Back to Uni.....

Leaving......

Don't know when I'll be Back Again........

Well perhaps just a little melodramatic, but it's that time of the year and I am back of to Uni to hit the books, study up and try to balance, sleep, study and a social life all at the same time. 

This time I am headed to UQ Gatton for a change of pace and degree.

 So that will mean more of this:

  

 And (Unfortunately) Less of This:

Image Source

 I will be endeavoring to get back in and write more regular blogs and get started again with the Photo Friday (I know I have been a bit slack with this of late....). But until then I thought I would leave you with these few little gems, Enjoy!

Common Scientific Report Phrases and Their Meanings:

Thanks to Ryan Goodman over at Agriculture Proud (Check it out here) for this absolute gem (above). Check out his blog for some terrific insights into the Agricultural Industry.

 

This image (above) was one I stumbled upon through my News Feed on Facebook. Not Sure how true it is but it gave me a bit of a chuckle.

So that's what the big long glove is used for....

It has long been the scourge of any child that told their parent they want to get into Animal Science, Veterinary Science that:
 "You know you'll have to put your hand up a cows backside".

 

 Pause for thought.....

Some will baulk, others will embrace that their chosen professional isn't always the cleanest.

Recently I had to preg test some cows at home and brought my camera along and thought I might do a bit of a post on some the stuff we do for the husbandry and well being of our cows.

So why do we do it?

Well the easiest and one of the most accurate ways to diagnose the pregnancy of a cow is through a process called rectal palpation.

To do this the gloved hand is inserted in to the rectum of the cow and to feel through the wall of the rectum for the various signs (of which there are many) that indicate the stage of pregnancy that the cow is at.


Safety & Welfare Aspects

Some may question this as to whether it places strain on the cow. The stress that the cow experiences is minimal and we take many precautions to avoid any stress or injury to the cow.

For instance:

• The long gloves we wear aren't just there to keep our arms clean, they do serve a purpose. They are worn as they are able to have a lubricant applied to them which enables a smoother and easier entry into the cow.
• The picture on the right shows the gear I use when I preg test, there are often some variations on this, but essentially they are all very similar.: 
• The Clear Bottle: Obstetric Lubricant- This aids in entry and contains a stericide for keeping the process as clean as possible.
• Shoulder Protector: Keeps my glove up and maintains another barrier.
• Latex Gloves: Always keep one on my non palpating hand and use one over my obstetric glove - ensures that I can easily feel and can change gloves regularly and easily.
• Obstetric Gloves: Available in a whole range of colours, basically I have a box that fit my hand the best and are easy to palpate with. These are regularly changed.
•  When I only have a few cows to preg test I will change gloves after each cow.
• When I am checking cows, I make sure to do it at a time during the day that good temperature wise for the cattle, ie- In the morning or afternoon when the temperatures are cooler.

Management
Further to the why we do it section: Preg Testing cows has a lot of management implications. For instance it enable producers to better plan ahead for the purposes of having adequate feed reserves and it also enables producers to manage their herds efficiently ensuring all their cattle are productive animals.

Australia Day 2012

Every year on the 26th of January all around Australia we celebrate Australia Day.
This year being no different saw me head into town for the anual Australia Day Awards Ceremony, recognising those in our community who have made an outstanding contribution through their service and dedication. This year was also a first for me too, I got to be present to see the swearing in of two groups of brand new Australian Citizens.
Following the formalities of the day we got down to the serious business of Lammington and Meat Pie Eating Contests, Whip Cracking Competitions, Pavlova Making Competitions and of course it wouldn't be Australia day without our (least) favourite import: The Cane Toad Races.

I will hopefully have some photos to come but for now, why don't you test yourselves on Aussie Pop Culture and Trivia with the "Official" Australian Citizenship test:

Leave your answers in the comments below and we'll see ho you've gone, Enjoy!




1.  What is a "bloody little beauty"?

2. Are these terms related: chuck a sickie; chuck a spaz; chuck a U-ey?

3. Explain the following passage: 'In the arvo last Chrissy the relos rocked up for a barbie, some bevvies    and a few snags. After a bit of a Bex and a lie down we opened the pressies, scoffed all the chockies, bickies and lollies. Then we drained a few tinnies and Mum did her block after Dad and Steve had a barney and a bit of biffo.'

