.
I can tag calves at birth, but again the joint issues have made it difficult the last 2 years. I do check them during calving and keep up with who has what.
We both work in the barn to run stuff in the chute to work them or preg check or whatever.
I keep all the records.
We run 150-200 brood cows and calve a group in the spring and a group in the fall. I also have 3-6 nurse cows at any one time and raise baby calves on them. I also do any grafting of a calf on a cow that has a dead calf or anything like that. He doesn't have the patience and will tell anyone that.
He bought a place 2 years ago and wants to get it paid for, but the prices the past 2 years aren't helping. He plans to retire at 55 with 30 years at VDOT if all goes well.
