Reasons to Serve Chocolate Milk for Breakfast

Tonight's local news announced that Fayetteville School District in Northwest Arkansas will no longer offer chocolate milk for school breakfast to decrease the sugar that kids are getting in the morning but it will remain a choice for lunch. Why would you decide to decrease milk consumption? Studies in other school systems have shown that if you remove chocolate milk as a choice, consumption will decrease. School age children are needing the nutrients in milk to support bone development during these peak bone building years. I'm not sure what rationale supports the school district's decision but I do know that flavored milk accounts for less than 3.5% of added sugar intake among children ages 6-12 and less than 2% of added sugar intake among teens. Studies have shown that children who drink flavored milk meet more of their nutrient needs, do not consume more added sugar,fat, or calories and are not heavier than non-milk drinkers.

Reasons to support flavored milk as a school breakfast choice include:

• Flavored milk provides essential nutrients for good health and kids drink more when flavored.





• Flavored milk contains the same nine essential nutrients as white milk.





• Flavored milk helps kids get three daily servings recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.





• Lowfat chocolate milk is the most popular choice and kids drink less if taken away.

You can find more information about the nutritional benefits and the scientific research supporting flavored milk in child nutrition at http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/ or http://www.midwestdairy.com/. I'm raising my glass for chocolate milk! Will you join me?

Cheese Lover's Enthusiasm Flows Like Lava

Earlier in the month, Ryan and I drove to Cooper's Cafe in Anderson,Missouri, to meet with other family members for supper. To our pleasant surprise, the owner of Cooper's Cafe was none other than Roger King, the winner of Midwest Dairy's "Put Some Cheese On It" contest in 2010. As the contest winner, Roger received a new HHR Chevrolet car decked out in a cheese theme, complete with a slice of cheese on the top. Roger is still driving the cheese car and enjoying the curious looks when driving in the area. You will find the cheese car parked in front of the cafe everyday to entice those cheese loving customers to come in for a tasty entree' with cheese or other dairy delight. Dairy farmers are definitely benefiting from Roger's love of cheese and dairy products and the promotion he does through his restaurant business and in his community.

Just a couple of days ago, we stopped at Cooper's Cafe for lunch before traveling on to Springfield for farm business. As I looked at the menu, I was intrigued with the many types of burgers, the unusual names and the fact that most of them contained cheese. Lava Burger caught my attention as I read the description--"flowing with cheese on top". Curiosity got the best of me and I ordered the Lava Burger. I was so intrigued by the cheese on top that I did not notice it was a double meat burger. When the waitress presented me with the Lava Burger, the cheese was mounded on top of the bun and flowing over the top and sides just like lava from a volcano. I knew then why the waitress looked at me funny when she took my order. From my experience, I would say you need to be very,very hungry or plan to share with others if you intend to order this burger!

If you need a little enthusiasm and a smile to start the week, think about Roger and the cheese car and put some cheese on it! How could you not smile when a cheese slice passes by?

Routine Transitions Provide Quality Milk

Planning for transition is part of our dairy farm routine. Preparing a dairy cow for the birth of a calf includes a two month rest period before she gives birth. On the farm we call this transition the "dry period". During this sixty day dry period the cow will rest in the pasture and be fed a specially designed low energy diet that provides adequate protein,vitamins and mineral to maintain body condition . The inputs of good nutrition and health care during the dry period will be returned by a more productive and healthy cow after giving birth.

We had three cows this week that needed to begin their sixty day dry period. After the morning milking, each cow was dry treated. Because cows are most susceptible to environmental mastitis infections during this rest period,dry treating a cow includes treating all four quarters with an approved long-lasting antibiotic product. When the cow calves and returns to the milking herd, the milk is thrown away until it is tested by our dairy cooperative lab and shown to be free of antibiotic because any milk that tests positive for antibiotics cannot be sold to the public.

After dry treatment was completed with a prescribed vitamin shot and wormer, Cody loaded the cows into the trailer and moved them to the dry pasture located a couple of miles from the dairy to begin their days of rest and rejuvenation. These cows will be fed and monitored daily. Two weeks before they are expected to give birth, we will move them to the pasture by our house. Since we have calves born through out the year, we are basically on pasture call twenty four hours a day,seven days a week!

It's a fact--healthy cows produce more milk. Our commitment to providing high-quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows everyday--24/7!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Watching the school bus pass by this week reminded me of the many transitions that we watch on our farm and in our family life. This is the first time that both boys will be working on the farm together since Cody started school in 1994. I'm thankful for all the milestone moments with my family and for the transitions that we see daily on the farm as we care for our dairy cows and work to produce a delicious healthy product.

Dairy Farm Full of Transitions

As I walked across the pasture tonight to check on our dairy cows that are due to calve any day, I heard the loud chorus of the crickets proclaiming the end of summer. It seems like life around us right now is full of transitions--school starting,seasons changing,county fair finished,both sons home on the farm for the first time in four years. Even the cows are in transition! These cows that I'm checking tonight have been moved close to the house within the last two weeks so that we can monitor them frequently and provide assistance with calving if needed.

Dairy cows experience a transition period from sixty days prior to calving until forty days after calving. During this transition period, known as the dry period, the cows are removed from the milking herd and allowed to rest in the pasture until they give birth. A carefully managed dry cow diet that contains adequate protein,vitamins and minerals, medium quality forage, and a small amount of grain will prepare the cow for a smooth transition into the milking herd, provide optimum milk production in early lactation and reduce the incidence of metabolic disorders.

Caring for our cows during this important transition time in the cow's life leads to high quality, wholesome milk. Tomorrow we have three more cows that will begin their transition into the dry period and be removed from the milking herd. One thing is constant in life and on the dairy farm--transition!

Detour To A Healthy Dairy Snack

Our county fair is rich in tradition and one hundred seven years of history. What makes each fair special are the families and individuals that are involved in all of the fair activities. Friday at our county fair has always been "Kids Day" which allows all children to come into the fair for free. Today as I watched all the 4-H members in the livestock barn preparing their animals for these special guests, I couldn't help but feel a measure of pride in the dedication of these 4-H members that are devoted to making our county fair a great success. One of my favorite groups of course is the Benton County 4-H Udder Dairy Club. This morning club members used a theme of "Body Under Construction" to draw kids to the dairy area. As children walked through the barn to watch the cows being milked in the parlor, dairy club members were sharing information about their 4-H dairy projects and dairy nutrition,exhibiting their dairy animals and providing a squeezable yogurt for every child attending Kids Day.

Yogurt is a healthy snack choice for any time--at the fair,after school or at work. It provides a package of nine essential nutrients that improve overall diet quality,keep hunger in check, and help provide energy through the day. Besides squeezable yogurt, you might try these yogurt snack ideas:

-Tropical Smoothie: Blend fresh orange slices with strawberry yogurt and ice.

-Freeze squeezable yogurt for a quick and creamy popsicle.

-Parfait Pleaser: Layer granola and fresh fruit with your favorite lowfat yogurt.

You can find other healthy snack suggestions at http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/. Think I'll go see if I can find any yogurt on my way back to the fair to work in the Benton County Farm Bureau Petting Zoo!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Today was the first day of our Benton County Fair. Benton County Farm Bureau began sponsoring the petting zoo at least fifteen years ago. I've been the zoo keeper for ten of those years. Kids and adults can pet two baby pigs,chicks,a dairy calf, a goat , a lamb and milk Sophia, our special milking cow. I'm thankful for all the volunteers who willingly help to make the petting zoo a great experience for thousands of kids and their families.