Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Katie bar the door...

I woke up this morning in a fairly decent mood. As good of one as can be mustered with whipping winds, overcast and stormy skies, rain forever pelting the window panes... and snow in the forecast. Grrrr On the up side the rest of the week is looking clear.

MAYBE the guys will be doing something on the basement! Wouldn't that be amazing?!?! (being sarcastic)

And then right in the middle of having a fit over Thain, Blagojevich, the lack of Obama's birth certificate I get THE call... The call that every dairy farmer I think dreads. It's your informant (it makes it sound so much more dramatic that way)... the federal survey will be at YOUR barn in 45 min. If you need to do something get it done NOW!
I don't care if your barn is perfect at all times (and if your barn is I don't know if I'm going to like you anymore... JK maybe) there is always going to being more you can do. Did you get that piece of corn sprayed down? Is the rope up (this is a joke... what we do to please the government)? Receiver tank clean? Probes? Water in the milk hoses? Protein build up in the milkers? Fat build-up in and all of the stainless steal pipe lines, milkers, vats (on the outside), bulk tank. And then you can't have calf bottles or nipples in there either. I've never understood that one, after all what do calf bottles have to do with the quality of milk?
Anyway you clean, clean, clean... spraying, scrubbing, washing, sweeping away imaginary dirt and doing anything and everything to make it look good, but not SO good that it looks like you have just been there cleaning to beat the band! You declutter as much as possible... then you go in and WAIT. After all when THEY come you you do NOT go out and chit chat. If you are out in the barn when they are there... go about your business or leave. After all this is not a normal inspection.

And I don't care if you have Dairy Barn Beautiful... THEY will find something wrong with your barn. They have to... it's their job. And I'm so glad they are here and have gone...

All the fight in me has left for the day... It's just not worth it right now.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What burdens our government puts on hard-working farming families. I'm praying you'll have a restful night, and God will awaken you restored and back to your feisty self. :)