Quarryville Grazing Conference and a Sad Goodbye

Roman Yoder, the man behind the
 conference, was getting ready to
 introduce Terri Hawbaker (sorry, the
 pic was a bit blurry)

We just arrived back home from the Quarryville Grazing Conference last night.  The conference lasted two days and was packed with some amazing speakers like Gary Zimmer with Mid-West Bio Ag (I hope I spelled that right), Nathan Weaver (an Amish grazier from New York), Terri Hawbaker (a grazier from Michigan), and a lot more!  We learned a lot...or at least we listened to a lot.  To make an analogy to grazing:  I felt a lot like a compacted field at the conference--a little bit soaked in, but a lot just flowed over my head (grin). 

It may seem like we go to a lot of conferences, but that is mostly to do with the time of year.  This is the slower time for farmers with it being and after the holidays, too early to plant, and not quite calving season (unless you have over achievers for cows like we do).  Also, I think it is so so important for us to humble ourselves and admit that we don't have all of the answers.  I want to remain teachable.  If I lose that attitude then I end up being the one that loses out.  Not that I think people should jump on every ban wagon and sign up for every new fad that comes along, but we should listen and research the ideas that are promoted and to use our judgement to decide what might work on our farm and what might be compatible with our personalities. 

Our first heifer calf of 2012!

We were able to stay overnight at a Motel in Ronks, PA!  Wohoo!  Danny's dad filled in for feeding the cows, and he suffered through the extremely arduous job of milking all two cows.  But, our cows being the over achievers that they are--had another volunteer to calve early...again--while we were gone...I think they are trying to send us a message (grin).  But, we did have our first heifer calf of the year!  Now I just have to figure out what to name her. 



We did have a bit of sadness upon returning home.  I went to feed Bandit, our dog, and saw that he had killed Miss Hen.  I probably wouldn't have been as upset if it was the rooster, but I really liked Miss Hen.  Apparently, she got to close, which usually isn't a problem (at least it never was in the past), but this time he attacked her.  So, that has me feeling a little sad, and now I am not on speaking terms with Bandit (yes, I am one of those crazy ladies that talks to her animals).  So, here is my tribute to Miss Hen--my first pet chicken.

Miss Hen went the way of all things on 2-22-2012
We'll miss you.