It’s amazing to me when you begin researching something you find out just how much you don’t know.

Take radio for instance: Ashley Messing our Michigan Dairy Ambassador is now doing a radio program called “The Scoop.” Since I was the one who came up with the “brilliant” idea to do a radio show, I told her I would be here to assist her in any way that I could. So, when she couldn’t come up with a title for it….I helped her out. When she couldn’t come up with an intro describing it…I helped her out. When she couldn’t come up with music for the intro for it…I took a smoke break….and I’m on my fourteenth pack! (Joke)

Who would’ve thought picking music would be that difficult. Just pick a song you like and go with it. Oh no, not that easy. Three weeks into this project I’m thinking the radio program has been completed and ready to be listened to by all of America. Then I get an email from the producer, Trent Loos, who by the way is offering his expertise at a considerably low cost…zilch.

In his email he said in no uncertain terms it’s time to pick the music. I contact Ashley, she can’t come up with anything off hand, so we both decide to let the expert do it. I contact Trent and tell him he can pick the music….whatever he wants is good with us.

Well, between dying his mule pink(see Faces of Ag for a great story) and traversing the country standing up for agriculture, he doesn’t have time to pick music and besides he said, it needs to be something Ashley likes.

Okay…I’ll go with that. So here we are at square one again. So, I call my radio expert in Kansas, Kyle. Sick in bed he returns my call and starts talking this radio jabber about bumper music and how it can’t be more than 7 seconds long or we’ll have to pay a fee and you can’t do this because of copyright laws and a CD full of bumper music to choose from….ahhhh! I couldn’t tell if he was delirious from being sick or trying out his newly learned foreign language.

So I ask him, can’t you just call me and play a few of these bumper music selections over the phone and I’ll pick one? That idea didn’t fly. Maybe he knew we’d be there for an hour while he played 2000 selections of 7 seconds of music before I picked one.

Frustrated and on my second pack of cigarettes I called Trent and said, for heaven’s sake, are you sure you don’t have some music there you can just use? He said, “No, besides it has to be just right, it has to match Ashley’s voice, it has to be good.” I decided at this point that if I ever wanted a career in radio I would never make it…I’m not picky enough.

So, are you tired of this story yet? Okay, then I’ll keep going….I decided to check with Chewing the Cud radio host Amanda Nolz, I asked her what she did for her show. She said she and her roommates sat around one day and listened to selections on itunes and finally voted on one. Ah ha! Now, I’m getting somewhere! Why didn’t the men who were making a living come up with this brainy idea? Why did it take a farm girl from South Dakota to enlighten me? We speak the same language…farmgirl talk.

I urged Ashley to start scouring iTunes and see what she could find. She did and emailed me asking for an opinion. I almost didn’t take the time to listen. I wanted to just say, “Oh, that first one sounds great…go with it!” Afterall, it would’ve saved me from smoking another pack of cigarettes.

But…I lit up another and listened to her selections. Wondering if every bluegrass song had the same intro, I sat and listened to about 10 million songs and came up with the conclusion…except for the funny titles of the songs….they all sound the same.

With that, I emailed Ash and told her what I thought and haven’t heard a word yet. So the question still remains….do we have bumper music yet? Or is the bumper crushed from a head on collision? I’ll let you know when I know something. In the mean time hopefully I’ve whet your whistle and you are on the edge of your seat for the debut of “The Scoop”

And, now you know, I know nothing about radio and I’ve quit smoking!

Good Morning from the knolltop. It’s breezy and considerably warmer than yesterday. I was hot in my turtleneck and sweatshirt this morning. The moon is still big and bright and making things much lighter at 4:30 am.

Last night I went on a moonlit tractor ride. Well, it was actually a tractor race. I brought my “A” up from the tractor barn because I hadn’t started it in a while and all the mechanics say you need to start your tractor regularly to keep it running right…okay…I’ll go along with that.

After my walk I went down and slid the doors open to the barn. The smell of oil-soaked dirt and gas poured out of the doors and I was again taken back to my younger days in Grandpa Peckens farm equipment dealership, otherwise known as “the shop.” It’s a great smell!

I started the ol’ girl up and she sounded just as wonderful as the last time I drove her. I drove her up to the barn and parked it right outside the stable so I could see her while we were milking.

While washing the pipeline I heard a loud noise outside and it was Luke on his Farmall. I peered out and he said with a big smile, “Let’s race!” Now Big Daddy frowns on such frolics….but me….I’m always ready for an old fashioned tractor race.