4.Complete the following sentences:
   a) 'If the van's rockin' don't bother ?
   b) You're going home in the back of a ?
   c) Fair crack of the ?


5. Is there someone you are only mates with because they own a trailer or have a pool?



6. What are the ingredients in a rissole?

7. Demonstrate (or Describe) the correct procedure for eating a Tim Tam.


8. In any two-hour period have you ever eaten three-bean salad, a chop and two serves of pav washed down with someone else's beer that has been flogged from a bath full of ice?

9. When you go to a bring- your-own-meat barbie can you eat other people's meat or are you only allowed to eat your own?

10. What purple root vegetable beginning with the letter 'b' is required by law to be included in a hamburger  with the lot?

11. Define the following: Victa, thongs, Esky & Ugg boots?


12. Who is the most Australian: John 'The Voice' Farnham, John 'True Blue' Williamson, Kylie Minogue or Warnie?

What is a Poddy Calf?

I've had a few bemused looks and queries lately when I've used the phrase "Poddy Calf", so I think today is as good a day to set the record straight as we have just got a new baby poddy.

A Poddy Calf is an orphan calf (though this phrase can be used to describe a generic calf). In instances where a calf loses its mother it is commonly reared by hand or with another foster cow. Calf's reared by hand are often fed a formulated milk replacer, that contains all the essential minerals and nutrients required by growing calves.
In the case below and any other cases it is vitally important to the health and development of a calf that it receives the colostrum (first lactation from a cow that has just calved) as this contains a lot of natural antibiotic compounds required by the calf for immunity defenses. Colostrum can be frozen and kept for a period of time so you it can be used for other calves if they haven't been able to get fresh colostrum.

Meet Marcus:

Marcus is a one week old Braford. Sadly we lost Marcus's mother, but we were able to save him. He weighed an incredible 50kg at birth and is certainly a very big bull calf. 
This photo here was taken about three days after he was born. He is currently being bottle fed up to four times a day depending on how much he drinks and how hungry he is.
We are planning to introduce Marcus to one of our foster cows as he is getting a bit too big to stay in the backyard of the homestead.

 Here you can see him sleeping in Mum's garden (another reason why he is getting too big for the Homestead yard.).
He is a real character of a calf full of personality and energy, he will happily chase you across the yard to get to his milk

This Australia Day.....

Why don't you eat (dare I say it, as a beef producer I'm liable to shot for this) Lamb?

Each year there is a push by the peak marketing lobby group for Australian Lamb to encourage not just Australians but all the world to come celebrate Australia Day and throw a lamb chop on the Barbie.


To accomplish this each year they feature a marketing campaign with the larger than life Sam Kekovich fronting their advertising blitz and this year is no different.


Australian Lamb have renewed their advertising campaigns once again with the hilariously wonderful and outrageous Sam Kekovich (Check him out at his Facebook Page: HERE). Following on from the success of last years address tot the United Nations here is this years "offering":

 Barbie Girl

Featuring the wonderful talents of Melissa Tkautz and Justice Crew

Enjoy this years hilarious parody of the famous song here:

(To my international readers you may have to wait as it does currently have region blocking, but soon it should be unlocked)

Australian Year of the Farmer

2012 Marks the Beginning to Australian Year of the farmer, so what not get on board and show your support either as a Rural producers or as someone who doesn't necesarily know that much about how their food and fibre are produced.

Check out there website here: http://www.yearofthefarmer.com.au/

Just so nobody misses the big moment, here is a subtle remeinder:

Christmas Lights

As I mentioned in an earlier post every Christmas finds itself enabling me to do more and more things to light up the night (and do untold damage to my parents power bill).
This year we upped the ante with our Christmas lights. So we decided to do words with rope lights. So after a couple of hours, three bags of zip ties and a large amount of fencing wire (much to my fathers delight) this is what we came up with:

Peace: 20m long

Joy: 10m long

To go with our words display this year we also had our traditional house display and also one of our pencil pines in the front paddock.