Hear Ye!

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Heather Neeper!!!

Heather Neeper (#4701) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning a Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert Level Grease Chicks Merit Badge!

“Since I don’t travel many places, I changed this badge up a little. Instead of focusing on the truck, I focused on the skid loader. It’s the most important piece of machinery on the dairy farm!

I had my husband show me where everything was and then I made sure to check all the fluids—oil, hydraulic, and coolant every week, along with checking the tire pressure. I did not keep track of the hour usage, since it varies greatly, depending on what we’re doing—like making hay, for instance.

Next stop: changing the oil. Surprisingly, it is much easier to change the oil in the skid loader than it is in my car! The oil plug is conveniently located on the skid loader rather than having to jack it up and climb under it like my car. And we save the oil for a friend that has an oil burner on his farm.

For the expert level of this badge I stuck with maintaining the skid loader. After learning to check the fluids and change the oil, I learned to change the filters—oil, fuel, and air—change tires, and grease all the bearings.

It’s very satisfying to know that I can properly care for the most valuable machine on the farm.”

Great job Heather! It’s always heartening to see a Sister taking the reins on the farm.