He stuck his head out the truck window and hollered, “Get that cow to the barn and let’s check her out, something is wrong with her!” Now, I wasn’t doubting the man in the pin striped overalls, for I was a young man, and he was an elder. But I had been raised around cattle my life to date, and I didn’t see anything wrong with her. Her head wasn’t hanging low, ears were erect, she looked good to me. Yet, I did what I was told. So, I walked her to the barn, curious about what he had seen, that I hadn’t, and didn’t. The first thing we did was check her temperature, sure enough she had a low fever. I responded in quick fashion, “Alright, Mr. Field, how did you know there was something wrong with this cow?” His response? “She was only chewing her cud about twenty times, should have been closer to fifty.” What a lesson I learned that day, for he was correct. Many of you folks, including myself, have milked cows, but Fred Field from Elk Creek, Missouri, was a dairyman; there is a huge difference.
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