Flat Aggie Teaches Farmers

Flat Aggie hasn't been taking any spelling or vocabulary tests while visiting the farm, but I'm quite sure he has gained knowledge of both. I've also had a lesson from Flat Aggie.

 In our every day work on the farm, we farmers forget that what we are talking about may not make any sense to a non-farmer. Flat Aggie  reminded me about this when we were feeding the dry cows.

 'Dry cow'  in dairy farmer language is a cow that is pregnant and is resting in the pasture until she has her calf. She has been ' dried off' and removed from the milking herd. Explaining that the dry cow gives milk once she calves made perfect sense and answered the confusing question--how does a dry cow give milk!

 

It's been alot of fun showing Flat Aggie around the dairy farm to share how we work every day to care for our animals and the land to produce high-quality milk! 

Flat Aggie is leaving us to visit an Arkansas poultry farm this week.  Wonder what he'll teach the poultry farmer? 

 

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Benton County elected officials were sworn in this morning at the Benton County Courthouse by Judge Schrantz.  Mother and I were making family and county history today--taking our oath together for public service.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve the public as Benton County Justice of the Peace  and for all the encouragement of family and friends.

Happy New Year!

 

 

We wish you a very happy and healthy New Year from down on the dairy farm!

Dairy Cliff Notes: Dairy Makes Sense

In the last few days the talk is all about the fiscal cliff and the dairy cliff. It's hard to believe that it's possible for government regulations that effect dairy policy might  revert to 1940 laws that make no sense in today's dairy industry world. If our dairy  cows new about this--they might go on strike or demand more benefits!

Take heart--even though dairy farmers have no control over the dairy cliff--happening or not happening--you can be sure that Dairy Makes Nutritional Sense. Here are a few notes why Dairy Makes Sense:

• Together, milk,cheese and yogurt play a critical role in the diets of adults and children by providing nine essential nutrients, including calcium,magnesium,potassium and phosphorus, in addition to 48 percent of the daily value of protein.
• Dairy foods provide 70 percent of the calcium in the nation's food supply; milk is the top source of potassium,phosphorus,and vitamin D in the U.S. diet.
• Dairy nutrients are vital to the development of strong bones, thus reducing the risk of developing osteoporosis.
• Research suggest dairy foods help prevent weight gain and are beneficial for weight maintainence.
• Minerals found in dairy foods play an important role in maintaining healthy blood pressure.
• Consumption of dairy foods is associated with a reduced risk of cardiometabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that increases the risk of cardiovasuclar disease and type 2 diabetes.

You can find more information about dairy nutrition,dairy farming and nutritious recipes at DairyMakesSense.

Flat Aggie Shares Dairy Facts

Flat Aggie, my friend from California, just loves getting his  picture made on the dairy farm and learning how we work every day to produce high-quality milk. After spending the week on our Arkansas  dairy farm, these are a few facts Flat Aggie wanted to share:

 

 We start the day feeding calves. These babies are fed milk and grain twice every day.

Calves grow up to become the cows that produce milk, so we  make it a priority to get them off to a healthy start.

We milk 260 Holstein cows twice every day. Milk is never touched by human hands.

Milking equipment delivers milk directly from the cows to the refrigerated tank to preserve freshness and safety.

Milk is kept cold until it is transported to the processing plant.

The  cows are fed a nutritious, balanced diet  everyday. The feed ingredients include:hay,corn silage,ground corn, and vitamins and minerals. All of the ingredients are mixed together in the big wagon and delivered to the feed barn for the cows to enjoy.

 

The cows enjoy eating as soon as they leave the milking barn. When finished eating, they return to the pasture to rest.

 

 

It's alot of fun to play in the snow!! 

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                                                                                 

From toys to tools, it's still fun to watch these two sons unwrap gifts at Christmas. While Ryan is recovering from shoulder surgery, these two boys are working together to manage all the activities on the farm that are needed to care for our dairy and beef cattle.   I'm thankful for two sons that choose to live and work on the family dairy farm and the blessings of family life.

Flat Aggie's Arkansas Snow Drill

Flat Aggie and I had a snow drill on Christmas Eve to prepare for the predicted three to six inches of snow the weather man was sure would happen in Northwest Arkansas on Christmas Day. We practiced our snow and extreme cold weather  readiness all during the day on Christmas Eve. While  Santa was checking his list of gifts, we were checking our lists for  the items we might need to make sure we could care for our cows and calves in extreme winter weather   like heat bulbs for the water  well pumps, diesel for the generators  in case of power outage and extra feed for the cows and calves.

 

 

 

 

We were ready on Christmas morning! It was sooo cold and windy and looked like it could snow any minute. Flat Aggie dressed in her warm Arkansas Razorback coat and hat. We watched for the snow while we fed older   calves in the pasture  and baby calves in the hutches and as  the dairy cows were fed and milked. 

We watched all day and night but not one flake of snow on the dairy farm!

 

 

 

Even though we didn't have any snow,  Flat Aggie learned that we  use all our snow drill skills every day--snow or no snow-- to care for our dairy  calves and cows around the clock whatever the conditions.