P is for Princess Kay of the Milky Way

This year the Princess Kay of the Milky Way title marks its 71st anniversary. Dozens of dairy princesses from across Minnesota all gather in May to participate in workshops and judging. Dairy princesses are young women who are from dairy farm families or are involved in the dairy industry through their employment or that of their parents, or the animal lease program. At the weekend’s conclusion, the 10 Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists are announced. 

70th Princess Kay of the Milky Way Emma Kuball

Princess Kay finalists are then judged again in August. Judging involves a written application, a short speech, a professional interview and a simulated media interview. Princess Kay is then crowned the night before the Minnesota State Fair opens and serves as the dairy industry’s goodwill ambassador for a year, helping people understand the dedication of dairy farmers to wholesome and nutritious food, and the way milk is produced. Dairy farmers sponsor the dairy princess program through Midwest Dairy.

Princess Kay of the Milky Way makes appearances in classrooms, at parades and community events, Breakfast on the Farm events, and county fairs.

I am contracted by Midwest Dairy as the Minnesota Dairy Princess Coordinator. So what does this mean? I organize the May Leadership Event, and plan an orientation in July for the finalists.  Starting bright and early the morning after coronation, Princess Kay and her court of princesses begin their appearances at the state fair. It is my responsibility to schedule, chaperone and keep everyone smiling for the 12 days of the fair. Following the fair, I work with Princess Kay on her appearances, speeches and media presentations for the remainder of her year.

I am beyond thrilled to be associated with the Minnesota princess program. I am a past County Dairy Princess, and a proud mom of a past Princess Kay state finalist. I have seen this program build confidence and poise in hundreds of young ladies in the dairy community, and I am so proud to be a part of it in this capacity!

August 21, 2024 we will crown the 71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way. 

Two Pallets of Milk Donated!

 
If you don't ask the question, you won't get the answer. That's my philosophy about wanting more information, and I'm sure glad I asked the question! My question was, "Tell me about The Giving Cow program."

Let me explain. Last month I was invited to speak at the corporate offices of Cub Foods at a meeting for their Dairy Department managers. Why me? Well, who better to talk about where dairy begins than a dairy farmer? I shared information about my family farm, what we do, and also our community involvement. The milk from our farm is sold to DFA (Dairy Farmers of America) who own Kemps so I ended with this quote from the Kemps website which perfectly sums up our goal here at Bremer Farms.

"... we've always been there for each other. It's in our DNA - work hard, love your family and take care of your neighbors. It's a commitment to do the right thing. It's a way of life we live by every day supporting local programs that nourish families, build communities, and work to leave our world in better shape than we found it."

So this led me to my question, "What can we do for the community and what is The Giving Cow program all about?" And here is Kemps answer- "Milk is one of the most requested items from food shelves, but unfortunately, it's rarely donated. So we've created Kemps Giving Cow Milk. Every time you buy Kemps milk, we donate Giving Cow milk to kids-in-need."

A week later I received a phone call from Christina of Kemps announcing that Kemps and Cub Foods would like to donate TWO PALLETS of milk to our local food shelf, Hastings Family Service. That's over 6,000 cartons of milk! I'll admit it, I was so excited that I cried while on the phone.

One of two pallets of Giving Cow milk!

So last week representatives from Kemps, Cub Foods, and myself, presented the milk to Hastings Family Service.

Amy (HFS), Christina (Kemps), Jayme (Kemps), Tara (Cub Foods), Janet (Bremer Farms), Amy and Deana (HFS)

As  a DFA/Kemps dairy farmer I am proud to say that our farm is a part of making this donation happen. Bremer Farms appreciates the support that Kemps and Cub Foods gives to communities like ours.

The Giving Cow milk is ultra pasteurized which means it is shelf stable and requires no refrigeration. This is important to food pantries which typically do not have adequate refrigeration space.

Fluffy Flapjacks

 I am a recipe collector. 

Whether I find one on a website, on social media, or go "old-school" and clip one from a magazine, each one is collected with the good intentions of giving it a try. 

This week I tried Fluffy Flapjacks. They were tasty and simple and made a perfect "breakfast for dinner" meal. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

FLUFFY FLAPJACKS

1 1/2 cups plain non-fat yogurt

1 egg

1 cup pancake mix (Bisquick)

3/4 cup fat-free milk

In a bowl, combine the yogurt and egg. Mix well. Add pancake mix and milk. Stir to combine. Spray a non-stick pan or griddle with vegetable oil spray. Ladle out 2 tablespoons batter per pancake. When edges are firm, turn pancake and cook 1 minute longer. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings (6 small pancakes per serving).

