Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Last Friday we had our first and only  May snow in Northwest Arkansas!

 

 

 

I'm thankful that my Lily of the Valley (May's flower)

 wasn't one bit shocked by the sudden return to winter!

May's Farm Fun

For the last seven or eight years, the Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Committee has sponsored an elementary school  program in May  titled "Farm Expo". With the help of  volunteers from Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Beef Council, we're able to provide hands-on fun with  information about Arkansas agriculture and how farmers provide safe food while protecting the environment.

 

Friday morning we shared Farm Expo with Bonnie Grimes Elementary third graders.

 

Students learned about...

cotton,

 

food safety,

 

poultry,

water,

 

chicks,

 

soil,

rice,

 

dairy,

                                                                                and beef.

                                         I'm sure the students had as much fun as the volunteers!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

 

It was a happy May Day when I found the first lilac bloom and iris while enjoying the sunshine this morning.

 

                                                                            
                                   I'm thankful for the April showers that bring May flowers!

Swine Facility Saves the Buffalo

I'm sharing this video produced by Arkansas Farm Bureau because this eighth generation family farmer states how we feel about the land. Last week his family opened a new swine facility in Newton County. The new  facility  is built to industry standards and has met all the requirements for permitting by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to protect the environment. This new facility actually should protect the Buffalo River better because of the design features to protect the environment as opposed to older swine facilities that have been operating in the area for many years.

  This Arkansas farm family is on the receiving end of a lot of criticism from the public because the farm is in the Buffalo River watershed area. It's important that truthful information is shared because it's obvious that from all the media hogwash I've seen and read,  there is alot of misunderstanding about how we farmers  work to produce safe food and protect the environment.

 No one understands the importance of caring for the land any better than a farmer. We live and work everyday on the land and desire to leave it better than we found it. It's our heritage.

Got Your Goat

 

Spring on the dairy farm brings many joys in nature, in life on the dairy farm and for our family.

Birthdays are always special events and

last night we managed to pull off a surprise birthday party for Cody,thanks to Margaret(Cody's girlfriend) and alot of sneaky family and friends.

 

 

I was afraid we might set the cake on fire if we lit  twenty-five candles!

 

 

 

 The best gift was this baby goat from a family friend who knew Cody needed a new lawn mower!

                                                     A memorable birthday--don't you think?

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

For the first time in forty-one years of dairy farming, every bit of feed for our dairy cows was being purchased due to last year's drought. We are more than a little bit excited as we start to harvest this spring crop of rye and wheat!

 

Making adjustments to the chopper is part of the preparation for harvest.

 

The rye is tall and thick and takes at least a day of drying in the field after being cut before it can be chopped.

 

 

The chopper pulls the rye into the knives,chops it into small pieces,

 

 

 

 

and blows it into the silage truck.

 

I'm thankful for this crop and for the smiles I've seen on the farmers faces this week!

Dairy Farmers Celebrate Earth Day Everyday

Although we celebrate Earth Day everyday  on the dairy farm by caring for our  land and  animals, harvesting our spring crop of rye grass  is a great way to celebrate the actual day. This crop has grown due to the application of cow manure on the field. Cow manure not only  provides needed  nutrients for a crop , it also   increases the water holding capacity for the soil.


 Recycled cow manure is a perfect example of how we celebrate Earth Day everyday!

Federal ,state and local clean water laws regulate how manure is applied on crop lands, so nutrients are absorbed by crops,not groundwater.  To protect the environment, we follow a farm plan that has been designed by environmental engineering specialists that  guide how much manure can be applied to acceptable acres of farm and crop land.

From all of us down on the dairy farm,

 

Happy Earth Day!!