Week 4- A Little Bit of Everything

Wow I've seen and learned a lot this week! Not only have I had the most active part yet in a Milking System Performance Assurance Program (MSPAP) analysis but also toured a dairy plant and seen butter, non-fat dried milk, and condensed milk being made, visited several Amish farms in Indiana, and also been told next week I'll be starting my survey I've been getting ready for!

The MSPAP analysis I helped with at the beginning of the week was a very positive experience. It was the first time I got to operate a lot of the measuring equipment on my own and was able to analyze the numbers and determine the equipment was operating as it should. I also talked to the producer who was helping with the morning milking and learned that she had not grown up on a farm and just recently got into the dairy industry. And here I thought all of the farmers grew up on farms and had been doing it their whole life! Guess there's still hope for me wanting to be a large animal vet having not grown up on a farm (:

I had the opportunity to travel to Constantine, MI and take a complete tour of the processing plant there. At this plant they produce all the butter for the McDonald's around the country. They also produce condensed milk and non-fat dry milk. It was interesting to learn about all the safety and biosecurity protocols that are in effect and witness the massive amount of production that occurs there daily.

In the middle of the week I traveled down to several Amish farms in Indiana. My initial nervousness soon disappeared as I talked to the producers and they showed me their unique milking set-ups and introduced me to their many draft horses, and even was given a ride in a cart by a young girl pulled by the family's 3 feet tall miniature horse, Ginger! I learned a lot about the work ethic of this culture and also about the struggles they have to maintain clean equipment in a setting that doesn't have many of the leisures of vacuum lines and automated equipment cleaning.

By the end of this week I am feeling even more confident about setting out to meet with producers and administer the survey I have been preparing for so far this summer. I am looking forward to meeting even more new producers and seeing their facilities and listening to their opinions.