Monday, March 15, 2010

Some people have children, we have A.I. tanks.

Precious cargo.

This past week I had the opportunity to go home. I love being able to get back on the farm and see my family's cattle. This time of year is particularly fun because of all the new calves on the ground. A lot of planning goes into every year’s calf crop. My family utilizes herd bulls for natural breeding, but there is also something called Artificial Insemination (A.I.) that we also use. A.I. is a great technology that allows farms access to a wider array of genetics, therefore allowing them to improve the quality of their cowherd more rapidly.

Semen is drawn from bulls, and then frozen into little straws. It is then stored in tanks like these, which are full of liquid nitrogen. On Friday, my mom and I ran up and down the highway picking up semen and delivering it to our customers. I found it kind of humorous that we had two of our large tanks strapped in, and a small dry shipper, which was being sent to Ontario, Canada, later in the week. It wouldn’t be the first time that mom’s car had been used for agriculture purposes. (Notice the seat belt for safety!)

Some people wonder why we can’t farm the way our grandparent or great grandparents did. The fact is farms, both large and small, now have access to all kinds of new technologies. This allows the farmer to more effectively and efficient raise the food products that end up on your plate, all while increasing quality. I am glad that my family and I get to continue to help feed the world.  


6 comments:

  1. Phew, thats a relief I thought i was the only one who drove around with tanks on the back seat!

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  2. Very Funny! One time I was writing with a friend who had a semen tank in the back seat, and when we went over a hill (a little too fast) the tank flipped over and it instantly froze the entire back seat of the truck!!!

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  3. I know I didn't have to discipline the tanks as much as the two children I used to have in the back seats. Really enjoyed having you home even if it was for a short time.

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  4. Love it, Crystal! Especially the pictures! Classic.

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  5. Love this one!! When hauling my tank around I always fasten it in!! If I ever wrecked that would be the one thing I would beg the firemen to save if I had already done everything i could! Too many potential champions in there!! :)

    www.wvcattlewoman.blogspot.com

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  6. What a great story, love the pictures too!

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