A3o4jwe«ster Fanning, Saturday, December 6,1986
Water, Ice and Frozen Pipes
When the cows begin bawling at
the frozen trough or stand licking a
dry water bowl, winter hits us
between the eyes. Winter always
brings special problems, governed
by the physical laws of solidity and
liquidity.
Ice on the water trough was not
hard to cope with in days of yore.
Break it up and sling it aside to
expose plenty of unfrozen drink for
the cows. We even heated a boiler
of hot water on the kitchen stove to
warm it up. Cows showed then
appreciation by slurping the
trough dry and looking for more.
Whether they gave more milk
because of it is open to question. At
least our ego was satisfied by the
extra exertion, knowing that hard
work might produce a feeling of
puritanical virtue if nothing else.
Thawing out frozen pipes and cups
came much, much later, and is a
whole ‘nother story’ which is all too
familiar to all dairy families.
‘Twas a job for the kids, that one
of going around after dark to
empty all the water fountains,
drain the radiators, and hook up
the heat tapes. The only reminder
was a sharp “now don’t forget
...”, and it was up to you to
remember every last crock to be
emptied, every tin water fountain
to be inverted, which tractor didn’t
have antifreeze, and where to hook
up a heat tape. The water trough
had to be emptied, if the cattle
hadn’t already drunk it dry before
the evening milking. Otherwise,
they would be confronted with a
solid cake of ice come morning.
The water line to the barn never
froze, even though it was not
buried below the frost line. The
source was a spring located in the
woods above the house. As long as
no valve was turned off, water
flowed freely, supplying both
house and barn by the free energy
of gravity. After reaching its
terminus at the milk house, it
simply flowed into the shallow
pond below the wagon shed, and
there it froze.
Even in those long ago days, we
had a frost-proof hydrant in the
hog pen. Activated by a long tap,
the valve was well protected under
the feed entry floor. There was a
long wait after turning the handle,
while the water gurgled up through
the hydrant, finally spurting out
into the trough like a fountain.
It was always good for a quick
shower, at a time when a bath was
least appreciated.
The hydrant never froze, but the
feeding entry floor was a study in
icy abstract sculpture, pock
marked with grains of com and
oats, all winter.
I’ll never forget the fall that
cousin George brought his 1926
Overland out to the farm to fill the
radiator with ‘good spring water.’
“You see, spring water doesn’t
freeze, does it?” (Not in the spring
itself, anyway). So, it follows that
spring water should be the stuff to
use in the radiator come cold
weather.
Well, no amount of argument or
logic could change his mind on the
subject, so the family went to
supper while he blissfully filled up
the old Overland’s radiator with
spring water.
Later, when Papa met George at
the garage having the engine block
replaced, he was advised to fill-er
up the next time with some of
Uncle Jake’s hard cider. That
would have at least a little anti
freeze in it. Raspberry wine might
have more anti-freeze, but was too
good to waste on the Overland, so it
wasn't offered.
Ethanol for the radiators, heat
tapes for the exposed pipes, and
frost-proof fountains, all help to
keep the water liquid. Even a
dripping tap on a zero night could
save a heap of trouble.
A bam full of cattle can generate
a lot of heat, but we haven’t yet
learned how to cash in on it. We
blow it out the window trying to
keep the cows cooled down. What a
waste of heat! Let’s work on that,
while we try to get through the
winter without frozen pipes.
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Williams Tabbed AJCC-NAJ
Jersey Area Representative
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The hiring
of two new staff members, and the
reorganization of staff respon
sibilities have been announced by
Maurice E. Core, executive
secretary for The American
Jersey Cattle Club and National
All-Jersey, Inc.
J. Craig Williams, December
graduate of Pennsylvania State
University, will assume the duties
of AJCC-NAJ Northeast Area
Representative on Jan. 1.
Williams has an extensive
background in registered Jerseys,
having been raised on Bryncoed
Farm, a 140-cow Jersey dairy. He
is the son of Tom and Tiz Williams,
Middletown, Pa.
Williams majored in dairy
production at Penn State. While
there he was active in the Dairy
Science Club and president of
Delta Theta Sigma, a
professional/social agricultural
fraternity. He has also been vice
president of the Pennsylvania
Junior Jersey Cattle Club and
chairman of the fun breakfast for
juniors attending the 1985 AJCC
NAJ Annual Meetings in Lan
caster, Pa.
As a 4-H member, Williams was
president of the Dauphin County 4-
H Dairy Club and participated in
exchanges with 4-H members from
three other states.
Williams has experience as a
milk tester for Pennsylvania DHIA
and a research assistant for a
milkfat variation study conducted
at Penn State. He has also
developed a mastitis cost program
that is currently under review by
the Pennsylvania Computer Ex
tension Network.
Larry L. Wolfe, Cary, N.C., will
join the AJCC data processing
department in Columbus, Ohio on
Jan. 1. An August graduate of
Wake Technical College, he has an
associate degree in business
computer programming. While a
student, he was also a junior
computer programmer at the
Dairy Records Processing Center
in Raleigh, N.C.
Wolfe was herdsman at Bush
River Jerseys in Newberry, S.C.,
nor nearly five years before
completing his degree at Wake
The Savins Place
YPUT
CALLUS L sisih
If Could Be We Haw It
Craig Williams
Technical. He has also been herd
sman at Tri-D Acres in Illinois, and
Senn-Sational Jerseys and
Headspring Farm in South
Carolina. While a bull herdsman at
Illini Sire Service, Wolfe conducted
on-farm AI training schools.
Cari W. Wolfe, current AJCC
NAJ Southeast Area Represen
tative, will become Coordinator of
Domestic Sales with Jersey
Marketing Service on Jan. 1. In
this capacity, she will be
responsible for coordinating JMS
public and private treaty sales in
the United States. She has also
been named Genetic Improvement
Coordinator to work closely with
breeder cooperatives proving
Jersey young sires.
Wolfe joined the AJCC staff in
late 1981. She holds a B.S. degree
from Virginia Tech and an M.S. in
animal science from North
Carolina State University. In
addition to her duties as an AJCC
NAJ Area Representative, she has
been involved in research sum
marizing data fromthe AJCC type
appraisal program. She has been a
leader in the formation of the
Dixieland and Liberty Jersey sire
proving cooperatives.
Brenda Spence, who joined the
JMS staff m the fall of 1985, is
promoted to Associate Coordinator
of Domestic Sales. Larry R.
Kempton assumes responsibility
for JMS cattle sales to foreign
countries as Coordinator of Export
Sales and Market Development.
Authorized
UPS Station