Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Z Is For Zoom

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.
So come on in...the barn doors are open!
Z Is For Zoom
 
Holy moly, Rocky! Have you ever seen time fly as fast as June Dairy Month? Each year when I make my commitment to blog each day during the month of June, I think "What the...? Are you nuts?" and before our cow Bessie can even bat her big, brown eyes, zoom the month is nearly over! 
 
If there's at least one thing you have learned from my June Dairy Month stories; I feel I have accomplished my goal. As you have followed my A to Z journey this month, I hope you have come to realize how passionate my family and I are about the farming lifestyle that we live. We take much pride in everything we do at Bremer Farms, and we thank God for the opportunities He has given us.
 
 
No, not every day is peaches and cream, or smooth as silk, but we have never regretted the decision to be dairy farmers. After all, we can proudly say, "We're feedin' a nation!"
 
 
 Thank you for visiting during June Dairy Month. I hope you'll come back often, and maybe even invite a friend or two to join us. Shoot me a comment or email if you have a topic idea or a question to answer. 
 
 
 You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...
and


Sunday, June 28, 2015

Y Is For Yummy Yogurt

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.
So come on in...the barn doors are open!
  Y Is For Yummy Yogurt
 
Bremer Farms recently donated snacks for a local soccer camp. We chose to provide Go-Gurt (single serving yogurt in a tube). Imagine that- we donated a dairy food?! I was thrilled when after the camp was over, I was told that the Go-Gurt was the kids favorite snack; the first thing they grabbed! I'm not surprised...I eat yogurt at least once, sometimes two times each day. I use yogurt in a lot of my recipes too. It's yummy, convenient, and healthy!
 





 You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...
and

Saturday, June 27, 2015

X Is For X

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.
So come on in...the barn doors are open!
  X Is For X
 
My family is a huge help with these June Dairy Month blog posts. Many of our evening meals are spent discussing (and laughing) about possible words to go with each letter. As you may guess, X is very tricky! Here is what we came up with...
 
Xenodchial: friendly to strangers (Yes we are! We always enjoy visitors to our farm). 
 
Xeric: being deficient in moisture (Yes, we've had to deal with draught conditions some years. Thank goodness for irrigation).
 
Xanadu: an idealized place of great or idyllic magnificence and beauty (That's the way we feel about Bremer Farms; a wonderful place to live and work)!

Xanthous:the color of an egg yolk, in between yellow and green. (If only we had chickens...)

 I told you X is tricky. Check back tomorrow and see how I do with Y. :)
 
 You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...
and
 
 

Friday, June 26, 2015

W Is For Whey

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.
So come on in...the barn doors are open!
  W Is For Whey
 
After all the years of reciting this nursery rhyme as a child, and later teaching it to my children, why did I just recently realize that Miss Muffet is eating protein rich dairy? Curds and whey; when milk curdles, a solid forms, and leaves a pale colored liquid. The solid is curd, and liquid is the whey. Little Miss Muffet is one smart cookie, getting her protein in her diet. Who knew I could learn so much from a nursery rhyme?
 
 
You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...
and
 
 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

V Is For Versatile

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.
So come on in...the barn doors are open!
  V Is For Versatile

"Versatile-able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities"
Today's post was supposed to be all about tractors; how we use them, and how they adapt to help with most of the chores and fieldwork we do here on Bremer Farms. That's where versatile comes in.
 Instead, I'm taking a twist and sharing with you how versatile farmers need to be. Here's what happened today...

Thanks to the cooperative weather, Grandpa Roy cut down a lot of alfalfa so that we could begin baling. Normally we would be well into the baling process, but since we have had rain nearly every other day, (not ideal conditions to dry the hay before baling) we have been chopping the hay. While Roy continued cutting, Farmer John began baling. Today he made round bales.

Did I mention daughter Sara has been gone attending a Google Camp in Milwaukee, Wisconsin?  It's a week long camp for teachers, and it's devoted to using new technology in the classroom. We are thrilled she had the opportunity to attend, but since she is one of our evening milkers, adjustments needed to be made. No biggie...we're versatile! Son Michael has been coming home early from his job at the TV station to fill in for Sara. 

After evening milking, our family usually sits down to dinner about 7:30, but not tonight. After milking John and Michael picked up the round bales from the field to bring to the hay shed. Take a peek-

Since they were busy in the hay field, after I returned home from attending a dairy meeting,  I hopped on the lawn mower and cut the grass. All the rain we have been blessed with makes our yard look green and lush, but it's growing like crazy!

So at 9:30 we finally sat down to a gourmet meal of hot dogs and salad.
When folks ask me what a typical day on the farm is like, I have a difficult time finding an answer. Every day is different. We're versatile... like our tractors!

 You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...
and

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

U Is For Udder



I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.
So come on in...the barn doors are open!
  U Is For Udder

I'm sure you know that milk comes from the udder of a cow, but how does it get there? 

Cows, like all mammals, begin to produce milk when they give birth. Cows typically have their first calf when they are about two years old. About 10 months after calving, the amount of milk the cow gives naturally decreases substantially and the cow undergoes “drying off.” About 12 to 14 months after the birth of her previous calf, a cow will calve again, thus providing milk.

Cows that are milking drink a bathtub of water each day and eat about 100 pounds of feed including hay, silage, grain and proteins. All this food and water to help them produce about 8 gallons of milk each day. That's 128 glasses of milk!


And just like you, we buy pasteurized milk from the store. Now I can fill my udder pitcher. Sara got this for me for Mother's Day. Us dairy moms are suckers for stuff like this  ;)


To learn how our cows are milked visit Farming 101-1 Cow Milking.

 You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...
and