Our 4H club visited Wright Dairy Farm in Reidsville today. It's been in business since the 40's and is family owned and run. Quite an impressive and interesting operation, yet it had an air of simplicity about it. We arrived in time for the afternoon milking, which is done by machines. We stood in the milking room, below the cows, for they are at chest level so the one doesn't have to bend over to milk them. The cows look huge standing above you and the smell ...Mr. Wright let us all have a turn at hand milking and it is hard work. The cows, all 300 of them, have to be milked twice a day. Thank goodness for machines.
After that we went into the barn where the calves were waiting to be bottle fed. They were all eager and searching, just like an infant waiting to be nursed by her mother. The girls petted the calves as they continuously licked their hands. The barn smelled of hay, dirt and manure. Young kittens watched us, hoping for a spill. Another barn held the older calves who were being weaned, one area had four pregnant cows waiting to give birth. Always work to be done. It gave me a new appreciation for the farmer. There used to be 60 dairy farms in Rockingahm County, now there are four. It is a hard business, but one that our nation could not live without. A big thank you to the local farmer who works from sunrise to sunset. I am sure it's been a long while, if ever, that the Wright family has had a vacation.
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| Cute little fellar waiting to be fed. |
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| These mama cows are waiting to be milked. |
