CrazyCow's Weblog
CrazyCow is an innovative, completely interfaced internet site for the dairy industry.
Lots of people told us when we started that dairy farmers were not ready for the internet. One thing we have learned is that they are more than ready for it. They love it.
Our mission statement is to make sure it's everything they want it to be - because in the end - we're one of them.
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What a way to rekick the weblog into gear. We've just come off a 24-hour trip to the United States on-route to the World Dairy Expo at Madison. We're here for our readers and breeders and the tour is partially sponsored by Performance Pro-Biotics and World Wide Sires. We flew from Melbourne to Auckland to Los Angeles to Chicargo. Surprisingly the trip wasn't too bad. The Air New Zealand flight wasn't full and we had three seats each to lay down on and get some sleep. The movies weren't riveting, but the food on Air New Zealand was sensational (as far as airline food goes).
We had no delays - all of our bags arrived with us - it was nice to know that it will be 80kg lighter on the way home after we offload some gear. We arrived at our hotel at close to 1am and were pretty happy to hit the shower and find out that the internet worked for us. Looks like the air dryer might not be the go though. Different voltages over here.
The meals are huge. Must buy some runners - quick smart. Judging by the number of people that wear them, that won't be too hard. We have Mike Deaver's sale tomorrow and our best man, Ben Yates, is joining us from the United Kingdom. We drive to Madison together and we'll be full-on reporting and doing PR work with Performance and WWS. The website will be updated daily with our happenings, but I will be retaining some of the stories for the summer edition of CrazyCow In Print.
It's warm in Chicago and it was funny to turn on the TV and find out that Cameron Diaz is in town. The world really is a small place. Later, time to snooze.
Tue, 28 Sep 2004 07:31:35 GMTThe votes for the CrazyCow Trans-Tasman Holstein photo competition are starting to roll in. Wendy Orchard was first out of the blocks and must have been reading them as Dean was loading them on, she was so fast. We will be sending Wendy an item from CrazyCow's new line of merchandise to reward her quick reaction.
Tim Abbott has sent us an informative email detailing his thinking about the competition, but we will hold that precious news until the spring edition of CrazyCow In Print, which is due out in September.
Dean was speaking to Wil Rundle this morning and the Western Districts have had about 20 inches of rain in three months. It's the wettest year in 10 years in Leongatha, Gippsland and so roll on spring.
Dobsons in Tasmania also said it was the wettest year they've had in a long, long time.
David and Tonia Daley in Northern Queensland have just had a little daughter. Most of us thought David would never get married and now he's achieved the two commitment milestones in close succession. Theresa Megan Daley is a happy and healthy as is her mother.
Fri, 06 Aug 2004 06:14:10 GMTThank you to everyone that entered the CrazyCow Trans-Tasman Holstein photo competition. With 180 entries in hand, US judge Tim Abbott now has a fair job on his hands to reduce them to the six finalists in each class. We're planning to have the finalists listed on line by August 1 so that you can start placing them.
The six finalists will also be featured in the spring edition of CrazyCow In Print, which is due out late September. They will be decided by that time, but it will be great for everyone to see them lined up on paper as well as on the internet. We will handle in a smilar fashion to the Jersey competition, which was run in on-line and in the last edition.
There are two more editions of CrazyCow In Print to hit your mailboxes this year. The one that is coming and the pre-IDW edition, which will be due out in mid-December. It will also contain news of the World Dairy Expo and some overseas stories we will source during our short, but explosive trip to America, Spain and perhaps Canada. Plans are still in the making.
Stories for this edition are starting to shape up nicely and it never ceases to amaze us what things emerge demanding to be written.
I recently visited New Zealand where to Once-A-Day milking is starting to gain momentum. I'm not convinced a dairy that costs so much is economic to run only once a day, but I guess if there's no milk, you could argue it. Whatever the reason, I have to say I find myself jumping in quickly to assure everyone there are still some progressive farmers in New Zealand that don't think that way. It's a shame that their achievements often get lost in the irrepressible propaganda machine that is Fonterra and it's loyal followers.
