Happy Valentine's Day

Hope your day is happy and spent with the ones you love!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Last Saturday I participated in the first  Benton County 4-H Food Safety Workshop 

It was a great example of teaching our youth an invaluable  life skill. 

I'm thankful for the dedication of our 4-H leaders 

and Benton County Extension agents who continuously strive to

 "make the best better"  

in the classroom,

at the Farmer's Market,

or 

connecting the past to the present.

I'm  thankful for these friends!

                                                                     

Cow Taters

Fried potatoes,baked potatoes,scalloped potatoes,potato soup, potato casserole--

let me count the ways we love to  eat potatoes with cheese and sour cream.

My family loves potatoes but this semi-truck pile takes it to a whole new 

level for my  tater-lovin' farmers!

Now this is a lot of potatoes.

It was unfortunate that freezing weather created havoc for the truck driver trying to get

 these Russet potatoes delivered to the potato processing plant in Oklahoma. 

When the load was refused due to freeze damage , he was looking

 for a place to deliver this nutritious

 product  rather than take it to a landfill.

It's not unusual to feed byproducts of corn or cottonseed to our  dairy cows

 but potatoes are not commonly available to us in Arkansas. 

Potatoes are high in energy, very palatable, and can be used to replace corn in the diet.

Fortunately for us, our cows will be enjoying potatoes in their feed ration 

as soon as our dairy nutritionist gets the feed ration designed for

 just the right amount  to include in the daily feed ration.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

While working to promote Farm Bureau membership this week in our county, 

I've been thinking about all the fun I've had  in a variety of settings with consumers of all ages. 

I consider the Farm Bureau Cow part of my family!

                                        I'm thankful to be a Farm Bureau member and  for the
                                                 opportunities I've had to share our dairy story.

Dairy Nutrition Proud

Last week Ryan and I attended  a national nutrition conference

  in Little Rock sponsored by the National Dairy Council

 and the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center, one of  six national human

 nutrition centers in the United States.

The Arkansas Children's Nutrition  Center is a partnership between

 the Arkansas Children's Hospital, USDA-Agricultural

 Research Service and the University of Arkansas Medical Center with a mission to 

conduct cutting-edge research to understand how maternal-child nutrition

 and physical activity optimize health and development.

Ryan and I  were invited   to give our dairy farmer perspective

 on our role in dairy nutrition and health and wellness  from down on the dairy farm.

It's an honor and  always fun to be invited to share our passion for dairy!

Best of all, we listened to these two Arkansas  students describe

 the impact of the  dairy farmer funded  Fuel Up to Play 60 program.

You couldn't help but be dairy proud!

Not only are dairy farmers improving the nutrition of students, 

we are providing lifelong skills in leadership and health and wellness.

And to top it off, we enjoyed beautiful and nutritious dairy products!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Last week when parts of Arkansas received several inches of snow, 

we had a light  dusting in Northwest Arkansas 

but we did experience some bitter cold days.

While I add another layer of clothes to stay warm, 

our dairy  cows increase the amount of feed they eat during extreme weather.

It's our job to make sure their nutritional needs

   are met everyday.

                                                 
                                                 I'm thankful we missed that chance of snow
                                                                                    and
                                                 that we are in the last few days of January!

Mother Love

Will the real mother step forward?

That was my thought as I watched these other pregnant cows try to claim this new calf. 

It doesn't happen too often, but sometimes a pregnant  cow will try to 

claim every new baby  before she has her own calf. 

                                   
                                                 The real mother, the Ayrshire in the center,
                                   did step forward when the other cows got a little too close.
                                              Maternal instinct is strong and protective and
                                 one of the many miracles we witness down on the dairy farm.