I finished up my chores and went out to where he was waiting. By this time, everyone had headed in the house and it was dark, cool, breezy and the big harvest moon was shining down on us. Since I have no lights on my tractor that work, I had to rely on Luke and the moonlight.

We headed up the hill and down the road for a little ways. He stopped halfway down the road and turned around and I followed suit. I lined up next to him and he had a big smile on his face. He counted us down and I took off like a shot leaving him in my….smoke. My lead lasted all of about 20 feet as he swiftly took over and sped down the road and beat me by a mile. Yes, his tractor is faster, but it’s also got two more spark plugs than mine…doesn’t that mean something?

I picked up Jake and the way down to the barn and he drove it the rest of the way. When we turned to park it in the barn, Luke was standing there and wouldn’t move until Jake got out of the drivers seat. I guess he didn’t trust Jake to slowly drive the tractor into the barn and park it without crashing into the “M.”

As we walked up to the house on the cool October night we pulled up our hoods and I tried to explain why my tractor was so slow but they wouldn’t cut me any slack. Jake was totally disgusted that my John Deere wasn’t as fast as the “M” and we decided tomorrow night we’d have a slow race….I’m sure to win that!

Good Morning from the knolltop. It’s breezy and considerably warmer than yesterday. I was hot in my turtleneck and sweatshirt this morning. The moon is still big and bright and making things much lighter at 4:30 am.

Last night I went on a moonlit tractor ride. Well, it was actually a tractor race. I brought my “A” up from the tractor barn because I hadn’t started it in a while and all the mechanics say you need to start your tractor regularly to keep it running right…okay…I’ll go along with that.

After my walk I went down and slid the doors open to the barn. The smell of oil-soaked dirt and gas poured out of the doors and I was again taken back to my younger days in Grandpa Peckens farm equipment dealership, otherwise known as “the shop.” It’s a great smell!

I started the ol’ girl up and she sounded just as wonderful as the last time I drove her. I drove her up to the barn and parked it right outside the stable so I could see her while we were milking.

While washing the pipeline I heard a loud noise outside and it was Luke on his Farmall. I peered out and he said with a big smile, “Let’s race!” Now Big Daddy frowns on such frolics….but me….I’m always ready for an old fashioned tractor race.

I finished up my chores and went out to where he was waiting. By this time, everyone had headed in the house and it was dark, cool, breezy and the big harvest moon was shining down on us. Since I have no lights on my tractor that work, I had to rely on Luke and the moonlight.

We headed up the hill and down the road for a little ways. He stopped halfway down the road and turned around and I followed suit. I lined up next to him and he had a big smile on his face. He counted us down and I took off like a shot leaving him in my….smoke. My lead lasted all of about 20 feet as he swiftly took over and sped down the road and beat me by a mile. Yes, his tractor is faster, but it’s also got two more spark plugs than mine…doesn’t that mean something?

I picked up Jake and the way down to the barn and he drove it the rest of the way. When we turned to park it in the barn, Luke was standing there and wouldn’t move until Jake got out of the drivers seat. I guess he didn’t trust Jake to slowly drive the tractor into the barn and park it without crashing into the “M.”

As we walked up to the house on the cool October night we pulled up our hoods and I tried to explain why my tractor was so slow but they wouldn’t cut me any slack. Jake was totally disgusted that my John Deere wasn’t as fast as the “M” and we decided tomorrow night we’d have a slow race….I’m sure to win that!

I asked and I received!

I didn’t realize what great informants you blog readers were! I was sent descriptions and pictures of the devastation on the Larry and Sandy Place farm in Perry. It doesn’t look good. So today, I hope to find out more details on where the cows are being milked because it sure doesn’t look like they could be milked in what’s left of the barn. If any of you know that much…please let me know.

Yesterday I was in a dairy supply place, J&M Dairy visiting with Jan and Marv Sober…yes, they both hail from my home town of Fowlerville and Jan was a Copeland, just in case anyone was wondering.

Anyway, we were discussing the BST issue and what the dairymen are saying down on the farm. As we visited Marv stated that he had heard there was a test being developed at Cornell to detect rbst in the milk. I disputed that fact and swiftly came home to check it out with the rBST guru, Terry Etherton of Penn State. After reading some research I found out that there is NO test that will detect rbst in milk from cows given rbst. Cornell is not working on it at all. A professor from Cornell wrote a letter stating that a professor had been working on it for a few years and applied for a patent in 1997 for the test, but it was not rigorous enough for FDA standards and therefore was not valid. He tested six samples of milk. One sample from conventional milk and five samples from cows who were given rbst. He came up with nothing conclusive. Just thought you might want to know this…I think my column will be on this very subject today.

