farm visit

Today I went out on a trip to a farm, and boy was it fun. There were lots of cows and calves, we even got to pat them! I learned that when newborn calves are brought in, they need to use a sort of plastic container with fake teats on them to get the newborns to learn how to feed, and for the older calves there was a big mechanical version of the plastic feeder used on newborns that was attached to a big tractor. We also went into this milking shed where the cows went onto a circular conveyor belt and were hooked up to small tubes that connected to the teats on the udders that squeezed out the milk, the cows then get off the belt and go into a feeding area, the milk is then processed and filtered into the milk that we drink now. After the tour of the farm me and a friend of mine that lived there stayed a little bit and he showed me some other bits that we weren't shown before, like he showed me this big tank of stuff that was a bit like maple syrup and this little tube that showed how much stuff is in it, a bit like the gauge on the side of a kettle. Near the end of the visit me and the farm boy were over by the calve sheds when a guy came in with a new calve and a dead one on the hood of his vehicle, the poor little thing. I think this visit was quite cool, and if I get another chance, I think I'm going to try some of that processed milk.

As an extra bonus, here's some photos I took: