Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

IJune Dairy Month has been filled with a variety of activities just like this tour yesterday of the Bill and Delia Haak dairy farm in Gentry as a part of the statewide Water Quality Conference. I'm thankful for our friends in agriculture that provide assistance to all farmers-- from providing technical information to passing out the cheese at an event!

Bessie's Pasture

Have you noticed that cute dairy cow hanging on the June Dairy Month logo? That's our Midwest Dairy friend, Bessie, the Dairy Makes Sense icon. I love this cow because her expression reminds me of a few of our Holstein cows that are often waiting by the gate, hoping for someone to leave it open so they can get into the next pasture. Although June Dairy Month is quickly coming to an end, you can always find Bessie in her pasture at http://www.dairymakessense.com/. Bessie may have different expressions or seasonal outfits through the year, but she will always make sure to have great dairy nutrition information, a place to learn more about dairy farming,recipe ideas for meals and snacks and a place to get answers to your dairy nutrition questions.

Promotion of dairy products with icons like Bessie don't happen by accident. Since 1985, dairy farmers have been funding the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. Dairy farmers contribute fifteen cents per one hundred pounds of milk produced on each farm to fund this program. Our money is used collectively for promoting dairy on the national,state and regional levels and for the research and development of new dairy products to meet consumer demands. Information that we provide is factual and based on sound science and research. Bessie and the Dairy Makes Sense website are a great example of how dairy farmers in the Midwest Dairy regional promotion area are providing useful information to all consumers in a fun and engaging way.

Thanks for celebrating June Dairy Month with me and Bessie at Spotted Cow Review and don't forget to check out Bessie's pasture through the year!

Smoothie Blues

Dairy smoothies are a great way to get refreshed from the summer heat and get your daily dairy in a sweet treat. In these last few days of celebrating June Dairy Month and summertime temperatures on the farm and in the city, I think this is the perfect recipe! I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman blog entry of August 5,2009.

Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie

Ingredients

-1 cup plain,unflavored yogurt

-1 cup fruit (your choice-blueberries,peaches,pineapple,etc.)

-1/4 cup milk

-1 dash honey

-ice

Preparation Instructions

Place yogurt,fruit,milk,a handful of ice and honey to taste all into a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste it for sweetness and add more honey if needed.

You can find other smoothie recipes at http://www.midwestdairy.com/ or http://www.dairymakessense.com/.

What is your favorite dairy smoothie recipe? I'd love to hear from you!

Cow Pride

It is impossible to party during June Dairy Month without bringing recognition to the heart of our dairy story---our cows! We milk a total of 300 cows twice daily every day of the year. Our herd consists of Holstein dairy cows ,one Guernsey and three Ayrshire. Our cows are the present and future of our farm. We respect them for what they provide for us and we work diligently everyday to provide nutritious feed,clean water, and comfortable surroundings. I enjoy watching the growth and development of each animal that we raise from calf to milking cow.

There are actually six different breeds of dairy cattle: Ayrshire,Brown Swiss,Guernsey, Jersey,Holstein, and Milking Shorthorn. Each breed was developed in its own country and brought to America. You can find more information about each breed at http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/.

Here are some interesting general facts about dairy cows:

• the average cow weighs 1400 pounds
  


• live to be about 18 years old; a normal production life for a Holstein is around 6 years



• a newborn calf weighs 90 pounds and walks on its own one hour from birth



• spend an average of 6 hours each day eating and an additional eight hours ruminating or chewing their cud
  


• most chew at least 50 times per minute
  


• graze by curling their tongues around grass and pulling rather than nibbling like a horse does
  


• have 4 stomach compartments and consume 90 pounds of feed everyday
  


• drink the equivalent of a bathtub full of water each day
  


• sleep lying down--just like people
  


• have an acute sense of smell--can smell something up to 6 miles away

June Dairy Month is the perfect time to celebrate our product and the commitment of America's dairy farm families working everyday to provide high quality milk by taking good care of our cows!

Cranky Cook's Recipe

With the added activities of crop planting and hay baling, supper time meals are often late in the evening on the dairy farm and that makes the cook (that's me) a little cranky because I don't like cleaning up the kitchen at bedtime! To celebrate June Dairy Month and less time in the kitchen, I plan to try this recipe this weekend.

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Foil Packet Dinner

Ingredients

3 tablespoons barbeque sauce

4 small boneless,skinless chicken breast haves(1pound)

2 small unpeeled red potatoes,thinly sliced

1 red or green bell peppers,seeded and sliced

1 green onion,finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place a foil sheet, approximately 12x12 inches,on a work surface. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the barbeque sauce in the center of the foil. Place one chicken breast half over barbeque sauce and spread another teaspoon of sauce over chicken. Top with quarter of the potato,bell pepper and onion. Sprinkle with a little of the salt and pepper. Fold foil in half to cover contents; make narrow folds along edges to seal. Repeat with remaining ingredients to assemble three more packets. Place the four packets on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes.

Open foil packets with scissors and carefully pull back edges as contents may be very hot. Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the top of each chicken breast and return to oven, unsealed for two minutes or until cheese is melted. With a spatula, transfer the contents of each packet onto individual serving plates.

Substitution Idea: One cost savings tip is to buy bone-in chicken breasts and remove the skin.

Servings:4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 37 minutes

You can find this and other great recipes at http://www.dairymakessense.com/.

I'm feeling less cranky just thinking about this easy recipe!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Cody gave one of his first illustrated talks in 4-H about the "REAL" Seal. I'm thankful for all the experiences in 4-H and on the dairy farm that have shaped this young dairy farmer.

Real Dairy Deal

When I do my grocery shopping every week, I am always amazed by the choices in the dairy case that have no relationship to real dairy products. One way to verify that you are choosing a real dairy product is to look for the stylized milk drop surrounding the simple word "REAL".

This seal is the symbol of pure dairy goodness and has been used nationally since 1977. The "REAL" Seal was actually developed by the California Milk Advisory Board in 1976 as a public service to help consumers easily identify real dairy foods. The symbol nationally has become a federally registered "REAL" Seal trademark administered by Dairy Management Inc.

The "REAL" Seal is one of the best recognized and most widely used symbols in the food and beverage industry. Products that carry the "REAL" Seal must contain real dairy food produced from U.S.-produced cow's milk and the contents must meet minimum government standards for the product category. Research has shown that consumers:

• View the "REAL" Seal as a sign of dairy product identity and authenticity
  


• Associate the "REAL" Seal with products that have no or fewer additives and are not processed
  


• Expect products displaying the "REAL" Seal to taste better and be of higher quality



• Know what to expect in terms of cooking and melting patterns when they cook with "REAL"Seal products
  
  

The "REAL" Seal represents a promise to consumers that the product is made with real dairy. Real American farmers producing real milk--a real deal for all consumers!