Dairy Diving

Our local Chick-fil-A provided a special cookie treat for each participant of this morning's National Day of Prayer breakfast.  I didn't notice the seal on the package until I pulled it from my purse late this afternoon for a tasty snack. I'm still smiling about the label and thought I would share one of my family's favorite cookie recipes in case you want to let your cookie  take a dive in a cold glass of milk!

Chocolate Chip-Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/4 cups softened butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, baking soda,salt, and spices, and mix well. Combine mixtures, and mix well. Stir in oats. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes in a 375 degree F. oven for a chewy cookie and 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet, and then remove to a wire rack. Makes 4 1/2 dozen.

                                                                   Take the Dairy Dive!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

It must be a sign of maturity (nice word for old age) when the best part of any trip is coming home. I'm thankful for  a safe trip and  to be back  home on the farm with my family of humans and cows!

Dairy Supports Healthy Community Strategies

Volunteering to talk about dairy farming is always an adventure and after finding my way to Lake Degray in south Arkansas, I did enjoy all that I learned at the Growing Healthy Communities Conference. "Growing Healthy Communities" is described as a movement in Arkansas that involves bringing elected officials,health workers,educators, business leaders and citizens together to turn our communities into vibrant,liveable,healthy environments. Growing Healthy Communities is geared to reversing the public health crisis associated with childhood and adult obesity that is rampant in Arkansas. (http://www.arkansasobesity.org)

Before I gave my presentation, I learned about a variety of ways communities in Arkansas are meeting the public health challenges such as:

• Increasing access to healthful foods by developing community gardens or opening farmers markets
• Increasing the opportunity for physical activity by increasing sidewalks,trails and influencing physical education in schools and preschools
• Enhancing policies that foster health
• Improving worksite wellness
• Organizing for change

So, how does a dairy farmer support a healthy community? In my opinion, dairy farmers support healthy communities by:

• producing a nutrient-dense,economical food.
• providing funding for research and development of products to meet consumers' needs.
• providing funding  for and implementation of Fuel Up to Play 60 to involve children in making healthy food choices and being physically active for life long healthy habits.

You can find information about Fuel Up to Play 60 at http://www.midwestdairy.com or http://www.fueluptoplay60.com

Dairy's Natural Combination

Like cookies and milk, dairy farming and family are just a natural combination. While we  were celebrating Cody's twenty-fourth birthday today, bringing out the picture album seemed a natural response to questions about the early days of number one son. It's obvious from looking at these pictures that our dairy farm family milestones are intermingled with dairy farming.

The year Cody was born, 1988,  was also the year our current milking facility was built  and included the addition of a stainless steel milk tank that stores 28,000 pounds of milk. Stainless steel refrigerated milk tanks are needed to store the milk and keep the milk cool until it is transported to the milk processing plant. Refrigerated milk tanks are an important part of the system that make milk the safest foods available.


Just as our family is growing and changing, we are also looking at innovative practices to make our farm more sustainable. Cooling the milk more efficiently is one of those practices under consideration. The milk tank will still be needed for storing the milk, but new and more innovative equipment will help to conserve energy and reduce the operational cost in cooling the milk.

Bringing new innovative technology into our dairy farming operation is a natural combination with our dairy farm family's mission statement to produce the highest quality, lowest cost milk possible in an environmentally responsible manner.

 

April's Dairy Farm Celebrations

 
April is full of celebrations for our family farm--

                                                               new calves,

finishing spring harvest,

family birthdays!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                              Farms and ranches provide natural habitat for many birds and animals.

Last June we were watching these Egyptian geese with their babies and this week I found this young  pair swimming in the same pond.  

         During a busy spring day on the farm,

                                                            I'm thankful for the moments                 
                                                  I can enjoy watching God's perfect creation.

Dairymom's Fueling Station

While your schedule may be increasing with outdoor activities and spring sports practices, our spring schedule on the dairy farm is totally out of control as we harvest spring crops,prepare to plant crops and have a lot of new baby calves to care for. During this hectic time, my kitchen seems to become a fueling station with a revolving door. Keeping plenty of milk,cheese and yogurt available is my number one fuel station priority because it provides essential nutrients that we all need and it is my family's favorite grab and go fuel-up food.

Essential nutrients are defined as "dietary substances required for healthy body functioning that must be received from food because the human body doesn't manufacture them in sufficient quantities to meet daily needs." Milk and other dairy foods provide nine of these essential nutrients. Dairy's powerful nutrition package contains:

1. Calcium: Helps build and maintain healthy bones and teeth.
2. Potassium: Helps to regulate the body's fluid balance and maintain normal blood pressure. It's also needed for muscle activity.
3. Phosphorus: Helps strengthen bones and generate energy in the body's cells.
4. Protein: The protein in milk,yogurt and cheese builds and repairs muscle tissue, and serves as a source of energy and satiety.
5. Vitamin D: Promotes the absorption of calcium and enhances bone strength. it is one of the nutrients Americans lack most.
6. Vitamin A: Helps maintain normal vision and skin. It is also important for bone growth.
7. Vitamin B-12: Helps maintain healthy red blood cells and nerve cells.
8. Riboflavin: Helps convert food into energy the body can use. Also known as vitamin B2, it's important for normal eyesight and healthy skin.
9. Niacin: Helps bodies digest carbohydrates and fatty acids.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend increasing intakes of low-fat or fat-free milk  and milk products in the following amounts:

• 2 cups for children 2 to 3 years
• 2.5 cups for children 4 to 8 years
• 3 cups for those 9 years and older

You can find more information about dairy nutrition for fueling up at http://www.midwestdairy.com or http://www.dairymakessense.com.