The Concerned Dairyman's are once again in court over there, fighting to have the Breeding Worth (BW) system rejected. It could be argued that it has played a fair role in promoting Once-A-Day milking, because it has promoted lower milk-flow animals and many New Zealanders seem to think it's unviable to feed their cattle to capacity. Something, I must admit that I find personally repugnant. I often wonder if farmers get to eat their fill at the dinner table at night while their cows stand on a bare paddock and contemplate their evening meal (or lack of). A friend attended a field-day on Once-A-Day milking and we will be carrying some interesting statistics from it in the next edition of CrazyCow In Print.
The rain won't be much fun for farmers at the moment. I spoke to one person in Gippsland the other day, and they plainly weren't enjoying it. Having farmed in Christchurch, I can totally understand, but in the main everyone is focussed on willing enough rain to fall to ensure a good spring and water allocations.
One Finley farmer told me the other day they were on zero allocation and with the recent rain the chance of getting a 10% opening water right had lifted to 75%. Needless to say they weren't that heartened!
Spoke to David Bolton yesterday and the rain has certainly helped his business. Hoof trimming is in high demand and punctured feet are a massive problem at the moment. He said that waiting too long to have them seen to has cost some farmers in production and recovery.
He encourages people to get in touch with him now to get the problem sorted. He has a new operator stationed in Cohuna. Scott Sieben is ready and willing to help as well. One poor farmer had waited too long with one cow and she had to have blocks applied to all four feet (with the exception of two claws). Worth thinking about.
Thu, 29 Jul 2004 21:57:32 GMTStories for the next edition of CrazyCow In Print continue to unfold. It is too soon to release them yet, but rest assured we are once again on the look out for riveting copy.
Some may have noticed that the website is reflecting a more factual updating format, which is a deliberate move. It is designed now to inform farmers about the genetics and business available in Australia and whatever stories take our fancy in between CrazyCow In Print will also be added.
Dean has just returned from Malanda Show where he had a successful show for David Daley. I escaped briefly to New Zealand on a $83 ticket - yes, Virgin Blue are truly saints!!!
Next we are faced with Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne Royal Shows, which will be a busy and exciting month. The next edition of In Black and White and Golden World that is released by World-Wide Sires Australia is also almost ready to be in production, so watch for that one.
More later.
Thu, 15 Jul 2004 01:18:54 GMTYes, oh yes, I'm back at the insistence of Dean, who thinks we need to be back letting everyone know what's happening on the inside (kind of) at CrazyCow.
Feedback on this journal has been simply unreal. We have received 10 to 15 messages a day, either on email, phone or in person from people who have really appreciated what the CrazyCow team has done.
Undoubtedly the decision to go to gloss has been a major step and, in hindsight, a great decision for our advertisers and story content. We are now turning our attention to the next edition as we have three Royal Shows to get in there as well as keeping up to date with on-line commitments.
We will be travelling to the World Dairy Expo at Madison this year and we are currently in negotiations with a couple of companies interested in sponsoring our tour. It will also include (at this stage) a trip into Europe looking at daughters and operations. Stories will be posted on the website during our travels and in the journal on our return.
We will also be covering Madison in similar style to International Dairy Week, which will be hopefully of interest to Australian breeders, who can't be there themselves.
We have included a snippet of comments from two CrazyCow In Print readers that came in today from overseas. We'd like to share them with our readers:
Dr. David Chalack, Canadian Sales and Marketing Director, Alta Genetics Inc., who bought the famous Lily cow in partnership with Norm Atkins of Continental Holsteins.
Dean:
I have just received your magazine and you have done an excellent job—it continues to improve and impress—I noted your piece on the export of Lily to Japan—I am proud to have been the breeder along with Norm Atkins of Continental Holsteins and of course you know that shrewd businessman Brian Leslie was the importer of Lily in the form of an embryo.
