EARLY MORNINGS, NO VACATION...STILL, DAIRY FARMER ENJOYS JOB

GORDONVILLE - Even though he must get up at 3 a.m. seven days a week, and his job offers no holidays, Gerald Adams enjoys life as a dairy farmer.

Adams grew up on a dairy farm near Gordonville, and for eight years he and his wife rented a farm near Cape Girardeau. Last August they purchased a 67-acre farm outside of Gordonville, where they maintain a milking herd of about 140 cows. Adams' herd is among the larger dairy herds in the area.

"I've always enjoyed working with cattle," explained Adams, who appears content with his chosen profession.

He starts milking every morning by 4 a.m., and by 7:30 he has completed the job. At 3 p.m. he starts again, taking about another three-and-a-half hours to finish.

While seven hours of work in the milk barn may not seem bad, Adams pointed out that running a dairy operation involves much more than just milking the herd twice a day. Adams raises about 70 heifers and calves that have to be taken care of, and he has to be around when calves are born to see that they are given proper attention. Last August alone, there were 45 calves born on the farm.

He also has to de-horn the calves, vaccinate them, and make sure the herd is in good health and fed well, and that each cow is producing enough milk. That doesn't include the work involved in cleaning manure from the barns on a regular basis. And his herd consumes a lot of hay, which he purchases from area farms. That requires him to haul hay every three or four days.

Running the farm is a family affair for the Adams family, Gerald and his wife, Nancy, have three sons who are responsible for feeding the cows before school and helping out in other areas of the operation. Taking care of the calves is one of Nancy's main responsibilities.

"The family enjoys everything but the early-morning hours," said Adams.

He said his sons raise cows for 4-H and show them at the Southeast Missouri District Fair.

Adams does most of the milking himself. He pretty much has the process down to a regular routine of three-and-a-half hours. In winter or bad weather, the cows tend to get dirty and have to be cleaned before they are milked. On many winter days, Adams doesn't have time to go into the house between milkings.

The cows are milked in groups, so they have 11 to 13 hours to produce the maximum amount of milk. Adams said most cows also get into the milking routine, "but those that don't want to fit into the routine, or that have a tendency to kick, usually find their way to the sale barn in a hurry."

Adams' herd includes registered Jerseys and some grade Holstein. Eventually he plans to convert to an all-Jerseys herd.

Since the ultimate goal of a dairy farmer is to produce as much milk as possible, cows that are not producing have little value. He starts milking cows at age 2, and most last three or four years. Adams does have one cow that is 13 and two that are 11, but most are considerably younger.

Each cow is numbered, and the Jerseys have names on their registration papers so that production can be monitored. "We are concerned with the production of each cow and the quality of milk," explained Adams.

Although computer technology is available to monitor the production of each cow on a daily basis, Adams said that is unnecessary for the purpose of most dairy farmers. Instead, Carl Todt of Sikeston, who is with the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, stops by once a month and weighs the milk produced by each cow that day. He also tests a sample for butterfat and protein percentages.

The data not only gives Adams an idea about the production of each cow, but the information is also compiled with other members of the DHIA for farmers' use in evaluating bulls. A good daily production for a Holstein is 55 pounds, with 8.6 pounds of milk equal to one gallon.

Adams is a member of a dairy cooperative in Kentucky, and every other day about 10,000 pounds of milk is picked up from his farm.

Something that distinguishes dairy farmers from other kinds of farmers is that they can't wait for a favorable market to sell their product. "Whatever the price is that month is what we get," said Adams. "We really don't have any say about it."

Like any job, life on the farm has its good points and bad. But for Adams, there are more good parts than bad.

What he likes best "is being on your own and being your own boss. You feel more like a capitalist entrepreneur. I enjoy working with cattle, and they don't talk back."

Clearly, the worst part about the job is the early-morning hours. "It is a seven-day-a-week job every day of the year; it is early morning every morning, whether it is cold or raining.

"Dairying takes no holidays or birthdays," explained Adams. "Everything has to be worked around milking."