plants know when they're beating eaten, "hear" and recognize different vibrations

[mjlabadia]

Oh Diana, that sounds horrible. I can assure you that they would have been ostracized by the F.F.A.,...the local grange,.....4H,....any of the farming groups if we had known about it,..and perhaps even reported. I'm sure their production wasn't good, and butterfat content very low.

I am not sure what automated milking is. We didn't "hand milk" normally. There is a Milk Line that runs down both sides of the barn. We basically slide down the line with our teat cups, and after a liberal application of Bag Balm (actual brand name,.... prevents the girls from chafing.)... we attached the cups. Usually in groups of 2/3/4. Depends on the mood of the group we're milking. Some of the "clique" members get jealous if they're not milked with the "cool cows"!!
You get quite the dressing down if you commit that offense. And if that doesn't teach you a lesson, and you still milk them with the neighboring group, there is always the dreaded "tail whack" to the face. They all hang out together anyway,....they return to their same stalls upon returning from outside time.

Some farms have milking parlors, where you bring the cows in from the barn and they get milked, then go back to their stalls.

Well,...yes,....there is bad in all elements of life. But Diana, they are the exception,...not the norm.
Additionally, I imagine their relationships in all areas of life reflected their relationship with their cows.

I wonder if that farm is still operating? Same family?
We were in Schoharie County, near Huntersland. Northern Catskills Mountains.

Diana, I miss that time in my life so very much. Every time I drive by a farm, the smells, (silage/manure/fresh cut Timothy),..... it feels like coming home.