Responsible Environmental Protection

Responsible manure management protects the environment for us and our neighbors.  I felt like the dairymom  paparazzi when I jumped into my vehicle and followed the tractor and manure spreader to the field this afternoon to take a few nutrient management pictures. My sons think I'm a little crazy and when I called Casey on the phone to tell him I was behind him, he didn't seem a bit surprised!

Recycling cow manure is important to the sustainability of our farm economically and environmentally.  Our cows provide natural fertilizer that adds nutrients to the soil for crop and pasture land and decreases the amount of commercial fertilizer that might need to be purchased. Our farm is regulated and monitored by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. The  permit from this agency allows us to have storage areas for both liquid and dry manure. A manure nutrient management  plan designed for our farm guides the   amount,source,placement and timing of manure on our fields.

Today's manure was loaded into the slinging spreader from the dry manure stack at the end of the feed barn and applied to this field where we chopped corn last week. Conserving our natural resources and protecting the environment  by responsible manure management are part of  our everyday life on the dairy farm as we work to provide high quality milk.

Celebrate Food Choice on Food Day

Although the goal of Food Day is to change the food habits of American citizens, dairy farmers celebrate Food Day everyday by our commitment to provide the choice of nutritious milk and contributing to research and development of dairy products that meet the nutritional needs and choices of consumers.

Milk is a nutrient rich food that provides nine essential nutrients.  It is the number one food source for Vitamin D,calcium, and potassium--three of the four nutrients that Americans need to consume more of according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Dairy farmers have funded research and development of dairy products to provide milk choices that include low-fat,fat-free and lactose free varieties, and cheese and yogurt products to meet individual taste and nutritional goals.

Ninety eight percent of all United States dairy farms are family-owned and operated. Our sons are now the fourth generation to live and work on our farm. We take great pride in the product we produce and are committed to providing high quality milk by taking good care of our cows and being good caretakers of our land for the next generation. By utilizing sound science and technology, dairy farmers are reducing the amount of feed, water and space needed while increasing the amount of nutrient-rich dairy products for a growing population.  It's no mistake that United States dairy farmers are producing almost three times more milk with about half the number of cows compared to 1960. More information about dairy farming and sustainability can be found at http://www.midwestdairy.com/.

Celebrating Food Choice on Food Day is possible because of dairy farm families working everyday to provide that choice.  Dairy farm families truly celebrate Food Day everyday by working together to produce safe,nutritious milk!

4-H--Makes the Best Better

I pledge : My Head to clearer thinking, My Heart to greater loyalty, My Hands to larger service,My Health to better living for my club, my community,my country and my world.

4-H members recite this pledge at the beginning of every club meeting. It  describes the purpose of 4-H perfectly. October is 4-H promotion month and even though my boys are no longer in 4-H, I will always be a strong advocate for the 4-H program because I have witnessed first hand how involvement in 4-H helps to nurture and teach children how to develop into model citizens while learning life skills.

As I looked through several stacks of pictures of the many 4-H activities that Cody and Casey were involved in over a ten year period of membership, I realized how thankful I am for the privilege I have had to see their growth and development in a unique way while being involved as a family in every activity.

Even though  my sons'  main 4-H projects were related to dairy and agriculture, each enjoyed learning a variety of skills like cooking and sewing. We still laugh about the largest cookie baked by Cody and the cake batter that was spattered all over the walls of our county extension office during a cake baking demonstration activity by Casey and friend Beau. One of my favorite activities was helping our club members sew Christmas stockings each year  for a local children's shelter and then filling them with gifts.

I look forward to attending  the  annual Benton County 4-H Achievement Banquet in just a couple of weeks to celebrate the successes of  4-H members. It is a rewarding experience to see the difference 4-H is making for the future of our community and fulfilling the motto to "make the best better".You can find  information about 4-H in Arkansas at http://www.kidsarus.org/go4it/4HArkansas. 

Nursing Baby Calves

The weather was perfect last week when I had University of Arkansas nutrition students touring the dairy farm. When we were looking at baby calves in their individual calf hutches, one of the students asked me what we did when the weather got cold. My quick reply was that I put on warmer clothes.  I didn't realize that I would be adding those warmer clothes this week! When the weather man said it was twenty nine degrees with wind this morning, I suited up for calf feeding chores with my hooded sweatshirt and coveralls.Although you can't see it, I always have my nursing hat on when I go to feed calves!

Temperature and weather changes like we have had this week create a stress for our baby calves and stress can lead to illness. Even though the inside of the individual calf hutch is warm and cozy, each calf will be closely monitored for any signs of pneumonia.  As we feed the calves, I observe their activity and eating behavior and listen for coughing or unusual breathing that may occur if they are getting sick.  After all the calves are fed, I will walk through the rows of hutches for a second observation of each calf.   It is important to monitor baby calves closely and if necessary treat with medication prescribed by our veterinarian.

Raising healthy baby calves is a job I take seriously because these calves will eventually be part of our milking herd. I've used my nursing degree everyday on the farm-raising baby calves and kids!  Our commitment to producing quality milk starts every day in the calf hutches with consistent,vigilant care making sure each calf is healthy.

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!