BarbWire, Behold, My Friends; The Spring is Come, by Barb Lumley

By Barb Lumley

Behold, my friends; the spring is come

“Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love.” Those words were spoken by Sitting Bull. As I sit at the computer working on this column, the sun is shining brightly and lifting spirits everywhere. We are in the middle of March and spring is on the way. Our minds are filled with thoughts of cultimulching, spring planting, ordering garden seeds, daffodils, crocus, celebrating Easter, coloring eggs and March baby calves. April will bring warm weather and rain as well as the Ohio Holstein Spring Sale and Ohio Spring Dairy Expo. Not everyone is involved in showing dairy cattle and there are those who consider it a foolish idea, however there are those who enjoy exhibiting at breed shows and county fairs. They have been working with and keeping an eye on certain cows and heifers for months. Being in the show ring with an outstanding member of their herd, getting together with old friends and making new friends, brings them satisfaction and joy. I enjoyed showing my Holsteins so much, gained so many friends and a lot of knowledge. The thoughts of having dairy shows and activities brings with it a sense of hope that perhaps our lives can start returning to normal.

The past year has been a very difficult one for everyone in this country. Yet every dairy farmer has climbed out of bed early every morning to milk the cows, care for their herd and face whatever the day would bring. Every dairy person knows that each day when he or she heads for the barn there will be decisions to make and challenges to face. That just goes along with being a farmer. Unfortunately this past year has added extra stress to the happenings and pressures of the normal day.

We need shows, fairs, tractor pulls, meetings, conventions, backyard barbeques and all the other things that allow us to enjoy our lives. Our young people need 4-H and F.F.A., dairy and breed activities and more. They need the joy of being involved in county fairs and dairy shows. Just having the opportunity to get together and visit, talk and laugh is vitally important to all of us regardless of our age!

The strength, courage, work ethic and faith of our farmers as they go about their chores every day is to be admired. When faced with challenges farm families meet them head on and find a way to handle them. Congratulations to all of you! You have made it through over a year of the difficulties brought on by the Covid-19 virus. Now it’s on to spring and the rest of this year’s Holstein and farm related activities! Where there is a will, there will be a way!

I am looking forward to the various activities that will allow me to see and visit with my many friends. I am anxiously anticipating seeing not only those beautiful Holstein cows and heifers at our Holstein shows but also the other breeds that I get to see and talk about at county fairs. I enjoy outstanding cows and heifers no matter the breed. Better days are on the way. Keep the faith and think spring!

“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created spring”. ~ Bernard Williams

DHI Records Services that fit your schedule and meet your needs

• Service for herds of all sizes and milking styles, including automatic milking systems • Test day records sent to your choice of official processing centers • Support for PCDART, DairyComp 305, and other herd management software • Local Dairy Records Service Specialists and laboratory – results within a week of test day

For more information contact:

Randy Koontz

randy.koontz@dairyone.com 330-590-0487

Stephanie Schwab

stephanie.schwab@dairyone.com 330-691-6175