Dairy Love

 

Twenty-nine years ago at high noon, the time that all Ryan's  farmer friends could make the event...

 

                                                                                  
                                        we were drinking milk at our wedding reception!
                                                      

              Twenty-nine years later, we're still celebrating dairy love everyday down on the dairy farm!
                         

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

If you visit our dairy  farm, Chester will be one of  the first to greet you. We're not sure what kind of dog he is but we guess him to be a mixture of terrier and blue heeler. He's obviously not beautiful, nor trained for any particular job on the farm, but he wins the heart of all children and visitors. He does have a bad habit of nipping your heel when you least expect it-- it's always the grown men that  fear him!

 

 Chester has   been my faithful companion every step I take on the farm for at least twelve years.

With cooler weather, he has reclaimed his warm bedtime  spot on the back porch. I'm pretty sure he would like to be a house dog.

 

                                                                            
                                                                           
                                               I'm thankful for Chester--so ugly, he's cute!

Dairy Sustainability

With silage harvest complete, it's off to the next farm task---planting for spring crops! It was a perfect weather day for getting started and with more rain predicted later  this week, there's  no time to waste.

 

 

Part of the preparation for planting today started several weeks ago when cow manure was spread on the fields for fertilization of the soil in the fields that will be planted. Cow manure is a great nutrient for the soil and also increases the water holding capacity.

 

Our dairy is licensed   by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (often referred to as ADEQ) to store and utilize the cow manure produced on our farm. Manure is spread on designated fields on our farm with limits of how much can be applied. Following these regulations and best management practices protect the health of my family, our cows and the environment.

 

 

Recycling the manure produced by our dairy cows makes economic sense, helps the environment and protects our water quality.

 

That's what I call sustainability down on the dairy farm!

Dairy Goes Bananas

I love this month of gathering with friends and family to celebrate and give thanks for the blessings we enjoy on a daily basis.  As I flipped through a new cookbook, 'What's Cooking at Wye', that I picked up on my visit to see the spring daffodils on Wye Mountain, Banana Pudding seemed to be the perfect choice to carry to our Thanksgiving church dinner today. It meets my criteria for using dairy products and serving a crowd!

The recipe didn't have a lot of detailed instruction so I decided on my own to line the bottom of the 13x 9  serving dish with a layer of vanilla wafers with a layer of banana slices on top,pour the pudding mixture  and top it with the rest of the vanilla wafers. I can tell you from licking the spatula--it's mmm... good!

Banana Pudding

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese,softened
1 can condensed milk

Mix ingredients above together and set aside.

1 large box instant vanilla pudding
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the above ingredients together; then add to the cream cheese and condensed milk mixture.

8 bananas-sliced
1 large tub Cool Whip
1 package of vanilla wafers

Add to the mixture above: 1 large tub of Cool Whip (fold one big blob of this into the mixture above)
use the rest to top the pudding. Pour into large bowl, top with remaining cool whip...place in the refrigerator.

                                                                          Happy Sunday!

Feelin' the Farmer Love

Dairy farms can be found in all 50 states and even though each farm is unique, we are all working for the same outcome--producing nutritious, high-quality milk by caring for our animals and the land we call home. 

This video thank-you from McDonald's  was shared at the National Milk Producer's Annual Meeting in Phoenix this week.

I  felt the farmer love all the way to Arkansas---thank-you from all of us dairy farmers!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Arkansas Farm Bureau leaders from all 75 counties met in Little Rock last week for the State Resolution Committee meeting  to discuss resolutions for policy changes in preparation for the annual meeting in December. This process is why Farm Bureau is called a "grassroots" organization. Changes or additions  made to Farm Bureau policy start at the county level, are  reviewed by the State Resolution Committee and  then presented at the annual meeting for adoption.

 

 

At this two day meeting, we discussed both state and national policies that are important to our members across the state. I just love talking about chickens and dairy!

 

After review and suggestions for adoption of changes, resolutions are approved for presentation at the annual meeting in December.

 

 

 

I'm thankful for this policy process that serves to fulfill the mission of Arkansas Farm Bureau in advocating the interests of agriculture, disseminating information concerning the value and importance of agriculture, and provide products and services which improve the quality of life for our members.

Dairy Cow Approved Weather

It was a Dairy Cow Approved Weather Day  and I'm going to recommend a bonus for the  weatherman's perfect prediction of today's cold weather in Northwest Arkansas.  As I waddled out the back door this morning  all bundled in my warm coveralls, hoodie, coat and gloves--I wasn't too stylish looking but I was    prepared for that cold north wind!

 

Our dairy cows actually seem to thrive on colder  temperatures.  They embrace and enjoy  the cold weather  by eating more hay.

 

 

 
 From now till spring, one of our daily tasks will be  making sure hay is in the manger to provide good nutrition during cold weather   for these pregnant cows.

 

As I watched the cows enjoying their bale of hay, I couldn't help but think

 we're a lot like cows--eating is the natural thing to do when the weather gets chilly!

 

 

Nutritious dairy products--- always in style and perfect for any weather!

                                                           

                                                       ---Dairymom Approved Statement