Put Some Cheese On It!

Can you believe it's been six years since Midwest Dairy provided this car to the winner of the 'Put Some Cheese On It'  promotion?  

The car is driven every day around Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas by the owners of Cooper's Cafe in Anderson, Missouri. In fact, it's been promoting cheese for  more than 100,000 miles!

We happened to be in the Anderson area tonight and stopped in to have one of the famous Cooper cheese covered burgers. Actually, just about everything on the menu includes cheese or other dairy products.

Coopers' knows how to bring a smile to the dairy farmer!

Dairy Farmer's Ultimate Goal

It makes no difference how many cows you milk--50,300, or 1000--the ultimate goal of every dairy farmer is to produce safe,high quality milk and dairy products by taking good care of the cows and the land.  On a recent visit to Scott Brothers Dairy located in San Jacinto,California, I enjoyed meeting Brad Scott's family and listening to the information  provided  by Brad during a tour of his family's dairy farm.   Crops are raised on the land that surrounds the 1000 cow dairy.  Every decision in managing the farm requires consideration of   environmental quality.     Innovative methods of using reclaimed water from the nearby urban population is just one of the best management practices in place for protecting the environment and utilizing available water.  Although the landscape is extremely different than Arkansas, it is quite beautiful with the mountains surrounding the dairy.

Scott Brothers Dairy also has its own processing facility located in Chino,California. I loved the art work on their milk transport truck and on one of the trailers that was parked on the farm!  You can find more information about the variety of products that are manufactured by Scott Brothers Dairy  and the history of their family operation at http://www.scottbrothers.com/.

It's obvious--dairy farmers love to promote a great product with a smile!

Cheese Lover's Enthusiasm Flows Like Lava

Earlier in the month, Ryan and I drove to Cooper's Cafe in Anderson,Missouri, to meet with other family members for supper. To our pleasant surprise, the owner of Cooper's Cafe was none other than Roger King, the winner of Midwest Dairy's "Put Some Cheese On It" contest in 2010. As the contest winner, Roger received a new HHR Chevrolet car decked out in a cheese theme, complete with a slice of cheese on the top. Roger is still driving the cheese car and enjoying the curious looks when driving in the area. You will find the cheese car parked in front of the cafe everyday to entice those cheese loving customers to come in for a tasty entree' with cheese or other dairy delight. Dairy farmers are definitely benefiting from Roger's love of cheese and dairy products and the promotion he does through his restaurant business and in his community.

Just a couple of days ago, we stopped at Cooper's Cafe for lunch before traveling on to Springfield for farm business. As I looked at the menu, I was intrigued with the many types of burgers, the unusual names and the fact that most of them contained cheese. Lava Burger caught my attention as I read the description--"flowing with cheese on top". Curiosity got the best of me and I ordered the Lava Burger. I was so intrigued by the cheese on top that I did not notice it was a double meat burger. When the waitress presented me with the Lava Burger, the cheese was mounded on top of the bun and flowing over the top and sides just like lava from a volcano. I knew then why the waitress looked at me funny when she took my order. From my experience, I would say you need to be very,very hungry or plan to share with others if you intend to order this burger!

If you need a little enthusiasm and a smile to start the week, think about Roger and the cheese car and put some cheese on it! How could you not smile when a cheese slice passes by?

Bessie's Pasture

Have you noticed that cute dairy cow hanging on the June Dairy Month logo? That's our Midwest Dairy friend, Bessie, the Dairy Makes Sense icon. I love this cow because her expression reminds me of a few of our Holstein cows that are often waiting by the gate, hoping for someone to leave it open so they can get into the next pasture. Although June Dairy Month is quickly coming to an end, you can always find Bessie in her pasture at http://www.dairymakessense.com/. Bessie may have different expressions or seasonal outfits through the year, but she will always make sure to have great dairy nutrition information, a place to learn more about dairy farming,recipe ideas for meals and snacks and a place to get answers to your dairy nutrition questions.

Promotion of dairy products with icons like Bessie don't happen by accident. Since 1985, dairy farmers have been funding the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. Dairy farmers contribute fifteen cents per one hundred pounds of milk produced on each farm to fund this program. Our money is used collectively for promoting dairy on the national,state and regional levels and for the research and development of new dairy products to meet consumer demands. Information that we provide is factual and based on sound science and research. Bessie and the Dairy Makes Sense website are a great example of how dairy farmers in the Midwest Dairy regional promotion area are providing useful information to all consumers in a fun and engaging way.

Thanks for celebrating June Dairy Month with me and Bessie at Spotted Cow Review and don't forget to check out Bessie's pasture through the year!