The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

It amazes me how perceptive we can be to the slightest change of the world around us and yet completely miss the obvious signs of trouble facing us in the mirror. Sometimes I think it has to do with control. We fix what we can control and ignore what we can’t, hoping it will go away. Let me put this in perspective.

I call the first Monday of the month, Maintenance Monday. It is an easy way to remember to grease the zerks on the mixer and lime cart. It is the day to check the oil levels on the milking pump, oil the chains and check the washer. When you hear the “thump, thump, thump of the fan belt slipping or the squeal of the roller mill struggling to get thing moving, you know what you need to do. You recognize those sounds. You know things won’t get better over time and the only thing changing is the final amount of the repair bill. You jump on it right away and do the simple fix. Why do you want to pay a larger repair bill than necessary? It is smarter to fix the problem right away when you notice something is not quite right. You recognize the first signs of trouble and trust your gut instincts.

The vet comes out every two weeks for herd health maintenance. As we walk through the barn, we mention the problems we’ve noticed. She doesn’t seem to be cycling… she’s off feed…she just seems “slow”…there is no shine to her eyes. We notice the subtle changes in our cows and take quick action to get her healthy again. Mark just seems to “know” when a cow is heading toward a D.A., even when the vet can’t hear the classic “ping” yet. He knows his cows and can spot potential problems. He jumps on taking control of the situation and gets the ball rolling on getting her “fixed”. He trusts his gut instincts.

Now let’s flip these scenarios around to us. You start to notice aches and pains in strange places. You start to hear popping and creaking sounds as you try to walk across the yard. It is even painful for others as they watch you struggle to move. We say it is just aging and our bodies are wearing out. “You know, we’ve been doing this job for 40+ years!” But in your gut you have this weird sense that this is not a normal progression of aging. You think if you ignore the problem, it doesn’t exist. If you don’t see the doctor, you’re not sick.

Why are we quick to maintain a piece of equipment or treat a sick cow, but we struggle to admit something might be wrong with us? We need to put just as much of a value on our health as we do on our equipment and cattle. We’re just as important as they are!

Kansas State University Extension livestock specialist, Chris Reinhardt wrote a great article on this subject. “Whether it’s checking and changing oil, regular greasing or checking bearing and bushings, agricultural producers know that a small investment of time on a regular basis can save thousands of dollars and countless hours of lost productivity by preventing mechanical malfunctions. And what’s true for machinery is also true for people.”

According to 24/7 Wall St., a new study has found that farmers are among the group of professions that miss substantially less time due to illness than others. On average, workers in agriculture, fishing and forestry industries missed just one day of work every four months. The study results are no surprise to hardworking farmers who are used to working while sick, however Reinhardt urges producers to care for their bodies as well as they care for their equipment.

“Like mechanical devices, people need fuel, people need rest and people sometimes wear out. In order to ensure that people are rested and refueled for the upcoming season, it is critical that managers monitor the well-being of the people in their charge, and perhaps even insist that people take time off,” Reinhardt suggest.

Of course this may be easier said than done when you don’t feel you can “afford” to take the time off. But can you afford not too? Mark knows he should wear safety glasses when he works with the grinder. One time he didn’t take the time to grab the glasses. He ended up with a piece of metal in the corner of his eye. After a visit to the urgent care and then to the eye surgeon, the lesson has been etched into his memory and checkbook!

Right now I’m out of the barn for the next few weeks as I recover from a surgery. I had noticed the signs for quite some time, but convinced myself it wasn’t a big deal. When I struggled to talk one day, I knew I needed to get things moving quickly. The surgery went well, but I’m restricted on how much I can lift due to the tiny sutures in my head where the doctors spliced in a new nerve to control my face.

It drives me nuts not to go out for chores. (Ok, honestly I’m enjoying the mornings off but struggle with missing the evening chores!) I know I can mentally do the work, but have to wait for the sutures to heal correctly so I don’t have future problems that delay me from coming back completely.

I’m looking at this time as another “2 x 4 God Moment” for me to get out of the way. I had a similar surgery 12 years ago and discovered it was a way for me to step aside so our kids could step up. Maybe this is my time to step aside again to make room for the guys to start looking at the future. As much as we want to think we can keep working as hard as we did 20 years ago, we can’t and we shouldn’t. We’ve done a good job over the years. Our hard work has been rewarded now we need to start looking at how to get out of the way for the next generation to put their hard work and sweat into making a future for themselves.

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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.

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