Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

We purchased this piece of spray equipment two years ago. With the mechanical help of one of Ryan's childhood friends, last week we used it to spray liquid fertilizer on this field of haygrazer. As I looked across the field watching these friends working together, I felt very blessed and thankful to live and work in a community of lifelong farmer friends.

Ice Cream Tradition

Today is National Ice Cream Day! Do you have a favorite flavor?
With the many choices available, it is more difficult to decide. One of our favorite family summertime family traditions is to make a freezer of ice cream. When I was growing up, we used the hand crank model. It was such a thrill to get to help turn the crank or sit on the top to provide weight for the person cranking the handle. Life is much easier now with the electric model but I have great family memories of making ice cream. If you don't have an ice cream freezer, you can make your own family memories with your kids or grandkids by making ice cream in a bag.



Squeeze Freeze Ice Cream
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
Ice cubes
Other Items:
Small re-sealable plastic bag
Large re-sealable plastic bag
Measuring spoons
Measuring cup
Plastic spoon

Preparation:
Put sugar and vanilla in small plastic bag. Also put salt in large plastic bag. Hold the small bag open and pour in milk. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and properly seal. Drop the small bag in to the large plastic bag with salt in it. Add 18-20 ice cubes. Remove as much air as possible from the large bag and properly seal. Knead the bag for approximately 10 minutes, making sure ice in the larger bag surrounds the smaller bag. When a soft ice cream is formed, remove small bag from large bag, open and eat right out of bag with a plastic spoon. For extra fun, add fresh seasonal fruit or other favorite ice cream toppings.
Note:It is important to use whole milk. Other types of milk take too long to freeze. Salt is also very important. Without it, the ice cream will not freeze. One pint of half and half can be added to a gallon of milk. This makes the ice cream richer and freezes faster. Be sure to have plenty of paper towels on hand.



I would also suggest you have your camera ready to capture the smiles you will see with this project!
You can find information about how dairy farmers work to produce milk for all these dairy foods that we enjoy at http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org. This fun recipe can be found with a great variety of other dairy recipes at http://www.midwestdairy.com.

Hope you enjoy your favorite flavor today and provide a memory for your family!

Cow Candy

Before I married the dairy farmer, quite a few of my first summer time dates were spent riding on the tractor with the dairy farmer as he chopped green hay grazer grass to feed the dairy cows. Late this afternoon just before the sun was setting, Ryan and I jumped into the truck and went on a farmer date to drive to the field and check on the hay grazer crop that was planted several weeks ago.

Even though we have only received about an inch of rain since this seed was planted several weeks ago, it has grown waist high--perfect cow candy time! This grass can be harvested by green chopping or baling. When it is green chopped, it is actually chopped up and blown into a truck or wagon that will transport it to the dairy and be fed fresh. If it is baled, it is mowed and baled like hay. Either way it is harvested, the cows love this cow candy! Our dairy nutritionist will formulate a diet that adds cow candy with all the other feed ingredients to make sure that the cows are receiving a completely balanced diet. With the drought that we are experiencing, we are grateful for any crop that we will harvest.

Cow candy and dates with the farmer are all about how we work everyday on the dairy farm to care for our animals and produce quality milk!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Working in this triple digit heat to care for our dairy cows and calves has been a challenge this week. Ryan's new dog,Jute, found the perfect solution--just jump in the water tank! I'm thankful for the joy and the smiles that our farm pets bring to us everyday as we work on the farm.

Chocolate Lover's Healthy Snack

I tend to work up a sweat while feeding calves or working in the garden and I'm finding that water doesn't always quench my thirst. Hot weather also tends to decrease my appetite so it is important that snacks provide good nutrition. Chocolate milk is a perfect nutrient-packed thirst quenching snack that offers the same nutrients as regular milk and will help keep me hydrated. Milk contains protein,carbohydrates and is about ninety percent water. If you compare chocolate milk to other beverages such as juice,fruit punch,cola or diet cola,bottled water or sports drink, milk is the only beverage that contains nine essential nutrients. You might want to consider chocolate milk as a choice to offer your family after sporting events,exercising, or outdoor family activities to refuel healthy muscles and quench thirst.

Yesterday I returned from the grocery store with my favorite chocolate candy bar. When I compared the label of the candy bar with an eight ounce serving of 1% low-fat chocolate milk, it's pretty easy to see the nutritional bang I can get from chocolate milk plus help to quench my thirst. You can find more dairy nutrition information at http://www.midwestdairy.com/ or http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/.

Our weather man is predicting another scorcher today---think I will have that big glass of cold chocolate milk now! Will you join me?

Trait of a Farmer

Weather patterns everywhere have been unusual this year. In May our crop planting was delayed because we had thirty inches of rain with flooding. In the last thirty days, we have had less than an inch. Every year we grow one hundred acres of corn that will be made into corn silage for our dairy cows. This corn silage will be added to all the other feed ingredients that we purchase to make a completely balanced diet for our cows to enjoy throughout the year. High quality milk from our dairy cows occurs because of the nutritious ingredients in their diet.

One of my jobs yesterday was to help move spray equipment to the corn field. It was at least one hundred degrees,humid and steamy in the corn field.
Spraying a corn field for weed eradication usually happens earlier and in cooler weather but one of the lessons I have learned with farming is that the conditions or circumstances that we work with are not always perfect. Weather is definitely a condition beyond our control.

As I watched Ryan moving through the field on the old John Deere spray rig, I thought how amazing the American farmer is in the best or worst conditions. Farmers are dedicated to protecting the land,air ,and water while producing the most abundant,affordable and available food for Americans and the world by using sound science and modern technology and if you need a dose of optimism, find a farmer to talk to--he's got it!

Routine Commitments

Our daily routine on the dairy farm includes milking 300 Holstein cows at seven thirty in the morning and seven thirty at night,twice a day, three hundred sixty five days a year. We are committed to providing quality milk which begins with consistent routine daily care of our dairy cows. Routine daily care includes activities such as feeding the dairy cows,milking the cows and making sure the cows are comfortable. The word routine might sound dull and boring but I can tell you that when working with cows, there is never a dull moment. In everyday's schedule we must have flexibility to deal with the unplanned events such as delivery of a calf,repairing equipment, mending fences,or driving to town for an item that we didn't plan on needing. The intense heat that we have had in this past week also adds increased monitoring of the water supply and comfort of the cows.

As I walked back to the house tonight from a trip to the dairy barn before the evening milking, I noticed about half of the first herd of cows were already standing at the gate, ready to enter the parlor to be milked. Cows are very much creatures of habit and when time to be milked, you will often find the same cows at the head of the line. Routine makes the cows happy! Just like the dairy cows, I find a certain amount of comfort in following routine and schedule--it's one of the reasons I do like living on the dairy farm and working every day with my family!