As I came across the road after milking this morning the moon was on the western horizon and it was big, bright, full and beautiful! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and every star was shining brightly. Boy it was fun to see such a sight.

So, as you can imagine, it’s clear and cool here on the Knolltop and a hat was necessary this morning for chores.

Better get to breakfast and I think I’ll perk the coffee this morning.

I asked and I received!

I didn’t realize what great informants you blog readers were! I was sent descriptions and pictures of the devastation on the Larry and Sandy Place farm in Perry. It doesn’t look good. So today, I hope to find out more details on where the cows are being milked because it sure doesn’t look like they could be milked in what’s left of the barn. If any of you know that much…please let me know.

Yesterday I was in a dairy supply place, J&M Dairy visiting with Jan and Marv Sober…yes, they both hail from my home town of Fowlerville and Jan was a Copeland, just in case anyone was wondering.

Anyway, we were discussing the BST issue and what the dairymen are saying down on the farm. As we visited Marv stated that he had heard there was a test being developed at Cornell to detect rbst in the milk. I disputed that fact and swiftly came home to check it out with the rBST guru, Terry Etherton of Penn State. After reading some research I found out that there is NO test that will detect rbst in milk from cows given rbst. Cornell is not working on it at all. A professor from Cornell wrote a letter stating that a professor had been working on it for a few years and applied for a patent in 1997 for the test, but it was not rigorous enough for FDA standards and therefore was not valid. He tested six samples of milk. One sample from conventional milk and five samples from cows who were given rbst. He came up with nothing conclusive. Just thought you might want to know this…I think my column will be on this very subject today.

As I came across the road after milking this morning the moon was on the western horizon and it was big, bright, full and beautiful! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and every star was shining brightly. Boy it was fun to see such a sight.

So, as you can imagine, it’s clear and cool here on the Knolltop and a hat was necessary this morning for chores.

Better get to breakfast and I think I’ll perk the coffee this morning.

It’s overcast and 45 here on the Knolltop. Turtlenecks and sweatshirts are the appropriate clothing for milking on these cool mornings. I haven’t had to break out the red union suit yet….but I hear that weather may be coming soon.

It’s been scrapmania around here lately. The other night I was reading and heard some banging around outside. At 9:30 at night I looked out and saw JW out there loading up his truck with scrap metal by the light of his headlights. The next morning he was headed to town with a load of scrap before school. Just in time for breakfast he walked in the door with cash in his hand and a smile on his face.

The combination of elevated scrap prices and a teenage boy who needs gas money for his new truck that he also wants to get repainted makes for a really clean farm.

The list of things to do today includes a trip to the glass place to replace a storm window…just in time for cooler weather. I heard a Jersey farm up near Perry was devasted by the tornado that went through mid-Michigan last week, so I need to check on that today too. Does anyone know anything about that? If you do, let me know. I got an email yesterday describing the damage, but I haven’t heard that first hand, so I don’t want to perpetuate possible rumors. So if you’ve heard anything let me know!

It’s overcast and 45 here on the Knolltop. Turtlenecks and sweatshirts are the appropriate clothing for milking on these cool mornings. I haven’t had to break out the red union suit yet….but I hear that weather may be coming soon.

It’s been scrapmania around here lately. The other night I was reading and heard some banging around outside. At 9:30 at night I looked out and saw JW out there loading up his truck with scrap metal by the light of his headlights. The next morning he was headed to town with a load of scrap before school. Just in time for breakfast he walked in the door with cash in his hand and a smile on his face.

The combination of elevated scrap prices and a teenage boy who needs gas money for his new truck that he also wants to get repainted makes for a really clean farm.

The list of things to do today includes a trip to the glass place to replace a storm window…just in time for cooler weather. I heard a Jersey farm up near Perry was devasted by the tornado that went through mid-Michigan last week, so I need to check on that today too. Does anyone know anything about that? If you do, let me know. I got an email yesterday describing the damage, but I haven’t heard that first hand, so I don’t want to perpetuate possible rumors. So if you’ve heard anything let me know!

Yes, I’m late this morning…it was a two hour delay for the kids this morning….so my attention was on them instead of this blog.

I just got done cleaning up from a breakfast of pancakes with walnuts and bacon with homemade syrup. They love it when I cook a big breakfast on a school day. It just seems to put everyone in a good mood.

We had a miracle this morning on the Knolltop. Last evening Jake and I came in from the barn and Bobby was still out there feeding TMR. The other three were at the school for a volleyball game. Bobby called and asked us to come out and help with Jackie…she had split out and couldn’t get up.

