dairy famers

[Rick105]

Ive posted this same question in the Oliver and Farmall section. Is there any dairy farmers that want to share what state you are out of and how many cow s you have and what tractors you have. A little bit about me, im a dairy farmer out of Pennsylvania. We are currently milk around 26 cows. We had a bad flood go through last year and it took our crops. We kept our show cows and now buying here and there. Im from Susquehanna County. My last name is Klim, and my grandpa is Rich Klim.

 

[Fordfarmer]

Rick- my name is Mark, and I'm the 5th generation on our 106 year-old family dairy farm in northern Wisconsin. (Maybe not that old for some places, but here, that goes back to when the farm was virgin timber!) I presently own 48 cows plus young stock, but plan on having the barn full (52 + young stock) in a couple months. My Grandpa switched from horses to Farmalls, then started switching to Fords. When he retired, he had a '53 Jubilee, '53 Super H, '75 7000, and '80 4600. Right now, I have his 3 Fords, plus 5 others (but 2 or maybe 3 are for sale... just too many) Besides the Jubilee, 7000, and 4600, I've added a '55 850, '67 3000, '69 5000 row crop, '77 7600, and '89 TW 35 II w/ FWA.

 

[DennyF]

Descended from dairy farmers, but only worked on them when I was a kid, plus helping assorted relatives build fence, make hay, etc over the years since. Have kinfolks a few counties west of you, who still molest holsteins though.

One cousin has two farms with a dairy on each place, probably milking a total of 150 cows. He was an all Case/IH operation until last year when he bought a big, ugly JD 4x4. Another feller that's married to a cousin, had about a 60 cow dairy, last I knew, but they also raises pigs and beef. He's got one of just about everything, tractor wise.

When I was a kid and spent summers on the farm, one uncle farmed a 30 cow operation with a 9N and an Oliver crawler. Another uncle had all Farmalls and seldom milked fewer than 40 cows. Back in the 40s, 50s and 60s, both of those farms got by on 30 to 40 cow dairies and managed to raise families. Different world these days.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My name is Rich, milk about 40 cows, mixed herd mostly Jerseys in Chenango county New York. Own one farm and rent another for young stock, about 150 acres of hay. I'm 45 years old. I have a hill farm so last years flood really didn't hurt me but the guys in the valleys got hit hard.
My first tractor was a Ford 5000 which I still have, was my only tractor for 3 years. Making up for it though.Have added a 7700 Ford and quite a few JD. 2550 & 2755 4wds with loaders (one for each barn), 620, 2840,3020, 3-4020s, and a 5020 (my puller tractor) I like to have a tractor for each implement and leave it hooked up, I work alone so it saves a lot of time.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Milking 68 holsteins right now with 15 dry cows and 22 heifers to calve. Try to keep 60 to 70 milking. Location is west central Kentucky. Tractors, Ford 600 and 7700, JD 2030 and 6400. Just finished chopping corn.

 

[john in la]

While my family has been out of the dairy business for many years; I can tell you about dairies in my area.
My grandfather milked about 15 cows or so; but he also bottled it and delivered it out of a horse drawn cart.
During my fathers time most dairies in the area were milking about 100 cows a day. With dry cows that put the herd at about 120 cows plus young stock on 100 acres.
Today if you are not milking 250 to 300 cows a day you are just trying to hang on long enough to make retirement age.
I can not even imagine how a 25 to 40 cow dairy survives now a days. Just shows how different it is across the country.

The reason we milk so many cows down here is because we are like the family version of the modern mega dairy. We do not grow any of our own crops. All corn and soybean meal is bought. Some bale grass hay if they have enough land; but all alfalfa hay is bought because it will not grow here. We concentrate on one thing; and that is raising cows.
The only barns we have is to store hay or tractors and these are usually open sided. All the cows stay in the field 365 days a year and are brought to a milking parlor twice a day. These parlors are usually a double 4 herringbone. The milking parlor also has a extra room for the milk tank.

John Deere is the tractor of choice on the dairies and sugar cane fields around here. That is mostly because of dealer support.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Every job I can think of besides dairy farmers get days off.Because the cows have to be milked twice a day,everyday,you guys have to show up 7 days a week.Even soldiers serving in combat zones get stand downs and R&R's occasionally.How do you fellows ever get any time off?I knew a family in the dairy business that hired out to operate combines cutting soy beans at night, never once saw them not working some way or another,feeding,milking,planting and harvesting silage,cleaning barns and equipment.Hard job even for those tough enough to do it.