Connie minnie?

Did you get a semi load of corn syrup yesterday? My son hauls for Pete's Transfer and he called me about a farm in your area with several 4440's and a bunch of other Deere tractors and he made mention of a Fox Super D chopper as well as a NH FP240. I just saw your post below about opening up and wondered if he was at your place. Tom

Yep. Got a load late yesterday morning. Tell your son thank you.

Had the Fox (it's a MAx II) out to try opening fields. We decided to wait til Monday. The driest corn was 72 percent.

What is your son's name? I'll say hi next time if I see the truck.

My sons name is James. He said you have a nice well ran dairy. He thought your equipment was well taken care of as well. Hauling feed to big dairies and feed lots he gets into many not very nice farms. A few weeks ago he was at a big feedlot and he though maybe he should be come a vegetarian. How many cows are you milking right now? Tom

Thanks for the compliments. Where he unloads is not the prettiest part of the farm.
We milk 350 cows and farm 1100 acres.
I'm sure your son gets to some rough places with his job. There are plenty out there. Please say thank you to your son. Those guys go unnoticed a lot of the time, and deserve respect.

How is the corn syrup used. I am not familiar with dairy farming.

The corn "syrup" is a by-product of the ethanol industry. It is liquid feed with energy about like ground corn and is about 20-24% protein. It also has a smell cows like, and blends well in a mixed ration- a bit like salad dressing. The best part is it is very cheap.

The bad part is it is difficult to handle. It comes hot (130 degrees or so) and is very thin, but thickens as it cools. So we store it in an insulated tank, and pump it with a molasses pump. Despite that, it can still be interesting in the winter! The handling difficulty is why it is cheap- not everyone wants to deal with the stuff. Oftentimes if something goes bad, I have to remind myself of the economics behind it.

Because it is low priced, it does attract some customers that would fall into a certain crowd (willing to cut most ANY corner to save a buck). Many a truck driver has commented about some of them- and so has Tom's son, to him. Some are scary places.

In our feed rations, syrup can be 2-8 % of the total feed. At low rates, it is a big positive- tastes good, lots of good nutrients, and I pay little more than freight. Like anything though, you can over do it. IF you ate nothing but salad dressing, you might imagine...

Hope this helps.

So while we're about it, I love to know the story behind your handle, Coonie Minnie.

My home town is Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Somewhere back in the day, it got to be nicknamed "Cooney." At the time I joined here, I had just inherited 5 Minnie Moline U's from an uncle. I think you can put the rest together....

How about your handle??

I like Cockshutt tractors, and I've heard a few of the old timers refer to them as "Coshoo"s. Co rhymes with no, shoo as in shoe.

Cool. Never heard of Cockshutts referred to that way, but not many around here.