Arkansas Farm Bureau's Grassroots

Every year the first full week of February is designated as Arkansas Farm Bureau Membership Drive Kickoff. Until I married a farmer, I thought Farm Bureau was an insurance company. Insurance is one of the great member services, but Farm Bureau is a member organization with a much larger mission. Arkansas Farm Bureau began in 1935 with the focus on dealing with issues of concern to agriculture. It was started by farmers that had specific concerns such as the need for rural electrification and reducing freight rates on feed brought in for livestock in drought areas.

The uniqueness of Farm Bureau is that we are a grassroots organization. That means that our organizational policy is set by the members, not by organizational management. Our issues come from problems that we experience on our farms, our communities,and in our state. Our policy is what we use to solve problems through the legislative process at the state or national level.

When you really believe in something and feel passionate about it, it is easy to talk about it. As members of the Benton County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, that is what Dan Douglas,James Simpson and I did today as we talked about the importance of agriculture and Farm Bureau on KURM radio with Col. Kermit Womack. You can find more information about the benefits of membership at http://www.arfb.com/.

Today the mission statement of Arkansas Farm Bureau is:

• advocate the interests of agriculture in the public arena


• disseminate information concerning the value and importance of agriculture


• provide products and services which improve the quality of life for our members

Remember, not everyone can be a farmer, but everyone can be a Farm Bureau Member!

Gen YOUth Foundation

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program that empowers youth to improve nutrition and physical activity in their school and for their own health. Dairy farmer promotion dollars have been used to launch programs in 70,000 schools to reach 36.6 million students in 2010. This program has been a partnership with the National Football League and the USDA to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity. To take this a step further, the Gen YOUth Foundation has been formed to create a movement that will inspire youth to change their behavior. Partners in this foundation are the National Football League, USDA, U.S. Departmen of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Education, and National Dairy Council. Our children are our future and as a dairy farmer, a mother , and a nurse, I'm proud to be a part of making sure that we work together to insure the health of our nation. I hope you will visit the website of the new Gen YOUth Foundation at http://www.genyouthfoundation.org/. It gives great explanation about the mission, the partners, and the historic agreement bringing together this private-public partnership committed to child health and wellness.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Americans enjoy the safest,most affordable and available food supply because farmers are working hard every day-even with the challenges of winter weather! I'm thankful for farmers!

America's Milk Safety

America's dairy farmers provide safe milk. When I go to buy my two or three gallons every week at the grocery store, I never worry about milk safety because I have first hand knowledge of how milk gets to the store. Three hundred sixty five days a year, we milk three hundred cows twice daily. Along with the nation's 55,000 dairy producers, we take our responsibility seriously when it comes to providing a safe product. Milk is the most highly tested and regulated food that is available to consumers. Safety of milk starts on the farm with proper care of our animals and vigilant milking procedures. Our animals receive medication only when sick. Treatment plans are developed by our veterinarian to provide proper care. On our farm, if a milk cow is treated with an antibiotic, that cow is milked in a separate container and the milk is thrown away. That treated cow's milk will not be allowed into the bulk milk tank until a sample of her milk is tested by our dairy cooperative lab and proven free of antibiotics. Each time milk is picked up on our farm to travel to the processing plant, a sample of milk is taken by the milk truck driver and carried to the plant. Before the milk is unloaded at the plant, the milk is tested for antibiotics. It is unloaded into a milk silo before processing and will be tested again before it is pasteurized and bottled. If at any time, antibiotic is found in the milk, the milk is discarded. The commitment of the dairy industry to provide safe products is reinforced by a statement from the National Milk Producers Federation this week:

The U.S. milk industry has an exemplary record concerning management of antibiotics. Under a comprehensive program administered by the state regulatory authorities and overseen by FDA, the U.S. dairy industry conducts nearly 4 million tests each year to ensure that antibiotics are kept out of the milk supply. For example in 2009, only .028% tested positive, and those very rare cases, the mik is not sold to the public. http://www.nmpf.org/latest-news/press-releases/jan-2011/dairy-industry-statement-on-supplemental-antibiotic-residue-test

Rest assured, America's dairy farmers are committed to providing safe and wholesome milk to consumers.

Dairy Shopping Tips

American consumers are enjoying the safest and most available food supply in the world, but it
does come with increasing cost. As a dairy farmer and a consumer, I am concerned with the rising price of oil and what it is costing us on the farm and at the grocery store. It would be logical to think when the price of milk goes up at the grocery store that dairy farmers are making more money. Unfortunately, the dairy farmers are not putting more money in their pockets. The final price that we pay at the grocery store includes the increased fuel costs in transportation,packaging, and distribution of the product. Here are a few tips to remember when stretching your food dollars and shopping for dairy foods:

• All packaged milk is safe and antibiotic free


• Generic or store brands are usually cheapest but have same nutritional value as name brands


• Check the date when purchasing; the date on the package is the last date for the store to sell it; milk stays fresh 5-7 days after being opened


• Store milk at 36-40 degrees


• Buy milk by the gallon


• Buy low-fat,plain yogurt by the quart, flavor it yourself and use it as an ingredient for healthier recipes


• Buy cheese in block form and shred it yourself

You can find more information about dairy nutrition and the added value of dairy to your diet at http://www.dairymakessense.com/ and http://www.midwestdairy.com/. Do you have any other dairy shopping tips to share?

Factory Farm Fallacy

Are the factory farmers out in the blowing snow, seventeen degree temps and wind chill below ten degrees? That was the question that crossed my mind as I was feeding dairy calves in those conditions this morning. Factory farms must have factory farmers but I have never met any factory farmers. Have you? In case you have never heard the term factory farm, it is used by people that want to describe modern agriculture as being the worst thing that has happened to our society. The words factory farm are used to bring a very nasty and negative picture of agriculture. As the wife of a third generation dairy farmer, the mother of the fourth generation to live and work on our farm, and a city girl that has devoted twenty six years to agriculture and producing food for friends and neighbors,I am insulted by the use of the term factory farm. Everyday the average family farmer is feeding 145 non-farmers. Ninety eight percent of American farms are family owned. We Americans enjoy the safest and most affordable food and that is no accident. Our food doesn't come from factory farms, it comes from family farms like ours that work everyday to produce a healthy,safe and nutritious product while caring for our animals and protecting the environment for future generations. If I could remove the word factory farm from the vocabulary and irresponsible websites, I would do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately I can't but I will happily continue to share and have conversations with any one who wishes to know how we produce safe,affordable food on the family farm.

Rural Community Greater Than A Tornado

Rural communities represent the strength of America. The tornado that struck the small community of Cincinnati,Arkansas on New Year's Eve took the lives of four people. One of these victims was a dairy farmer who was doing what he had done every morning for the last fifty years--milking his cows. Although we did not know this farmer personally, this tragedy saddened us deeply. This weekend Ryan and I drove twenty miles into the next county for a fundraiser to support the Cincinnati community. The evening included a barbecue dinner,country music from a local band, and an auction of donated items at the Lincoln community building in the middle of the town square. As we entered the community building, it was obvious that the community came out to support their friends and neighbors who had been affected by this tornado destruction. Every table was filled with folks eating their dinner and the food line wrapped all around three sides of the large room. The folks that planned the fundraiser had hoped for one hundred people--three hundred people came to support the Cincinnati community. Before the auctioneer started the bidding he stated that we had come together to support our friends and neighbors because that's what Americans do for each other when we are hurting and need help. The evening was a great success for this community because of rural friends and neighbors. I felt blessed to have experienced just what the auctioneer stated. Rural communities reaching out to help friends and neighbors is what provides strength to our American way!