I am pleased that your dairymen and breeders are in a very strong export situation—the same cannot be said for our industry here in Canada due to the BSE situation—hopefully this will change soon—with the borders closed there are truly some fantastic cows residing here in Canada at the moment. Also on another note I see Steve Fraser bought an animal with Leslie Farms — this too is of interest as she was sired by Jed one of Alta Genetics Inc. marquee sires for the show ring and I have a partnership with Jack and Steve Fraser on a VG Lee out of a Formation. So it is a “small world” when talking Holstein Genetics."
CEO of WWS - John Schouten - also noted to Pete Semmens in Australia that he had received and read the magazine and was impressed.
Nice to know that industry leaders are enjoying the publication and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that took the time to ring, fax and email us. We appreciate how busy people are and it has meant a great deal to us to see just how much everyone seems to appreciate the magazine.
Until next time, which I promise will not take as long, Di and Dean
Thu, 24 Jun 2004 06:01:00 GMTI'm not sure why I got up at 2.30am to load the Gippsland Dairy Youth Story before work today at Win Television. I'm filling in this week for Cambel Giles, who is on holiday and while it's fun, it adds another cog to the pressure cooker that is CrazyCow.
I couldn't leave the Gippsland group off for another second, because they have done so well in their Youth Show having more than 90 entries. Not bad when many youth clubs are struggling to stay open. I hope that the next generation following the highly motivated group that are there now and preparing to take over the reins.
I have also added the news that Katandra Park continues to do well in Western Australia with their Damaris family.
We are starting to focus closely on the next edition of CrazyCow In Print and I will be writing busily from the end of this week. We have some exciting stories in the pipeline. Now I just have to deliver them. No pressure.
We have had a fantastic response from advertisers once again and look set to bring out a journal that is as big as the last one and could possibly go even bigger yet if we keep getting advertisers. It is amazing.
I would love to stay and chat longer but since I've been keying since 2.30am and its now 5am and I've got a big day at work doing three stories I might slip away for a while. I'm thinking I'm on three hours sleep right now. Not good for the non-aging look on camera!!
Hope that everyone is going well and until next time, bye for now.
Wed, 04 Feb 2004 18:51:01 GMTIt's been a while since our last notation and everyone would have been watching the International Dairy Week (IDW) coverage, no doubt. We have had massive feedback on CrazyCow In Print. Subscriptions came in steadily at IDW and the inquiry for websites and future advertising was unreal. We have been bowled over by the acceptance and thrill people seem to get from both mediums.
We also had wonderful feedback on our small team, notably Jed Bonnie, who won Reserve Champion Holstein.
Bonnie was named Reserve Champion Holstein and her three quarter sister sold for $6000 at the sale
Dean and I stepped out together in the dam and daughter with Jed Bonnie and her Lincoln dam. It was great fun, but the sand wasn't that easy to lead in
Jed Bonnie on the move, coming past our ringside tent
We shared a ringside tent with Performance Pro-Biotics and I would think that we had one of the busiest sites between the two of us. Exhibitors were in and out getting product from Allan Hain and everyone was curious about CrazyCow and our next moves. It was a really upbeat atmosphere that was totally infectious.
Fleur Ferguson, of Lara Jerseys, was once again a tower of strength, despite working with her husband, Andrew, and children Erin and Tim, to bring out their own sizeable team.
Dean helped with the clipping and leading and they had an awesome show. Congratulations to them. They didn't finish lower than third all day and took home Champion and Honourable Mention in the Intermediate Jersey show.
Andrew Ferguson, left, and Dean, right, making it all happen
With near record entries and massive entries in the aged cow classes, this year was the year to tuck any achievements close to your heart and savour them.
Congratulations to our clients that had good shows. They included Shevron Jerseys and Holsteins who took home Champion Holstein and a class winner in the Jersey Show. Great effort.
Others to do well included Bushlea Jerseys, who won Champion and Reserve Champion Jersey Cow and Brunchilli Jerseys, who won premier breeder and exhibitor. I must go now. We're starting to turn our attention towards the next edition of CrazyCow In Print and there is lots to update on the website. Thanks for your support everyone. We appreciate it.
Wed, 28 Jan 2004 05:25:57 GMT
