Dairy farms passed down each generation
COSHOCTON – There was a lot of excitement at the King family stall during the dairy show at the Coshocton County Fair on Monday, Oct. 2. One of the dairy cows wasn’t feeling up to showing that morning.
“She’s feeling the labor pains,” said Chris King. “She’s due to give birth today.”
Besides the little calf about ready to make his or her grand entrance into the world, the King’s youngest calf, Peanut Butter, was just three weeks old at the time of the show. Their oldest, Trixie, is 12 years old.
The Kings have had a dairy farm for 26 years and Anna has been showing dairy cows for 14 years. However, the Kings don’t milk their cows.
“We leave the calves on their moms,” said Anna. “We raise extra calves so we’ve had one (Trixie) raise four at a time. She’s had her go around with babies. It’s really something to see with all four calves attached to her.”
The Kings enjoy having their dairy farm, although it can be grueling work at times with very little sleep. The day of the show, Chris and Anna said they were up getting their dairy cows ready for the show until after 3 a.m. that morning.
“We don’t really have a schedule,” said Chris. “We’re just awake all the time.”
To get ready for the show, the cows are washed, shaved, clipped and manicured, and have their ears cleaned.
“They get pampered,” said Chris. “Trixie knows as soon as you open the trailer what’s coming. She’s been doing this enough years that she knows she’s going to get pampered. You don’t have to lead her; she’ll lead you to her spot.”
If running a dairy farm wasn’t enough, the Kings also sell donuts at the fair. They start traveling across Ohio in March to sell donuts.
“For us, the mornings usually start at six in the morning and I shut the door last night at midnight,” said Chris.
Zoey Lambert is a cloverbud and started showing calves in the open class about three years ago at the fair.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “I like animals.”
She was there at the dairy show with Pocahontas, her dairy calf. Her family has about 80 head on their farm and Lambert is the great-grandchild of the original dairy farmer.
Category: People & Places
