Frannie's Milk Story

Everyone loves to milk Frannie, the fun loving ,friendly Benton County Farm Bureau cow! Frannie and I made the Centerton Day Celebration last weekend with a little help from my sons to transport us to the park.

Although Frannie doesn't talk much, she gives milk generously without kicking and allows us farmers  to share how we work everyday to produce high-quality milk and  the importance of dairy foods to a healthy diet.

If Frannie did talk, this would be her story about that delicious milk she produces:

Dairy foods are nutrient rich foods that provide essential nutrients and minerals that together help to keep the body in optimal health. Milk and other dairy foods provide nine essential nutrients that include:

• Calcium: Helps build and maintain healthy bones and teeth.
• Potassium: Helps to regulate the body's fluid balance and maintain normal blood pressure and muscle activity.
• Phosphorus: Helps strengthen bones and generate energy in the body's cells.
• Protein: The protein in milk, yogurt and cheese builds and repairs muscle tissue, and serves as a source of energy and satiety.
• Vitamin D: Promotes the absorption of calcium and enhances bone strength.
• Vitamin A: Helps maintain normal vision and skin and also important for bone growth.
• Vitamin B-12: Helps maintain healthy red blood cells and nerve cells.
• Riboflavin: Helps convert food into energy the body can use.
• Niacin: Helps bodies digest carbohydrates and fatty acids.

Dairy foods  provide 70 percent of the calcium in the nation's food supply and milk is the top source of potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin D in the U.S. diet. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend these daily amounts of low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products:

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

I'm sure Frannie would  be sure to mention that you can also find more dairy information and great nutritious recipes at  Dairy Makes Sense!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Parades, rodeos, fireworks, a good hotdog, homemade ice cream---

Happy Birthday America! 

 

 

I'm thankful for our country and the freedoms that we enjoy daily.

God Bless America!

Happy Ice Cream Month!

If you're needing an easy cake for the Fourth of July celebration or just want to bring a smile to your family--this chocolate  cake recipe will do the trick!  It's also the perfect way to start celebrating July-National Ice Cream Month when you add that big dip of vanilla ice cream!



Uncle Max's Cake

1 Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix
1 3 oz. instant chocolate pudding mix
1 3 oz. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 bag milk chocolate chips
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients together, beat well. Pour into Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.


                                             

                                P.S. This cake is also really good with a cold glass of milk!

June Dairy Month in Review

As I review my June Dairy Month 2013, you can see, I had a lot of fun and made some great memories.

 

 

I was privileged to judge the Arkansas Dairy Foods Contest in Little Rock and award some of the prizes to the winners!

 

Ryan and I  hosted a tour of our new milk pre-cooler and water system on our farm.

 

 

I attended the Arkansas Farm Bureau  Dairy Summer Commodity meeting that was held at the Benton County Fairgrounds.

 

I awarded our Arkansas Dairy Ambassador Jessica Crawley her 2013 plaque and shirt.

 

I observed the cutest kids you've ever seen in  PeeWee Showmanship at Dairy Days! 

 

I enjoyed serving 4-State Dairy Days participants  an evening meal with other Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Committee members.

 

I ended my June Dairy Month celebration with Francis, the Farm Bureau Milking Cow at Centerton Days!

 

                                        I hope you enjoyed June Dairy Month as much as I did!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

During the month of June, Midwest dairy farmers will donate $1 to Feeding America for each view of Feedin' a Nation video. With your help, we can donate the equivalent of 160,000 meals for families in need.

 

 I'm thankful for the commitment of America's dairy farmers that work seven days a week on the farm to provide nutritious milk and  to fight hunger by partnering with Feeding America, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the National Dairy Council.

June Dairy Month Blues

Fresh locally grown blueberries in Northwest Arkansas are the perfect addition for this last week of June Dairy Month celebration. Even though we have access to frozen berries throughout the year, there's nothing that shouts out summer more than  sweet, fresh blueberries blended with low-fat yogurt for a cool, refreshing smoothie.




Blues Buster Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 6-ounce container low-fat blueberry flavored yogurt
1/2 cup apple juice
2/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3-4 ice cubes

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a blender; blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into glass and enjoy.






You can find other very dairy recipes for celebrating beyond June Dairy Month  at:

Chillin' in the Milk Barn

It seemed fitting on the first day of summer during June Dairy Month that we would host a tour for dairy farmers and community members  to showcase our new milk chillin'  plate cooler. After completing an energy audit of our dairy farm  in 2011, the plate cooler was one of the energy saving suggestions. A Conservation Innovation Grant from NRCS made it possible for us to invest in this project for our farm.   Although cooling the milk is necessary year round, a hot first day of summer  was  perfect for talking about chillin' the milk!


Milk cooling costs are usually one of the largest energy operating expenses on the dairy because it  takes a lot of electricity to cool the cow's milk from 98 degrees when it leaves the cow to 38 degrees in the bulk storage tank. The plate cooler, also known as a Milk Pre-Cooler, is a series of steel plates installed in the milk line before the bulk tank. Cold water passes through a plate cooler in one direction and absorbs heat from the warm milk pumped through the plate cooler in the opposite direction. The plate cooler can reduce the temperature of the milk entering the bulk storage tank to within 4 degrees of the incoming cold water temperature.

Besides saving electricity and money with faster cooling, Milk Pre-Coolers also create these benefits:

• Increases the milk quality by inhibiting bacterial growth through faster cooling.
• Extends refrigeration equipment life by reducing load and run time.
• Daily milk production can also be increased when the warm water exiting the Pre-Cooler is used for watering the cows.

The installation of the Milk Pre-Cooler also required an addition of a variable speed milk pump and a water system to recycle the water used by the plate cooler for our dairy cows to drink in the pasture.

Our showcase tour also included a visit to the newly installed rubber tire water tanks.




Chillin' the milk and recycling water on our dairy farm are perfect examples of how we  continue our commitment to producing high-quality  milk while caring for and conserving  our natural resources!