Thanks Progressive Dairy Magazine

 I'm at it again! 

Progressive Dairy Magazine has again asked me to be a guest writer for their website and their national magazine. I gladly accepted the invitation to write for the June issue for National Dairy Month. It's a letter to my fellow dairy farmers, but even if you are not a farmer, I think you will enjoy it.

We Are Not Just Farmers

When I was a child, other kids would ask, “What does your dad do?” I would rather humbly reply: “He’s just a farmer.” I don’t know why I added the “just” in that reply. Actually, yes I do.

I was just being a silly kid with silly kid thoughts. He was just a farmer because he didn’t wear a suit and tie to work. He was just a farmer because I didn’t think he had an important job like the other kids’ dads. As a kid, I didn’t get it.

That was a long time ago, and my thoughts on the importance of being a farmer have changed dramatically. My dad got to just do the job he loved, every day. My dad got to just help feed people. My dad got to just be a great example of what a proud, hardworking, caring farmer looks like, and I have the honor of calling myself a farmer too.

Fortunately, that opinion of farmers is changing with the non-farming community too. My dad, my family and farmers like us are never just farmers.

I was recently asked to speak at a Science Museum Gala. When I began by saying my family and I are dairy farmers, the audience cheered and applauded. Why is this perception of farming changing? There are many reasons, but you and I can take much of the credit. I know you have heard this many times, “People want to know where their food comes from.” We are being transparent. We are telling our stories.

So how are you celebrating June Dairy Month? How are you opening that window to begin conversations? Here’s a few things my family does to share our story.

What could be a more perfect pairing than cookies and milk? In honor of June Dairy Month, Bremer Farms serves homemade cookies with milk to our church friends after the Sunday services on the first Sunday of June. This has become an annual tradition and a fun way to start conversations about dairy.

It’s the last day of school, and we show our appreciation to our teachers and staff by treating them to an ice cream treat on that final day of the school year. I contact the school principal to arrange a convenient time, and we roll in with coolers full of ice cream. Each June, my family chooses a different school within our hometown.

Soccer, anyone? Our church organizes a youth soccer camp each June, and what better way to quench the thirst of the athletes than providing chocolate milk and yogurt, too.

But sharing our dairy story doesn’t have to cost us any money either.

I love to read, and my family has spent hours and hours at our local library. After contacting our children’s librarian at our public library, I am now an annual guest at Storytime With a Farmer. I bring my bag of farm props along with a few of my favorite cow books – and as I read, I pause frequently to pull another “prop” from my bag to share about our farm. Thanks to our checkoff, everyone goes home with a cow hat and a coloring book, too.

Are you on social media? Me too! My family and I are always posting pictures of the day-to-day goings-on from our farm. Our YouTube channel has over a hundred farm-related children’s storytimes to watch, and many include photos and videos from around our farm too.

I sound like I’m bragging about what we do, and that is definitely not my intention. I hope you can see that it’s easy to open the window to share our dairy story because we love what we do, and there are so many opportunities to do so. After all, we are not just farmers. We are proud, hardworking, caring farmers who still have a few people to remind of that.  

Our Annual Date Day

 It's that time again. Time to prepare for planting, getting the equipement checked over, and our annual date... to pick up the seed!

Yes, John and I have been laughingly calling this our "date day" for years. It typically begins with a trip to our seed dealer to pick up the oats and barley seed.

On busy days like today, you pay, and then wait your turn.

Before we know it, the seed bags are piled in our truck. After a bit of conversation, of course.

The next stop is almost always Dairy Queen. A hot dog and malt never tasted so good! I didn't have to cook, and you can never go wrong with ice cream!

Next stop- our John Deere dealer to pick up a few filters for the tractors. We always keep a few on hand. I, of course peruse the toys. Did you know they make Lego sets so you can build a John Deere tractor? I begged, but didn't get one. :(

Our last stop is our local grain elevator to buy calf feed. With all the calves born lately, we are really going to go through it in a hurry. 

So there you have it, a typical, annual, farmer-style date, with my favorite farmer by my side!

Vet Tech Students Try Something New

and that's just what the Veterinary Technician program students from Dakota County Technical College did at Bremer Farms last week!

