Everyone needs water in summer heat

The weather this spring and summer has been surprising us with rain, heat, high humidity and storms. When fog is hanging over the alfalfa field, I can usually see it will be a high-humidity day. Some mornings the moisture will burn off sooner than later. This humidity is making it challenging for the calves. Though the nights are cool, thick air hangs in the morning and throughout the day. 

Watching the heifers breathe as they are resting in their pens and listening for coughs is part of my daily routine. I have used more treatment than I have in the past, and I am hopeful I have caught it before it is a condition they will suffer with throughout their lives. After a few treatments, I will often put them on the watch list, as they might not make it to the loafing and breeding pens. It is really hard to cull a heifer calf, especially when they are from really good cows. 

The cows that have had bouts of pneumonia are ones we observe carefully in these high heat and humidity days too. Even though we have foggers and soakers in our barn, the past girls that have struggled with pneumonia are the ones that are not up by the soakers or in an area where the foggers are cooling them. They tend to be more timid and less aggressive around the other cows that are not showing any symptoms of hard breathing. These cows are stressed out and need to be fetched. They are not feeling good and when the information on their milk temperature is high, they are hot down to their core and need to be cooled off.  Separating them into a pen with fewer cows and making it easier to get the effects of the fogging and soaker systems along with some medication will bring them around. 

I have had a few summer fun programs with children who spend their days at camp throughout the summer. By the end of July and early August, all of the kids are prepared for their adventure and have their water bottles and walking shoes on. They all seem to do very well, as long as they don’t leave their water bottle behind at the last destination on the farm. The counselors are pretty good at reminding them and also refusing to carry the bottles for them. We make regular stops to refill bottles and take breaks in the cool shed. These programs are giving these kids the best opportunities to see Wisconsin, get their swimming lessons in, and work on cooperation skills and managing their behaviors. The counselors on the other hand are figuring out if it is really teaching that they would like to choose as their profession.  There are many amazing young staff working with these children, but also others that by August are questioning if working with challenging kids is the route they want for their future.

Senior activity groups have all canceled their day at the farm on days with high heat indexes. The groups that came in July drove around in their vans throughout the farm and the barns. Air conditioning is mandatory, and they all enjoy seeing the farm in cool comfort. They missed petting the calves, but loved to see them jump around as the van pulled up. Watching the robots milk the cows invites so many questions. Most often these are from old farmers who are so happy to see cows up close again. They are also happy there is an easier way to milk cows than when they were dairy farming.

Family groups are still rolling in and most from the South think this weather is wonderful. They have heat and humidity that is far worse than what we have. Maybe that is why they don’t have many dairy farms where they live anymore. One farmer from Georgia said she grew up a dairy farm kid, but it was “too hot and too hard to struggle trying to make ends meet with low milk prices, tight margins and very little help.” The trip to Wisconsin with her grandkids was to show them how she grew up. If they were still farming these kids would be doing chores, showing cattle and putting up hay and straw into the mow. She said they had “like 100 cats, six dogs, and a huge garden and they canned all their food.” I remember her grandkids’ eyes glazing over because they heard the story way too many times. Her grandkids were very interested in all the happenings and did say in the end they wished Grandma still had her farm. 

While I try to book families together so I can make the best use of my time, once in a while I overbook, and we have to really squeeze to all fit on the wagon. Either way, a full wagon or a wagon with just two family groups, these families with kids all seem to blend together. In this weather, all the parents are reminding the gang of kids to bring their water bottles with them, but often parents are carrying them. The kids become friends and the parents chat like they are old neighbors. It is the best feeling when I am finishing up the tour and the kids tell me that they loved milking Esta, and they wish they could have all of the animals on our farm.  

Daisy, our cat, always steals the show. She will follow us around and even allow the most inexperienced cat holders to pick her up. Smokey and Roy, our Bloodhounds, just stand for the kids to pet and wiggle the flappy loose skin on their face and neck. Every once in a while, a big gob of drool will ooze from their lips, and make some people giggle while others pull their hand away quickly. When the dogs get a drink from their pails their ears get wet and they will flip their head and splatter water around them. I just wait to see it happen. The kids all love it; parents, not so much. 

Sweet and Sour, our piglets, are no longer drinking from bottles. They get their pig feed plus the apples that have fallen from the trees. If the apple is within reach on the branch, then that is a snack for our visitors. If it is on the ground it is a treat for the pigs. I think I have heard in almost every group someone mentioning Apple Smoked Bacon is their favorite. The pigs have tube waterers with a nipple on it that needs to be filled every day. On the hottest days, I have the kids help put the hose in to fill it up again.  

All of the animals have access to fresh water. Our visitors are quick to notice empty calf pails. I put their kids to work filling them up with fresh water. If one child gets to fill up a pail of water, then all of the pails in the calf nursery will be filled up. Everyone wants to help, even on the hottest days.  

I think all of the visitors take something away from the farm experience, whether it is being a better consumer or purchasing more dairy, beef and pork. The kids get to see how fun it could be to live and work on a farm, or how horrible it would be to have to work every day in the heat. For the grandparents, the visit is showing what their stories are about. Cows and cats take on a new view for the children to understand. Even in the heat, it is a good day to visit a farm and learn about something new.  

Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchleys have been hosting farm tours for over 25 years.