Farm Bureau Style Storytelling

As I prepare to leave for Nashville,Tennessee, to attend the American Farm Bureau Convention, I am reminded of my friends who share their passion for agriculture by volunteering each year to educate children about the importance of agriculture in our everyday lives. This past year we had a great experience in downtown Bentonville sharing information about Benton County's agricultural history.

Mrs. Sears shared about the impact of electricity to rural Benton County and the impact it made on agricultural productivity.

            Mrs. Tina Crawley shared about her fifth generation Benton County  dairy farm family.

Ms. Edith Glover shared how her father decided to transition her backyard chicken flock into a booming poultry industry in Northwest Arkansas.

Apple Dan provided information and entertainment to inform how Benton County transitioned from apples to poultry,beef and dairy. 

 Volunteering brings great joy and it is an honor to be a farmer and  share the agriculture story! 

January's Comfort Food

No one in my family is too happy about eating leftovers so Mama is very happy to find a recipe that uses leftovers and produces smiles and the thumbs up when asked if it's good enough to be served again! Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Ham from about.com was the perfect solution this week when we thought it was too difficult to eat any more leftover ham.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese With Ham

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 3/4 cups of half and half
1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 14 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 cups diced ham
5 cups cooked macaroni
1 cup bread crumbs-half for the inside crunch and half for the topping
1/4 cup scallions,diced
pepper to taste

Using a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour; stir and gradually stir in half and half, making sure to keep stirring as the entire mixture thickens.
Pour in your cooked macaroni. Add your shredded cheese and your Parmesan to the mixture--now you can add half the bread crumbs and scallions, and add the cubed ham.
Stir well and pour into a well-greased casserole or baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the top is crisp.

 

Next thing you know, they'll be asking when we're having ham leftovers!!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Arkansas legislators will gather in Little
Rock next week to  begin the 2013 Regular Session of the 89th General Assembly. I'm thankful for the dedicated representatives from across our state  that will be embracing challenges,  solving problems and   working to make life better for Arkansans.

Flat Aggie Teaches Farmers

Flat Aggie hasn't been taking any spelling or vocabulary tests while visiting the farm, but I'm quite sure he has gained knowledge of both. I've also had a lesson from Flat Aggie.

 In our every day work on the farm, we farmers forget that what we are talking about may not make any sense to a non-farmer. Flat Aggie  reminded me about this when we were feeding the dry cows.

 'Dry cow'  in dairy farmer language is a cow that is pregnant and is resting in the pasture until she has her calf. She has been ' dried off' and removed from the milking herd. Explaining that the dry cow gives milk once she calves made perfect sense and answered the confusing question--how does a dry cow give milk!

 

It's been alot of fun showing Flat Aggie around the dairy farm to share how we work every day to care for our animals and the land to produce high-quality milk! 

Flat Aggie is leaving us to visit an Arkansas poultry farm this week.  Wonder what he'll teach the poultry farmer? 

 

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Benton County elected officials were sworn in this morning at the Benton County Courthouse by Judge Schrantz.  Mother and I were making family and county history today--taking our oath together for public service.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve the public as Benton County Justice of the Peace  and for all the encouragement of family and friends.

Happy New Year!

 

 

We wish you a very happy and healthy New Year from down on the dairy farm!

Dairy Cliff Notes: Dairy Makes Sense

In the last few days the talk is all about the fiscal cliff and the dairy cliff. It's hard to believe that it's possible for government regulations that effect dairy policy might  revert to 1940 laws that make no sense in today's dairy industry world. If our dairy  cows new about this--they might go on strike or demand more benefits!

Take heart--even though dairy farmers have no control over the dairy cliff--happening or not happening--you can be sure that Dairy Makes Nutritional Sense. Here are a few notes why Dairy Makes Sense:

• Together, milk,cheese and yogurt play a critical role in the diets of adults and children by providing nine essential nutrients, including calcium,magnesium,potassium and phosphorus, in addition to 48 percent of the daily value of protein.
• Dairy foods provide 70 percent of the calcium in the nation's food supply; milk is the top source of potassium,phosphorus,and vitamin D in the U.S. diet.
• Dairy nutrients are vital to the development of strong bones, thus reducing the risk of developing osteoporosis.
• Research suggest dairy foods help prevent weight gain and are beneficial for weight maintainence.
• Minerals found in dairy foods play an important role in maintaining healthy blood pressure.
• Consumption of dairy foods is associated with a reduced risk of cardiometabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that increases the risk of cardiovasuclar disease and type 2 diabetes.

You can find more information about dairy nutrition,dairy farming and nutritious recipes at DairyMakesSense.