Tuesday, January 5, 2010

It's freaking cold, man!

It is not supposed to be this cold in northwest Alabama!

Tonight will be our second straight dip down into the mid 'teens, and after tomorrow's "warm-up" (high of 40, low of 25) the temperatures fill fall even more on Thursday. Once those temps drop below freezing Thursday afternoon they won't break the 32 degree mark until Sunday afternoon, and we're expected to see single-digit lows at least twice during that streak.

Now, I realize that this weather would be a welcomed relief to many of you up North who have much colder weather on a regular basis. You're used to it, and your farms were probably designed to handle prolonged cold weather. Our dairy farm, like most in the south, are designed to provide optimal cooling during the summer months. Unfortunately, what's good for the summer isn't too great for the winter.

So, we'll keep the ice busted off the tops of our water troughs and thaw out our milking equipment twice a day until a more typical winter returns next week. And if you're wondering about how our cows are doing in this weather, they're happy as long as it's dry and they have plenty of feed and water. You can learn more by watching our latest MooTube Minute below.

7 comments:

threecollie said...

Congrats on being named Y F&R chair!

Anonymous said...

Who are you selling your milk to?

Renae said...

We've had -10 so far up here on our dairy in Ohio. We have been known in the bottom that we live to reach -50, but that only happens every so many years! On average, -25 at least a couple of nights a year.
Keep warm! Busting the ice is not the best job in the winter!

Will Gilmer said...

threecollie, thanks alot!

Taylor, we're members of Dairy Farmers of America and all our our milk is currently being marketed to the DairyFresh processing/bottling plant in Dothan, Alabama.

Renae, that's one reason I don't live in Ohio!

Anonymous said...

Ever thought about selling your milk directly to Dairy Fresh at a higher price taking out the cooperative

Will Gilmer said...

Taylor,
We review our options periodically but right now the cooperative is our best bet. It gives us some added "protection" in that we have a guaranteed market for our milk.

Randy said...

I love milk. Dont see many cows in Atlanta but we tweet like fools. Bringin in some viral love from far away places. Thanks for efforts and video.