Dairy assistant duty

The dairy assistant's purpose is to help the person milking the cows. It's not about keeping them company, but about doing the little things that take up so much time.

Setup

1. Assembling the milking equipment and moving it to the milking parlour
2. Helping to put feed in the manger
3. Helping to bring the cows into the barn
4. While the milker is milking, don't just stand around shooting the breeze, grab a rag and scrub the walls, sweep and cleanup around the grain bin, sweep out the dairy room, cleanup the hallway, organize and clean in the barn, wash any dishes left in the sink, get the jars ready to pour. Make yourself useful!

1. Help take the cows back to the pasture
2. If the cows are eating hay, help bring them 0.75-1 bale per cow per day of the appropriate quality hay (ask to be sure).

• Know the difference between hay and straw!