Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Yesterday we provided a dairy farm tour for a kindergarten teacher

wanting  to share an adventure with her students   via phone video. 

Our social distancing was maintained as we fed baby calves, 

observed milking and feeding of the cows.

The farm tour provided fun for both visitor and  farmer

as we shared our passion for everyday life on the farm that 

brings  nutritious milk to everyone's table. 

                                   
                                         I'm thankful for the joy in sharing  our love of dairy
                                          with others and for dedicated teachers  seeking
                                         creative  ways to keep our children  involved in the
                                          education  process during the challenges provided
                                                                     by COVID-19.

Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Happy New Year!

There's nothing more heart warming on a chilly day

down on the dairy farm than the delight of a child or

adult sharing in the care of a new calf on their first 

 dairy farm visit.

This farm visit was unique in that it was a special request

of my nursing school roommate to bring her niece's family

to the dairy farm while she was home for the holidays.

Aunt Nancy will forever be the favorite aunt!

We timed the visit to coincide with the afternoon calf feeding

so that each child could have the opportunity to

bottle feed a new calf. 

It was a precious time of sharing about the love we

have for caring for our animals and the work 

we do every day to provide safe, nutritious milk.

                                           
                                                  I'm thankful for the opportunity to share
                                           about dairy farming and agriculture to consumers
                                                of all ages and for the blessing of friendship.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

There's nothing sweeter than watching a mother with her new baby.

It's a reminder of all the many blessings that we often 

take for granted when life gets too busy.

                                             
                                 This baby was delivered without any complications this week
                               just in time to greet a group of children making a visit to the farm.

                              I'm thankful for the blessings of life that we can share with others!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Our cows enjoy a balanced nutritious diet every day. 

It's one of the most important ways we take care of our dairy cows 

everyday and in return, they provide us with nutritious milk.

This was one of the messages I shared during this past week 

with a small group of children making their first visit to a dairy farm.

Touring the feed barn and watching the cows eat is one 

of my favorite stops on the tour.

I consider it a privilege  to be able to share with children and adults 

 how we care for our dairy cattle  everyday

 during  a farm tour.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to provide 

the perfect show and tell for all ages!

                                             
                               

                                         
                                               

Arkansas Dairy Question

What would it take to get you to become an Arkansas dairy farmer?

With fewer than 60 dairies left in the state of Arkansas, this is a thought provoking

 question for these University of Arkansas animal science students that visited

us down on  our dairy farm Saturday morning.

Ryan  gave information and answered questions about dairy

 production,animal welfare and environmental issues.

I got the easy questions about calf raising.

Of course, no dairy farm tour would be complete without a little dairy promotion.

We served string cheese,ice cream and a sample of Fairlife chocolate milk 

with a touch of education about dairy promotion  funded

 by dairy farmers across the nation.

My question from down on the dairy farm:

                                             What's not to love about being a dairy farmer?

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

It wouldn't seem like spring if we didn't have visitors on the dairy farm!

I'm looking forward to the conversations next week with the Moms on the Farm tour group.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to share how we work everyday to make sure we produce safe,high-quality milk for consumers of all ages while caring for our animals and the land we call home.

Milkin' Magic Down On the Dairy Farm

June Dairy Month is a great time to "open the barn doors" and provide show and tell for consumers of all ages. A couple of weeks ago, I was privileged to share our farm with young students from the Fayetteville Montessori School. They were very interested in finding out for themselves where the milk really comes from.



After explaining how we clean off the cow's udder and teats before the cow gets milked, several of the children wanted to touch and milk the cow.
      
                                                       Show, tell, and touch...

 

It's the perfect way to learn  how milking equipment delivers milk directly from the cows to a refrigerated tank to preserve freshness and safety.

 

It's  the milkin' magic...milk is never touched by human hands. 

 

 

 Dairy farmers are committed to providing  a safe, steady supply of dairy products

 everyday down on the dairy farm.

 

Farmers Appreciate Northwest Arkansas Dairy Tour

A couple of years ago I met  Tiffiny, a Midwestern farm girl, the  owner of a local  tour agency specializing in agricultural tours.  Combining her love for  and interest in agriculture with her passion for traveling has brought her great success in providing tour packages for farmers wishing to learn more about agriculture in a variety of places in the United States and around the world.  To celebrate 15 years of  agricultural tours with Trump Tours, Tiffiny invited customers to come to Bentonville for the weekend to give a taste of Arkansas agriculture and a view of Northwest Arkansas.

                               It was our privilege to share our dairy  farm with these farmers from
                               around the country as part of their tour day in Northwest Arkansas. 

         With their knowledge of and connection to agriculture, it was obvious that these farmers
                understand  the commitment of food production and appreciate the responsibility 
                                       that  dairy farmers take seriously seven days a week.

 

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

 

Animal care is one of the most important aspects of a dairy farmer's job.

 

                                    

                            I'm thankful for the Moms that visited the farm this week to learn how
                        we work every day to produce high-quality milk by caring for our animals.

Assignment: Dairy Tour

Today's lab assignment for University of Arkansas Food and Hospitality students was to tour a real dairy farm. It doesn't get any more real than to watch cows being milked,smelling the silage in the feed barn, or getting a juicy lick from a baby calf. I love the questions these young consumers ask about the farm and the conversations that are started about how we work every day to produce a safe nutritious product by caring for our animals and our land.

Petting the  baby calves always seem to be the highlight of the tour and I must admit, I love listening to the laughter of the students as they pet the calves and take pictures. It's a great place to explain how these heifer calves are the future for our family farm. 

Although I don't get to give the grade for this lab assignment,

I do  appreciate the opportunity to share our family  dairy story!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Petting the baby calves is always a highlight of every farm tour! I am thankful for the opportunity to have conversation with University of Arkansas students about the commitment of dairy farm families working everyday to care for our animals and land as we produce safe,high quality milk.