On this cold windy morning the dairy farmer is out doing the milking and feeding of his cows and heifers while other people in agriculture are still snuggled up in bed or having a warm breakfast with a cup of hot coffee. The dairy farmer will get his when he finishes his chores which maybe 10 or 11 o'clock if everything goes as it should and he has no problems.  He/She will do what ever it takes to see that the animals are fed and cared for before he/she goes in to warm his/her body from the frigid chill.

   On any given morning a number of problems can arise, the water fountain is not working, the silo unloader needs lowering or has a belt broken on it, the bobcat has been starting everyday till this morning, for some unusual reason a gate suddenly came off its hinges and allowed groups of cows to get mixed which now need to be separated, notice a calf with a snotty nose or a cow with a lame foot, the strong wind blew the conveyor belt off the belt feeder while feeding the TMR ration or the TMR mixer sheared a bolt just as you got all the silage, hay and grain mix in it.  It seems this cold morning the problems never stop but they must be attended to before chores are done.

   A farmer is a person who has to be a "jack of all trades" and a master of even more.  He/She has to be able to adapt to a situation in a split second and then revert back to what was happening before.

   So on this cold windy Sunday morning how about stopping for just a second when you are drinking your glass of milk, putting milk/cream in your coffee or milk on your cereal and THANK a dairy farmer who has yet to get into the house for his breakfast because he/she has made sure the cows have been cared for FIRST.