Arkansas Milk Stabilization

As an Arkansas dairy farmer, I can truly say that June Dairy Month is a great time to celebrate not only dairy foods and the dairy industry, but also give recognition to the support that Arkansas dairy farm families have received from our state. Due to the rapid decline in the number of dairies in our state, the Arkansas legislature established the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board in 2007 to work to ensure a minimum supply of milk for the population of our state. We truly received help to save our dairy farms in 2009 when the Arkansas legislature funded a two-year program to provide incentives to state dairy farmers with a goal to stabilize or increase milk production within the state. I can never express enough thanks for the support all Arkansas dairy farm families have received from Governor Beebe,the state legislators,and the members of the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board.

Here are some current facts about dairy farming in Arkansas:

-there are approximately 130 dairy farms

-the average Arkansas dairy cow will produce 5 gallons of milk per day

-Arkansas dairy farms produce 17.9 million gallons of milk annually

-dairy is the 9th largest agricultural business in Arkansas,generating $20 million/year

-98% of all Arkansas farms are owned by families

I hope that we will always have dairy farms in Arkansas producing our state beverage--Milk!

You can learn more about Arkansas dairy history or dairy nutrition at http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/ or http://www.midwestdairy.com/.

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Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

In just a few days, dairy farm families will be celebrating June Dairy Month at the annual 4-State Dairy Days cattle show in our county. I'm thankful for events like this that teach our children so many life lessons and give opportunity to develop long lasting friendships with other dairy farm families!

June Dairy Month Cheesy Pleasing Recipe

You can't celebrate June Dairy Month without cheese! Well, I guess you can but why would you want to?

Celebrate June Dairy Month with this easy pleasing recipe!

Cheesy Chicken Cruncher

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

4 egg whites

1/2 cup reduced-fat milk

1 1/2 cups cornflakes

1 cup reduced-fat ,shredded Cheddar cheese

6 chicken breast filets;cut into strips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set up three bowls with the following: 1)flour;2)an egg-wash;made by beating the eggs and milk together; 3)cornflakes mixed with cheese.

Coat a 13x9 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Dip chicken pieces in flour, then into egg-wash,then roll in the cheesy-flakes mixture, coating the entire piece of chicken, and place on the baking pan. Discard any unused cornflake mixture after coating chicken. Bake fro 25 minutes, turning halfway through to ensure even browning. Serve with ketchup or BBQ sauce if desired.

This recipe was created by Chef Jon Ashton of Orlando Florida and featured in the 30 Days of Dairy fact sheet from http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/ and recipe section of http://www.midwestdairy.com/.

Dairy Tools of the Trade

Keeping up with information about our dairy cows is an important part of our dairy farming operation to insure healthy dairy cows and quality milk. One of our best tools for managing our herd information is through Mid-South Dairy Herd Improvement Association. This association is a complete professional testing,management and reporting system for dairy farmers.

Once a month, Greg, our Mid-south Dairy Herd Improvement technician, will come to the dairy farm to collect milk samples from each dairy cow during the morning milking. Each sample will give us information about the individual cow's milk production and qualities of the milk that include butterfat,protein, and somatic cell counts. Before Greg comes to the farm for this testing, I will have recorded all herd health information, breeding and calving records into the computer system. After each cow is sampled, Greg will enter the milk weight information on our computer system , transmit all of our records to the Mid-South office in Springfield,Missouri and send the milk samples to the lab for analysis. A few days after the test day, we will receive paper copies of the test information and be able to download the test information to our computer system.

Managing our dairy herd with information that we obtain from tools like our dairy herd improvement records assists us every day in making sure that our healthy herd is producing quality milk.

June Dairy Month--it's all about healthy cows,quality milk, and the dairy farm families that work everyday to produce a great product!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Serving ice cream cones to bank customers was one of our many June Dairy Month activities
and fun experiences while members of the Benton County 4-H Udder Club.
Watching these three dairy farm boys dip the ice cream was a memorable experience! I am thankful for all the fun we have promoting the dairy products we are proud to produce.

Dairy Farmers Party

Dairy farmers have been partying in June since the first National Milk Month in 1937. That first celebration of milk was sponsored by chain stores to help stabilize dairy demand during periods of peak production. It's been called "June Dairy Month" since 1939. You can learn more about the history of June Dairy Month at http://www.midwestdairy.com/. Dairy farm families are now celebrating in a variety of ways to share how we work everyday to produce a wholesome, nutritious product. Offering samples of the many products produced from milk is the fun part of the party!



June Dairy Month really starts on the farm with every dairy farm family. Ninety eight percent of all U.S. dairy farms are family owned.


Each dairy farm family has their own unique story about their family farm. Farming with our family is not only a business, it is our way of life. The family makes the farm! Our farm began in the early 1920's when Ryan's Grandfather purchased the farm where we live. He produced apples,pigs, chickens, and milked a few cows. Ryan's parents raised broiler chickens, milked a few cows and had a beef herd. In 1972, Ryan started milking 17 cows and has grown the dairy to 300 milking cows. Our two sons are the fourth generation to live and work on our farm. In 1972 when Ryan began dairy farming, there were over 300 dairies in Benton County. In 1985 there were 119 and today we are one of 18 dairies remaining.


We take great pride in working to provide wholesome and nutritious milk for all consumers. June Dairy Month gives us a perfect opportunity to promote our product and celebrate what we do everyday. I hope you will party with us by enjoying your favorite dairy products this month!

Strawberries,Ice Cream and Cake

Vanilla ice cream is a great treat anytime but it goes very well with fresh strawberries and this pound cake recipe that I enjoy baking for my family. Hope you have a great Memorial Day holiday with your family and friends!







Crusty Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients
1 cup butter,softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
1 8oz pkg cream cheese,softened
3 cups sifted flour
6 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and shortening; gradually add sugar,beating well at medium speed of electric mixer. Add cream cheese,beating well until light and fluffy. Alternately add flour and eggs, begining and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into greased and floured 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until pick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.

Serving suggestions: strawberries or blueberries with large scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream