Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

While the highways in Northwest Arkansas were jam packed with shoppers making their stops to all the October art and craft fairs last weekend, we were chopping corn and hauling it to the silo. Since our area has become more urbanized, moving farm machinery and hauling crops can be tricky when the traffic increases.   I am thankful for our crops and for the fact that so far it has been a safe harvest.

Double Dairy Dessert

Do you think of pumpkin pie as a dairy dessert? I'm saying yes because besides pumpkin, one of the main ingredients in the recipe I use is evaporated milk.  Evaporated milk is dehydrated milk made by removing sixty percent of the water,then homogenizing,canning and sterilizing for a shelf stable product.

Evaporated milk has been considered a staple ingredient for kitchens since developed in 1890 and was a great addition to kitchens before home refrigeration was common. Pet Milk was one of the first brands of evaporated milk in the United States and the one I remember in my own grandmother's kitchen.
Evaporated milk:

• can stand high temperatures without curdling.
• adds creaminess to thick sauces,puddings,and crockpot recipes.
• is good as a dipping liquid for breading meats,fish,or poultry.
• can be whipped but will collapse quickly.
• if using as a fresh milk substitution, you may need to reduce the sugar in the recipe.
• can be substituted in equal amounts for cream or half and half.
•  can be substituted  for 1 cup milk=1/2 cup evaporated milk+1/2 cup water.

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15oz) pure pumpkin

1 can(12fl.oz) evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-in deep-dish pie shell

Mix sugar,salt,cinnamon,ginger and cloves in small bowl.Beat eggs in large bowl.Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture. Gradually stir  in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees;bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.Serve immediately or refrigerate.

When you add that spoonful of whipped cream or ice cream to the piece of pumpkin pie, I consider that a double dairy dessert!

Sorghum Harvest

These past few days in Northwest Arkansas have been perfect for harvesting our corn and sorghum silage crops that will be used to feed our dairy cows through the next two seasons.  We feel fortunate that we have any crops to harvest considering the flooding in the spring that delayed crop planting and the severe summer drought. Actually, we are amazed that we have such a great crop of sorghum!

Today I drove to the field where Ryan and our two sons were harvesting the sorghum. Standing next to the plants, the seed heads at the top of the plants towered more than two feet above my head.  Both stem and seed head are chopped together and will provide energy and other nutrients when added to our cows diet.

After the silage is cut and blown into the truck, it will be hauled and packed into the silo and allowed to ferment for a period of time. Before we feed this silage to the cows, a sample will be sent to the lab for a nutritional analysis for our dairy nutritionist to use in designing a nutritious diet that utilizes the feed we have available to meet the specific nutritional needs of our cows.

As I watched the chopper moving up and down the field rows and the trucks filling up with silage, I know there was a big smile on my face as I watched my family working together to feed our cows  and thinking about how our  cows would enjoy eating this labor of love!

World Food Day-October 16

World Food Day gives recognition to our continued need to feed the hungry. In 1943 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt brought representatives of the allied nations together to consider the establishment of an international organization to deal with food and agriculture issues after World War II, the world population was smaller but faced what appeared to be insurmountable problems of hunger and devastation. With today's expanding world population, the solution to world hunger will require choosing to use existing and expanding scientific knowledge and technology in agriculture.

As a dairy farmer/dairymom  and consumer, food is the center of my universe every day. If I'm not shopping for food,preparing food or eating food, I am working three hundred sixty five days a year producing safe milk for consumers. Ninety-eight percent of all dairy farms in America are family farms, like mine, and regardless of the size of the farm or the method of production--our ultimate goal is to produce safe,healthy milk or milk product.

In a world with hungry people, we must be able to use every bit of sound science and technology that is available to feed our rapidly growing population. According to USDA statistics, United States dairy farmers today are producing almost three times more milk with about half the number of cows compared to 1960. Producing more milk has reduced the amount of feed,water and space needed. (Sustainability and Dairy Farming Fact Sheet found at http://www.midwestdairy.com/). Over the past sixty years, improvements in animal genetics,feeding rations,animal health programs,cow comfort and overall management practices have reduced dairy's carbon footprint by sixty three percent.  Sustaining our family farms by using our resources wisely supported by sound science and technology will allow us to continue to produce the needed food.

Sometimes the solution to hunger can be simply helping your neighbor.  Today, on World Food Day, I challenge you to consider donating to your local food pantry or work with an organization in your community to feed the hungry.  You can follow World Food Day comments on twitter by using the hashtag #bad11 or visit the Blog Action Day site at http://www.blogactionday.org/.

Myth Busting Dairy Farm Tour

Dairy farm tours provide a perfect opportunity to share how we work everyday to produce a safe product, open conversations about food production, and bust any myths or misperceptions about dairy or dairy farming. I was not surprised during yesterday's farm tour when the University of Arkansas nutrition student told me that she purchased a particular brand of milk because it stated on the label that it had no antibiotics.  It's a common myth that many consumers believe that milk contains antibiotics unless you purchase a product that is labeled antibiotic free.

I love to see and listen to the reaction of students when you bust the antibiotic dairy myth by sharing these facts:

• It is absolutely illegal for any milk to be sold with antibiotics.
• The milk from a cow being treated for an illness with antibiotics is separated from other cows' milk and disposed of.
• Milk is strictly tested for antibiotics on the farm and at the processing plant.
• Milk and dairy products are among the most highly regulated foods in this country.

Dairy farmers are committed to providing a safe,steady supply of dairy products.  You can find more dairy myth busting information at http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/ or http://www.midwestdairy.com/.

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!