The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
What would happen on your farm if someone got hurt? Who would do the chores, feed the calves, milk the cows, clean the barn? Who would know where to bang the dial if the vacuum pump gauge got stuck?
Who knows how many cranks to lift the silo unloader when you're finished mixing feed? What is the recipe for the TMR? Which cows are just dry treated and still standing in the barn? Who do you call?
These questions and many different scenarios passed through my mind after I read last weeks article in the Dairy Star about the farmers who got hurt this summer.
At least in Michael Sonnek's case he farms with his brother and sister-in-law, just like here. If one goes down, there is always someone back home who knows what to do. But what about the other farmer who farms alone with his family? Does everyone know what to do? What is their contingency plan?
Many farm meetings today focus on how to train new employees. The experts stress the importance of having a "procedure protocol book" that states specific jobs and lists the steps to accomplish them.
Even though we don't have any employees outside of family, I think we still need to adopt this "big" dairy idea. Not only for the family, but for someone who may have to step in during an emergency.
A contingency plan would be a small investment with large returns. All we need is a spiral notebook, free pens left behind by the feed rep last week and velcro leg straps. Total investment is under $5.
Now just write down what needs to get done. Mark reminds me this isn't very practical because every day is different.
I know that's true, but at least it give everyone else an idea of how you get so much done in a day. Think of it as an outline. The fine details can be worked out after the initial crisis.
The velcro leg straps have saved us from milking a dry treated cow that is still standing in the barn because we didn't have time to chase her out to pasture yet.
The bright orange and florescent pink straps grab everyone's attention to ask questions before you even kneel down next to her.
It would just be our luck to milk a dry treated cow in the line on a night when everything else is going wrong and a new person is milking cows.
We don't have a specific plan written down, but I do have everyone's sports schedule and farm skills listed in my head for such emergencies.
Everyone seems to have a vague idea of what all the jobs are and how to get them done without hurting anything. We try to rotate the kids through the different jobs on the farm to teach them the ropes.
It also helps to calm arguments about someone not having to work as hard as everyone else because they have the easy chores.
My friend Ann told me years ago that she encouraged her husband to teach their children the different jobs on the farm. He taught them the cattle chores and how to run the equipment and fix it too. Everyone knew what it took to keep the farm going. Taking time to teach the kids paid off for their family.
A couple of winters ago Ron broke his leg. While he was on the mend, Ann and the kids had to run the farm by themselves for a couple of months. Luckily they had a contingency plan in place where everyone knew what to do and yet they didn't even realize they were ready when the time came to step up and help. Everyone knew what to do or who to call to get the job done. They were as prepared for an emergency as you can get.
Why have I written about contingency plans and emergencies? It all started with a visit by Galen on Monday morning. He asked what I was writing about for this week's article. I didn't know yet. I had quite a few ideas swimming in my head, but nothing had floated to the top yet. I told him something would come up before my deadline. Boy did it!
I needed to put our contingency plan into action by the end of the day. Michael had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon late Monday morning. We discovered he will have surgery to screw some bone chips back onto his leg bone. He'll be on crutches and no weight bearing for 6 weeks.
As he moves out of the barn and into the house, I'll have to teach him the finer points of washing laundry and cooking meals while I'm covering for him in the barn. I thought this was an easy solution to scheduling chores and workers. But it was only Monday morning. Everything blew up by that afternoon.
We're really going to be short handed for a couple of weeks now. Besides Michael being sidelines, Al is out too. Monday afternoon Al had cracked open the back of his head and ended up with stitches and a very sore head. He has been ordered to stay out of the barn for the next 2 weeks. We'll see how long that lasts, but I have a feeling he is going to follow the doctor's orders or else deal with a very mad wife.
We have been trying to get Al to take some time off and enjoy life, but this wasn't what anyone had in mind. Al's head is going to feel like he has been hanging out in Margaretville with Jimmy Buffet, minus the sandy beaches.
So as we gear up for corn silage season, we are getting a taste of what life will be like without any extra help. I think we are going to have to make some adjustments and shift responsibilities in order to get everything done.
Regardless of what has happened, the world continues to spin and cows will get milked. Life goes on, just wish I could get a quick nap!
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As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark are starting a new adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.