Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Spring harvest of our wheat crop down on the dairy farm  started this week.

It's a process dependent on timing and weather from start to finish.

You want to cut when there's no chance for rain so it can 

have a little drying time after cutting and it stays dry until it is 

chopped,

hauled from the field to the silo,

and packed  into the pit silo.

                                       I'm thankful for the great weather we've had this week
                                       and for the good wheat crop that our  dairy cows will enjoy
                                                                   through the summer.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Last week members of  our Benton County  Farm Bureau 

Women's Leadership Committee spent the morning at 

Mathias Elementary with 4th and 5th grade students to provide 

information about Arkansas agriculture.

It's always fun to milk Frannie the Arkansas Farm Bureau cow.

Frannie is  the perfect cow  for school visits because  she doesn't

kick or swish her tail in your face when milking!

I'm thankful for the opportunity to share how 

milk is produced on our Arkansas dairy farm

and

to live on the farm and care for the animals that

 provide high-quality nutritious milk.

Happy Mother's Day

A Mother's Love

A mother's love is special

It's present every day.

A gift that came from heaven

That God has sent our way.

Her job is never ending

She's there all day and night. 

To be there for her children 

An be their guiding light. 

Her thoughts are with them always

Even if they are apart.

Her children have a special place

Deep down inside her heart.

Mother's are a special gift-

A gift from up above,

This world would seem so empty

Without a Mother's Love.

                                    --T. Entzminger

From down on the dairy farm...

                                       
                                                        Happy Mother's Day!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

There's no other month quite like May down on the dairy farm.

All of a sudden, everything  needs to be done at once.

Everything includes not only milking twice a day and caring for 

our cows,heifers and calves but also hay cutting,wheat harvesting

 and corn planting.

Our feeling of being out of control happens every year but

                                        as crazy as it sounds, I still love the month of May.

I'm thankful for the new calves that are being born almost on a daily schedule,

for the smell of the first cutting of hay,

             

and 

for the appearance of the old fashioned flowers that 

brighten the landscape as we work down on the dairy farm.

                                                                                       

Happy May!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                                       As a dairy farmer, I was honored to attend the recent
                                annual conference for registered dietitians in Arkansas held at
                                           Arkansas Children's Nutrition Campus  in Little Rock.
                   
                             Learning about the latest research in nutrition and how that
                               research  is used in helping patients or clients is fascinating
                                                  to me as a nurse and dairy farmer.

                              Dr. Jim Painter, a conference speaker sponsored by Midwest Dairy,
                    presented a talk  called "Finding Truth in Failed Theories of Heart Disease".

                          The gist of his talk was that by digging for the truth and looking at
                        current research on the good fat in dairy, consumption of  whole
                            fat dairy is most  likely on the forefront of being preventive 
                                                         for cardiovascular problems.
                                           I must say that was music to my dairy farmer ears!
                                                           

                                          I also  appreciated Dr. Painter  sharing his expertise
                           in wine tasting and cheese pairing during the Networking Reception.
                                 

During the conference, I met many of the dietitians and shared 

how we work everyday on the farm to produce nutritious milk. 

It's always fun to talk about how we use a dairy nutritionist  

and share our appreciation for what nutritionists and dietitians

  do for all of us.

                             
                                 I'm thankful for the work of Midwest Dairy to foster the unique
                                  relationship between dairy farmers and dietitians and for the
                              research that supports  dairy as an important part of a healthy diet.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Committee sponsors a 

Dairy Foods Contest for 4-H members  every year  as an effort to 

promote dairy products and provide a learning experience for our youth.

Each contestant chooses to make a recipe in either the Main Dish or Party Idea category.

As a dairy farmer, I love this promotion of the product we work to produce.

It's always inspiring to see how the contestants use their creative talents 

to select a recipe that  will use as many dairy ingredients as possible,  

 present their creation in a beautiful table setting and describe how 

they enjoy  serving their particular recipe at home or with friends.

The winning recipe of each category will be submitted

 to the Arkansas Farm Bureau Dairy Foods Contest.

I'm thankful for the judges who take on the task of choosing the best recipe,

the 4-H members who choose to learn about dairy foods,

and 

for other dairy farmers  and members of our committee 

who support  youth activities and dairy foods!

                                                        It was an Undeniably Dairy event!

Earth Day is Everyday

                                          Down on the dairy farm, Earth Day is everyday.
                                            Every day in each season  is filled with tasks
                                         that utilize the land for sustaining our family farm.
                               
                                       It's our job as caretakers of the Earth to use our natural
                                            resources wisely and strive to leave the land in
                                                 better condition for the next generation.
                                             
                                       As farmers, we take our job seriously  and recognize
                                       that we are blessed to have the responsibility of being
                                               caretakers of the Earth and producers of food
                                                              for families across America.
                                         

                                                                Happy Earth Day!