Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Using a no-till method to plant this crop of haygrazer for our dairy cows to eat later this summer is just one of the ways we protect the environment and reduce energy use. With so many jobs on the farm to get accomplished in June, I'm thankful for a tractor ride with my dairy farmer husband!

Dairy Farmer's Dream Contest

I really feel like my celebration of June Dairy Month actually started in April with our annual 4-H Dairy Recipe Contest sponsored by the Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Committee. One of the most important judging criteria is the creative use of dairy products in each recipe. Using all these delicious dairy products is a dairy farmer's dream come true! After all the recipes are judged and winners selected for both main dish and party category, we get to sample all these delicious dairy recipes. What a dairy delightful experience! To celebrate June Dairy Month, you might want to try this winning main dish recipe submitted by 4-H member Ty Connolly.


Barbeque Baked Potato Casserole


2 teaspoons butter

16 medium green onions,sliced (1 cup) use remainder for garnish

1 medium yellow or orange bell pepper,chopped (1cup)

2 cups hot water

1 cup of milk

1 cup of half and half

1/4 cup butter

1 box(7.20z)Betty Crocker roasted garlic mashed potatoes(2pouches)

1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers

4 ounces of 1/3 less fat cream cheese cut into cubes

3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese(12 oz),divided

1(8oz)container light sour cream

1(4oz)can chopped green chilies,drained

3 cups shredded barbecue beef or pork

3/4 cup barbecue sauce

Tomato pieces for garnish


Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.


In 10-inch nonstick skillet,melt 2 teaspoons butter over medium-high heat. Cook onions and bell pepper in butter 1 minute,stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside.


In 2 quart sacuepan,heat the water,half and half,milk and 1/4 cup butter to boiling; remove from heat. Stir in both pouches of potatoes and seasoning just until moistened. Let stand about 1 minute or until moisture is absorbed. Beat with a fork until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese with peppers and 4 ounces of 1/3 less fat cream cheese cut into cubes; stir till blended. Gently fold in 8 ounces of light sour cream and 4 ounces of chopped green chilies. Mix the potato mixture,the pepper and onion mixture and 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese together. Spoon into a 13x9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with another 3/4 cup of cheddar cheese. Arrange meat evenly over cheese. Drizzle barbecue sauce over the meat. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup of cheddar cheese over the meat.


Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish, with tomato pieces and sliced green onions.

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.