Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

University of Arkansas nutrition students are visiting our dairy farm this week to learn  how we work everyday to produce a safe,healthy product.  Several of the students told me they have never been on a farm and appreciate the opportunity to visit.  I am thankful for teachers that value agriculture and  want their students to understand where  food  comes from , how it is produced , and to appreciate that we as Americans enjoy the safest,most abundant and most affordable food supply in the world.

Moo Facts for National Farm to School Month

Did you know that October is National Farm to School Month?  The National Farm to School program works to improve child nutrition,sustain local farm economies, and educate children about where their food comes from. Dairy farmers have a great story to tell about milk that includes how we produce a nutritious product, while caring for our animals and the land we call home.

Here's a few interesting Moo Facts you can share with kids of all ages:

• There are 60,000 dairy farms in the U.S. with 11,000 dairy farms in the Midwest.
• It all starts with healthy cows: a dairy cow , on average, eats 90 pounds of hay,grain and silage each day, and drinks 25-50 gallons of water.
• Comfortable cows are healthy cows: cows lay down up to 14 hours each day.
• Before cows are milked, everything used in milking is cleaned and sanitized.
• Cows are milked 2-3 times a day.
• Each cow produces about 8-9 gallons of milk a day ,or more than 90 glasses. 
• Milk is produced in all 50 states; the top 10 producing states are: California,Wisconsin,New York, Pennsylvania,Minnesota,Texas,New Mexico,Michigan,and Washington.

You can learn more Moo Facts and about the story of milk in the educational packet From Farm to Food to You that is available at http://www.midwestdairy.com/. Sharing the story of milk is a great way to celebrate National Farm to School Month!

Bermuda Hay Challenges

Even though activity on the dairy farm seems to be speeding up with  the additional chores of planting grass seed,corn chopping and hay baling, the production of Bermuda hay is winding down with the onset of fall.  Although we purchase alfalfa  hay to feed the milking cows, we produce  Bermuda hay for our younger dairy animals and beef cattle. The Bermuda grass seems to  know its growing days are numbered before we have our first frost in just a few weeks.

As I watched Ryan raking the hay this afternoon, I noticed how much thinner the cut rows appeared.  This field would normally be cut and baled into small square bales that would be hand fed to young calves. Today it will be baled into large round bales for larger dairy calves and beef cattle due to the decreased quality and yield. Hay production on our farm and across Benton County has been less this year due to the extreme flooding in the spring and the drought this summer. Like all farmers in our county, we are scrambling to harvest every bale because of this shortage. 

Even if you follow the weather man and check the DTN weather map, it seems like  clouds will appear from nowhere when you are baling hay. Farmers always take this challenge!  Just as the raking was finished and the baler pulled into the field, the clouds were gathering.  Thankfully, the Bermuda  hay was baled without getting wet.  Now bring on the rain!

Power for Dairy Food Safety

Power outages usually occur when least expected.  Last week was the exception when the electric company notified us that our power would be turned off for a two hour period while existing lines were replaced.  Power outages at home are inconvenient and often irritating but, it's more than inconvenient when you are looking at 300 dairy cows that are ready and waiting in line to enter the milk barn and the lights go out!

Thank goodness we have a plan of action for the dairy when the power does get interrupted. Electrical power is important for cow comfort, quality milk and dairy food safety. Our cows' comfort depends on keeping to the milk schedule.  Electricity is used to run the equipment in the dairy barn to milk the cows, cool the milk and keep it cool until it leaves the farm for processing. Power is also needed  to run the system that washes and sanitizes the milking equipment after all the cows are milked before the next milking time.

Until last year, we used a generator that could be hooked up to the tractor to generate enough electrical power to get the cows milked. After experiencing five days without power from an ice storm and fearing that our small generator might not survive another lengthy power outage, we decided to invest in a stand alone generator.  This generator is much larger, runs more efficiently and provides enough power to get the cows milked,keep the milk cool and sanitize the milking equipment.

Dairy food safety is powered not only by electricity but by every dairy farmer's  commitment to provide safe,high quality milk and dairy products.  Hope you will power up with  some great dairy product this weekend!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Last week I was honored to represent Arkansas dairy farmers when Governor Mike Beebe and First Lady Ginger Beebe signed the pledge of support for Fuel Up to Play 60.  Arkansas already  has 900 schools participating in this dairy farmer funded program that is designed to empower students to make healthy nutritional choices and get the needed 60 minutes of activity every day.  I'm thankful for the impact that Fuel Up to Play 60 will have in empowering students across our state to "be healthy,get active and make a difference."

Dairymom's Best Crop

Mornings that require long sleeves and light jackets followed by short sleeved t-shirts in the afternoon would describe the temperature perfectly in northwest Arkansas for the past week.  Although we would welcome rain, the weather has been perfect for planting for winter and spring grass crops.

Dairy farming is labor intensive every day but when you add planting and harvesting to the schedule it does get a little crazy! We are fortunate to have both our sons working on the farm with us.   Each day last week, time was spent getting ready to plant one field. A trip was made to Missouri to buy the seed, the equipment was serviced, the field was disked,and finally the planter was taken to the field. When Ryan and I returned from our trip to Little Rock on Friday, Cody needed one more hour to finish the planting of this field.  We arrived just in time to help fill the planter with seed for the final round to finish the planting. 

As I watched Cody driving across the field, I remembered what my mother-in-law often said when asked about her life on the farm.  She would say,"I've been here all my life and these boys (referring to her son and grandsons) are the best crop I ever raised." I'm thinking more like her everyday!

"Be Healthy,Get Active,and Make a Difference"

Can you take the pledge "be healthy,get active, and make a difference"?  Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and First Lady Ginger Beebe made that pledge today to show support for Fuel Up to Play 60 in Arkansas schools. The pledge ceremony was also attended by students and faculty from the Weiner school district, four Arkansas dairy farmers,and Midwest Dairy staff.

Fuel Up to Play 60 brings tools and resources to schools to involve students in learning how to make nutritious choices and engage in sixty minutes of activity everyday for long lasting good health. Fuel Up to Play 60 is a direct response to the childhood obesity epidemic we face in Arkansas and across the nation. It is funded by dairy farmers in partnership with the National Dairy Council, the National Football League, and the United States Department of Agriculture. Detailed information about Fuel Up to Play 60 can be found at http://www.midwestdairy.com/.

As a dairy farmer, I loved listening to the 9th grade student, Joshua Lucero describe with enthusiasm how he got involved with the Fuel Up to Play 60 program as a 7th grader in the Weiner school district.  Although Weiner is a small rural school district, he utilized technology and his computer skills to develop a power point presentation that he and other students shared to spread the word about making healthy choices and getting the needed sixty minutes of exercise everyday.  His teacher told us that he met her in  the parking lot every morning to make sure she accomplished every necessary detail to achieve success in the program. Today was proof that his persistence paid off!

Representing Arkansas dairy farmers at this celebration of support was an awesome experience. Today more than  400,000 students represented in 900 schools across Arkansas are participating in Fuel Up to Play 60.   Dairy farmers are making a difference everyday as we work to produce a healthy product and support programs like Fuel Up to Play 60 to encourage children and adults to "be healthy,get active and make a difference".  Will you take the pledge?