Since our mission call, it has been a challenging six weeks getting our business affairs in order.
We have been in the dairy business for 39 years, joining the farm when Clint's parents had been here for 24 years before that. Our potential partner/buyer eventually decided he would rather work for someone else than be self-employed. I can understand. Owning and running your own business is not for everyone! So we took back the full load of running the dairy, and decided to sell the cows and equipment, a drawn-out process that is finally coming to a near-close.
Two weeks ago, more than half the herd was loaded onto cattle trucks and delivered to a dairy in Hansen, Idaho. The rest were sold to various buyers. The word gets out in the farm community, and we got calls from all over. Some of the equipment has sold, as well. It is strange to see the pasture being grazed by black Angus cattle, whose owners are glad to have somewhere to put them.
A neighbor down the road who does custom hay is renting the ground, so Clint has been training the neighbor's hired men on the irrigation system, including one who speaks only Spanish. They are doing well. Our two hired men easily found other jobs.
The barn and fields have never been without their complement of black and white Holsteins, but Clint maintains he does not miss them--milking twice a day, feeding, calving, veterinary, fixing fences, and all that goes with caring for livestock. He has given notice to the Oregon Dairy Farmers that he will no longer serve on their Board of Directors. He is ready for something else in his life. I am not regretting closing vendor accounts and signing final checks. It is the end of an era.
In the meantime, we still have things we need to do before we can be gone awhile.
We have been in the dairy business for 39 years, joining the farm when Clint's parents had been here for 24 years before that. Our potential partner/buyer eventually decided he would rather work for someone else than be self-employed. I can understand. Owning and running your own business is not for everyone! So we took back the full load of running the dairy, and decided to sell the cows and equipment, a drawn-out process that is finally coming to a near-close.
Farm fields and the Malheur Butte
Two weeks ago, more than half the herd was loaded onto cattle trucks and delivered to a dairy in Hansen, Idaho. The rest were sold to various buyers. The word gets out in the farm community, and we got calls from all over. Some of the equipment has sold, as well. It is strange to see the pasture being grazed by black Angus cattle, whose owners are glad to have somewhere to put them.
Robin perched on a wheelline sprinkler head
A neighbor down the road who does custom hay is renting the ground, so Clint has been training the neighbor's hired men on the irrigation system, including one who speaks only Spanish. They are doing well. Our two hired men easily found other jobs.
Goodbye, Holsteins!
In the meantime, we still have things we need to do before we can be gone awhile.
So weird that the cows are gone! But so glad the land is in use.
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