Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for the spring rain we enjoyed this week,

for the new babies we have welcomed to the farm,

for the blooming trees and flowers that survived

 our freezing temperatures just as the buds set on,

 for watching  Hattie's  excitement in seeing the cows

numerous times a day,

and 

for the opportunity to share our love of the dairy  farm

with our fifth generation.

                                              I can't think of a better way to welcome spring!

Celebrating Dairy Time

Life is full of moments and milestones. 

Ryan and I reached the milestone of thirty years of marriage today, November 24th.

Being a city slicker, I've had a lot to learn about moments with a dairy  farmer.  Actually, I've learned to live by dairy time. We use clocks and watches and cell phones to keep us on time but we could function on the farm without them because everything we do is centered around caring for our dairy cows.

First of all, the cows come first. I'm not complaining, it's just the way it is. Dairy cows get milked twice a day, the same time every day of the year including weekends and holidays.

The dairy farmer started me off right by incorporating my first lesson in dairy time with the wedding planning. Our wedding was at noon so our farmer friends could come to the wedding and be home in time to milk their cows and the wedding date occurred after the silage harvest.

I may resist dairy time sometimes , but never the love of the dairy farmer!

1944

1984

                                                                             2014
                      I'm looking forward to more moments and milestones that happen on dairy time!

Farming: A Family Affair

Today was the the announcement of our  2014 Benton County   Farm Family.  It was exciting to see this young family receive this honor for their hard work and dedication to their row crop,beef , and agri-tourism farming operation   and commitment  to   their church, 4-H  and community.

Farming is a family affair. According to the USDA, 97 percent of U.S. farms are family owned and operated, often by multiple generations of the family.  Although the look of the family farm and the technologies have changed, the same values of caring for the land and animals still exist.

For me, today was not only recognizing and celebrating this great farm family's accomplishments, but also  acknowledging the generational impact made by our agriculture and farming community. 

Congratulations to Cody,Carrie and their children Garrett,Emily and Ty!