We've been in the dairy business for exactly one year and what a year it has been! I will never forget the day our girls arrived from Illinois. They were milked in the morning and then trucked 4 hours to our farm. We monitored their trip progress by phone and were notified when they were just passing Iowa City. Todd, his parents and I had everthing ready. The sand was freshly placed in the stalls, the water troughs were ready and we filled the bunk with fresh hay. It was like getting ready for company! We watched and watched the gravel road leading to our house for the first signs of them. Finally we saw the dust flying and the two semi's turn the corner. I was taking pictures like crazy. I will never forget the feeling of excitement as they pulled into our driveway. Our very own herd had arrived and we were ready to love them and take care of them as if they were our new pets. I know that some people think that cows are just animals. But to us, they were (and are) our future.
As the drivers talked with my husband about the details of unloading, I walked around the trucks talking to the girls and telling them not to be afraid because they were finally "home".
The unloading part was a little scary as they ran down the ramp and a few would take a flying leap when they reached the bottom. I didn't want those pregnant Moms jumping around! They immediately went for the hay.
Around 4 PM, the people who had put in our parlor, helped us fire it up and bring the cows in to be milked. That was quite an ordeal the first time! We were nervous. They were nervous. But we finished up the milking without incident. My husband and I didn't want to leave the building that night. We were worried about what they were doing and if they were OK. We went to bed late that night and arose early to begin our new life as dairy farmers and we love it!
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