Farm Baby

Farm

WINTER CAPLANSON PHOTO

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Farm Baby

BY MEGAN JOHNSON

Mackenzie

(or Mack, to those who know and love her)

was born on a Friday and joined her mother in the barn to milk the cows for the first time on Sunday.

It was early fall and the air was still warm; the barn was filled with soft, dry hay and about a dozen milk cows. Laying a newborn down to rest in a barn might sound crazy in today’s society, but for this little baby and her mother it was a natural part of running a dairy farm and being a farmer’s daughter.

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ose

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As her mother

milked the cows, baby Mack was soothed by the gentle rhythmic pulsation of the milking machine and the hum of the vacuum pump.

In the afternoon the sun would shine through the old windows and warm the barn, even as temperatures dropped outside. Cloaking baby Mack in animal

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skins and wool as she lay in her bassinet was one way to keep her warm and comfortable. That particular winter the temperature dropped below zero more than once, but Mack’s parents worked hard to ensure she was never cold.

Within a few months, baby Mack was able to ride on her mother’s back with a special baby wrap. This was a game changer for a new farm mama! Mack enjoyed being close enough to watch everything that went on. Feeding and milking the cows, bottling

milk, running the tractor, spreading manure or breeding cows - there wasn’t much that Mack’s mom couldn’t do with a little one on her back. Mack could often be found napping, blissfully unaware of the progress her mom was making.

When Mack began to crawl around the barn, her folks needed to reevaluate how to keep her safe. Precautions needed to be taken to ensure the baby never got under the cows’ hooves.

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“Feeding and milking the cows, bottling milk, running the tractor, spreading manure or breeding cows - there wasn’t much that Mack’s mom couldn’t do with a little one on her back.”

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“What her folks lacked in skill and e

they mad for their ba each other

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xperience with children,

e up in love: by girl, and the lifestyle of farming.”

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The most obvious answer? Put her in a calf stall, retrofitted next to the parlor, and filled with soft bedding and toys.

Mack would use the old oak boards to pull herself up and watched as the cows walked in and out after milking. One cow in particular seemed to have a special connection with the little human. Her name is Fuzzy, and she’s since been retired to a life of ease, but at the time she was a milk cow in the herd and would always stop on her way out of the barn to put her giant head in the baby stall and check on the little one. Sometimes Mack would reach up and touch her nose with a coo and a giggle. Fuzzy’s milk was high in fat and Mack would point and ask for it during milking. Her mom would fill a baby bottle, with warm frothy raw milk and hand it to Mack to enjoy.

At about 6 months old, it was decided to get a baby goat to raise alongside the farm baby. Mack’s parents knew she would want to mimic them and work with the cattle as she grew up, but thought it would be safer for her to learn with a goat.

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This little goat was

named Patty Cake and those two became instant friends as they played together in the baby’s stall during milking.

Months went by and before you knew it, baby Mack was taking her first steps in the clover field outside the barn. With mobility achieved, she quickly learned that one of the best places to be on a farm was IN the feed bunk! As the cows came in for milking, they would find their spot in the flat parlor and lick the baby’s feet in between mouthfuls of luscious dried grass.

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“Mack’s now at the age where she can help tools to her father in the shop, feeding calves

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a lot on the farm: fetching supplies, passing with her grandfather, carrying milk crates

and much more.”

It was pretty common for Mack to be barefoot during the warmer months on the farm. The earth beneath her feet didn’t seem to bother her any and she developed tough soles, I reckon, because she could run across a gravel road like nothing!

Risks on the farm are real, so teaching Mack to respect moving things like pulleys, belts, motors and equipment was important from the very beginning. Her parents needed to learn some new habits as well, such as locating Mack before gates were opened, hydraulics were lowered, hay thrown out of the loft and so much more.

Admittedly, her folks didn’t know much about babies; however, they did know about keeping young livestock healthy, and implemented those principles in rearing young Mackenzie Rose. What they lacked in skill and experience with children, they made up in love: for their baby girl, each other and the lifestyle of farming.

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Mack, now two and a half years old, has grown up dirty and healthy.

She’s now at the age where she can help a lot on the farm: fetching supplies, passing tools to her father in the shop, feeding calves with her grandfather, carrying milk crates and much more.

Several days per week, Mack loads the truck with her mother and delivers fresh milk to stores in eastern Connecticut. Bringing the milk to the stores is just one more opportunity to teach Mack about mathematics, business, and gratitude.

When the weather is bad Mack can be found in the farm stand, meeting customers and playing with her toys under the loving and watchful eye of her great aunt.

Every day she experiences the joy of life on a working dairy farm. The ups the downs are all life lessons for Mackenzie Rose, the most important of which is that with effort and determination, anything is possible!

MEGAN JOHNSON runs Buttercup Farm, a retail and wholesale raw milk dairy. She is 37 years old, from Long Island, and before college had never touched a cow. She’s now been milking for over a decade and is hooked on bovines and excited for what the future brings! She documents life on the farm with her Apple iphone 8 Plus.

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