Life at the Dairy Farm
Biggest Smile in Greene County
I spent a couple more hours at the dairy farm this morning. I was invited to go out to feed the cows, which meant I rode in a truck through every field in the farm. I got up close and personal to my favorite barn in Greene County, I walked among the cows who, once they learned I had no food, completely ignored me. I saw where the milk is stored until the trucks pick it up every other day. I saw where the sperm is stored for inseminating the cows. I watched as three brothers moved a cow who was “down” to a shady spot in the front yard where she would be cool. What an interesting day. Dairy farming involves not only cows, but fields of corn, brewer’s yeast brought in from Williamsburg to be a supplement to the cows’ food, knowledge about animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, mechanical skills and using good old ingenuity in dealing with day-to-day issues.
A high point of the morning was when I climbed through a barbed-wire fence, walked through 4-foot high Johnson grass and dodged poison ivy to find the graves of Dr. May Burton and his wife Sarah Head Burton. Thanks to Steve, my guide for the day, for a terrific view of a fantastic farm.
Patricia Temples Photography 