We headed out to help with Jackie who also happened to be one of Jake’s favorite cows. She is a nine year old cow who is on her seventh calf. She is the only cow in our herd that had 165 pounds on a test day…yes, that’s not a typo…I couldn’t believe it myself but I milked her and we all just stood there while she cranked out every drop. Her next three tests were 140, 138, 120…so it wasn’t a fluke that she had that much milk in one day…she is just a good milk cow.

So seeing her on the cement not able to get up was not a happy moment. In the cold rain we worked and worked and finally got her on some dirt just inside the barn just a few feet from a boxstall that Jake and I had prepared for her. She was drained so we just left her there on the dirt with some hay and water and figured we’d get her into the stall this morning after she had a good nite’s rest. All three of us came in soaked clear through and really enjoyed a hot shower.

We didn’t know what to expect this morning when we went to the barn…and much to my surprise she was in the isle way right in front of the boxstall…almost like she knew where to go but couldn’t get there. I figured after chores we’d get the hip lifts back out and just scooch her into the stall onto a thick pack of soft, dry shavings. When we got all done milking, I went out to clean the heifer pens and guess who was laying in the boxstall? Yes, Jackie was all the way in the stall and resting comfortably, chewing her cud. Wow…that was a miracle if you ask me! Now, she had the option of going a different way that led back into the stall barn, but she choose to head for the boxstall…she’s smarter than the average bear!

And by the way…..the fence stretcher that was lost yesterday? I asked God where it was…and He led me straight to it…just in time for the boys to help Bobby with some fence repairs!

Laundry and a dozen other things are calling!

Yes, I’m late this morning…it was a two hour delay for the kids this morning….so my attention was on them instead of this blog.

I just got done cleaning up from a breakfast of pancakes with walnuts and bacon with homemade syrup. They love it when I cook a big breakfast on a school day. It just seems to put everyone in a good mood.

We had a miracle this morning on the Knolltop. Last evening Jake and I came in from the barn and Bobby was still out there feeding TMR. The other three were at the school for a volleyball game. Bobby called and asked us to come out and help with Jackie…she had split out and couldn’t get up.

We headed out to help with Jackie who also happened to be one of Jake’s favorite cows. She is a nine year old cow who is on her seventh calf. She is the only cow in our herd that had 165 pounds on a test day…yes, that’s not a typo…I couldn’t believe it myself but I milked her and we all just stood there while she cranked out every drop. Her next three tests were 140, 138, 120…so it wasn’t a fluke that she had that much milk in one day…she is just a good milk cow.

So seeing her on the cement not able to get up was not a happy moment. In the cold rain we worked and worked and finally got her on some dirt just inside the barn just a few feet from a boxstall that Jake and I had prepared for her. She was drained so we just left her there on the dirt with some hay and water and figured we’d get her into the stall this morning after she had a good nite’s rest. All three of us came in soaked clear through and really enjoyed a hot shower.

We didn’t know what to expect this morning when we went to the barn…and much to my surprise she was in the isle way right in front of the boxstall…almost like she knew where to go but couldn’t get there. I figured after chores we’d get the hip lifts back out and just scooch her into the stall onto a thick pack of soft, dry shavings. When we got all done milking, I went out to clean the heifer pens and guess who was laying in the boxstall? Yes, Jackie was all the way in the stall and resting comfortably, chewing her cud. Wow…that was a miracle if you ask me! Now, she had the option of going a different way that led back into the stall barn, but she choose to head for the boxstall…she’s smarter than the average bear!

And by the way…..the fence stretcher that was lost yesterday? I asked God where it was…and He led me straight to it…just in time for the boys to help Bobby with some fence repairs!

Laundry and a dozen other things are calling!

I was in from the barn early this morning to take Luke to the doctor for a sports physical. I should’ve gotton this done last summer, but I forgot and just didn’t get to it. So last Friday I was scrambling around to find a doctor who would give him a physical before tomorrow because tomorrow is the start of basketball season for him. So…I got it done and we’re good for another year.

Sarah is still at a friends, she spent the night with Sidney and Brad spent the night here. Right now they are chowing down on my favorite food….donuts! Yes, I was hungry when I stopped at the store after the appointment.

Well, I’d better get on the day…we’ve got conferences today…thus the kids have the day off from school…which also means they get to go clean their own heifer pens this morning instead of me! I’ve got to go hunt down the fence stretcher…they couldn’t find it on Saturday when they were working on fence and it seems I’m still the only one who can find elusive objects. Actually, I have God on my side…I just ask Him where something is and He leads me right to it…so we’ll see where He leads this morning!