Contented Cows

Today was a beautiful day in Northwest Arkansas and a perfect day to be working outside on the dairy farm. While waiting on our veterinarian to arrive for our scheduled herd health check-up day, I walked over to the feed barn to watch the cows eat after being milked this morning. I love watching contented cows eat their balanced and nutritious diet designed by our dairy nutritionist.

Everyday our milking cows are fed a total mixed feed ration of grain,silage and hay. All of the feed ingredients are measured,mixed together in a large mixer wagon and fed to the cows in the feed barn. We monitor how our cows are eating and enjoying their feed everyday because the cows' health,milk production and reproduction are dependent on good nutrition.

Our commitment to producing  high quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows by providing a nutritious diet, good medical care and healthy living conditions. As I watched the cows eating, I couldn't help wondering if those cows were as contented as me!

Chocolate Lover's Challenge

As Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Committee members, my friend Tara and I volunteered to serve as two of the eight judges for the county 4-H baking contest last week. Participants of the contest were given recipes for banana bread,biscuits,snicker doodle cookies, and chocolate cake.  Our assignment was to judge the chocolate cake. For two chocolate lovers this seemed like a real treat  but by the twenty-eighth piece of chocolate cake that we had to taste and judge, it became quite a challenge to judge each piece. At the end of the morning, we agreed  that chocolate cake was no longer   our favorite flavor. If we get invited to judge next year, we've already decided to ask to judge the biscuits!

Although I've avoided chocolate of any kind since our judging experience,I do plan to make my family's favorite chocolate cake later this week.

Chocolate Sheath Cake

1 stick butter

1/2 cup Crisco

4 Tablespoons cocoa

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp soda
2 eggs,slightly beaten

Bring butter,Crisco,cocoa,and water to a rapid boil. Pour over the sugar and flour and beat well. Add buttermilk and soda,vanilla,cinnamon and eggs. Beat, then bake at 400 degrees F. in metal loaf pan for 20 minutes. Cover with the following.

Icing:

1 stick butter

4 Tablespoons cocoa

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar,sifted

6 Tablespoons milk

1 cup pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring butter,cocoa, and milk to boil. Add powdered sugar,vanilla and pecans. Beat well and pour over cake while hot.

Options: No nuts needed

For the perfect addition to this recipe, pour a tall glass of cold milk or add a big dip of vanilla ice cream!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Happy National Agriculture Day!  It's a great day to celebrate and bring recognition to   America's farmers for  producing the safest,most affordable and available food supply. It's a fact that one farmer supplies food for more than 144 people in the United States and abroad compared with just 25.8 people in 1960 and on less land every year.  I'm thankful for all of the farm families that are working everyday to make sure we have a safe and secure food supply.

Super Tuesday--Dairy Style

Even though we didn't have elections in Arkansas  today on Super Tuesday, this has been a Super Tuesday for having new calves born on the dairy farm. We have baby calves born throughout the year but in the spring and fall of each year, a group of heifers will give birth to their first calf.  Right now we are waiting on thirty six heifers to give birth in the next couple of weeks.

Calving season, in my opinion, is more exciting than the political season because we are anxiously waiting  to add these new heifers to the milking herd to insure the continuance of our family dairy farm. It is a great feeling of accomplishment to watch theses dairy heifers that have been born and raised on our dairy farm grow and develop and produce their first calf. Our commitment to providing high-quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows and heifers and begins at birth.

We've been anticipating the arrival of new calves for several weeks and today was a hotbed of activity as two heifers and one cow gave birth within just a few hours. It's not really unusual to have two or three new calves to care for when a group of heifers are calving but today's births brought us to twelve new calves in three days. Adding more calves at bottle feeding time gives new meaning to Super Tuesday for us on the dairy!

How Do You Get Your Plate in Shape?

National Nutrition Month is the perfect time to think about your overall health and well being and consider how to improve your food choices for better nutrition. Since the 1980's, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has been bringing recognition to nutrition in the month of March to improve the nation's health.

"Get Your Plate in Shape" this month with these tips (http://www.eatright.org/):

• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
• Make at least half your grains whole
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat milk
• Vary your protein choices
• Cut back on sodium and empty calories from solid fats and added sugars
• Enjoy your food but eat less
• Be physically active your way

As a dairy farmer and dairymom, I take great pride in providing high-quality milk that plays an important role for good nutrition for children and adults. Families can choose from a variety of milk, cheese and yogurt products to meet their taste and nutritional goals. It's a fact: that together, milk,cheese, and yogurt play a critical role in providing nine essential nutrients, including calcium,magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus, in addition to 48 percent daily value of protein.

You can find more information about ways to improve your plate and nutritious recipes at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ or http://www.midwestdairy.com/.

Wagon Full of Love

Several years ago I found a small wagon seat stuffed in the back of an old garage on our farm. The wagon seat had been used on a small wagon pulled by a team of mules  to haul wood in the early 1920's by Ryan's grandfather.  The boards on the wagon seat were very weathered and rotten but in good enough shape to sit on the patio and hold a few colorful summer potted plants. A few weeks ago, the wagon finally rotted and fell completely apart. I mentioned to youngest son Casey that I would give up on the wagon and throw it away.  The rotten boards and metal springs disappeared soon after my remark and I assumed it was carried to the dumpster.

Last week I was shocked when Casey presented me with the rebuilt wagon seat. I was speechless and deeply touched by this thoughtful gift.  Casey and a friend with carpentry experience spent several evenings secretly working to rebuild the wagon just for me.  It is a great keepsake for me and our family because it connects us to Grandfather Grover and the establishment of our family farm.  This sentimental gift of the heart is truly priceless and too precious to sit out in the weather but it's perfect for my indoor plants and interesting conversation connecting the past and present. It's not every wagon seat that is so full of love and has a fourth generation story to tell!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

The first flowers of spring to appear are always a welcome sight. I'm thankful for the mild winter weather and for the flowers that remind us to  enjoy the beauty around us each day.