This is our fifth year of partnering with DCTC and their Vet Tech practical experience. Their goal is to practice some basic procedures on our calves.

We begin each visit with a tour of our milking barn. Some of the students have little or no experience with dairy animals.

After the instructors give directions, it's time to begin. The students practiced restraining the calf. (If you don't try, you will never suceed. ;) As well as physical exams, and heart and lung listening with a stethoscope.

The students then practiced blood draws in the jugular vein, under the skin- subcutaneous injections,

oral dosing using water as pretend medicine, 

and lastly radiograph x-rays.

We are happy to be a part of such important training for the Vet Tech students. Veterinarians and Vet Tech's are all part of the team that keep our animals healthy so that Bremer Farms can continue to produce healthy dairy foods for your family and mine. 

Here's one of the two classes that visited us last week. Shout out to the instructors too! They do a wonderful job of overseeing their students as well as the care and concern for the safety and comfort of our calves.

It's Almost Valentine's Day!

 Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Are you excited? If you are like me, you are probably not as excited as when you were a child. Don't get me wrong. I still feel loved every Valentine's Day (and every day for that matter) by Farmer John, but there was just something unexplainably exciting about school valentines parties.

Perhaps it was making the valentines "mailbox" to collect my classmates valentines. Mom would save an empty cereal box, or if I was lucky and recently got new shoes, I saved the shoebox for that special mailbox. It was covered with red paper (my favorite color) and sometimes mom would splurge and buy those paper doiles to adorn the box. 

Or perhaps the excitement came from writing out the valentines. Typically I cut out red or pink hearts and signed them with a message. Nothing too mushy, of course. As I grew older, we bought valentines! Wow, the decision was difficult for which fun design to choose.

Or did the excitement grow when the class was told by the teacher that the afternoon would be spent celebrating with treats, games, and opening those special valentine mailboxes to see what was inside?

How about you? Maybe the excitement came from seeing who you received valentines from. Did you get one from each person in the class? Even the cute boy or girl that everyone had a crush on? Did your valentine come with a box of those chalky conversation hearts that we didn't really like, but they were so fun to receive.

Regardless of how you celebrate this Valentine's Day, whether it be a special day with those you love, or reminiscing about Valentine's Days gone by, I wish you much happiness and love.

Another Group Of Future Vet Techs

 Dairy farming takes teamwork. It also takes a team. Veterinarians are a part of every successful dairy farm team, and that means vet tech's too.

This class of vet tech students from Dakota County Technical College came to visit Bremer Farms last week. But they didn't just come to visit, they came to learn, and practice too.

While under the watchful eyes of their instructors, the students did blood draws, haltered a calf, checked temperatures, and did subcutaneous injections (an injection in which the needle is inserted just under the skin) of saline solution.

We were happy to be a part of these future Veterinary Technicians practical experience. Veterinarians and Vet Tech's all play an important role on a dairy farm. They are part of the team that helps to keep our animals healthy.

Thanks to the DCTC instuctors Nicole and Hope for including Bremer Farms in this important practical experience for their students!

My LOVE-HATE Relationship With Trees

I have a LOVE-HATE relationship with trees. Not all trees, just the two black walnut trees in our front yard. 

 I LOVE the trees, but here's the little buggers that make me HATE the trees!

Each early Fall I find myself picking up dozens, hundreds, no, pails full of these darn black walnuts that plunk to the ground. Just when I have a batch retrieved, plink, another one falls. Then his friends follow. Plink, plink, plink!

"Why don't you buy a nut gatherer?" said my college friends that were visiting recently. After a few snickers, and some dirty jokes running through my head, I thought, what have I got to lose?

Here it is, but as you can see by my face, I'm a bit skeptical.

But this nut gatherer quickly became my new best friend. It took me about 15 minutes to fill these pails, and NO bending over! Of course, I have filled these pails again, and again, and again, and again. Five days, before the walnuts stopped dropping, but NO bending over! 

So a huge shout-out to Jim and Mary for the recommendation to buy the Garden Weasel Large Nut Gatherer. No, I am not getting paid to endorse this product, I just know there is someone else out there having a LOVE-HATE relationship with black walnut trees.

Plink, plink, plink. Dang, there's more!

Freezer Cabbage Slaw

 No, it's not a typo. Cole slaw can be frozen. At least this recipe can!

Even with dry conditions, daughter Sara and Grandma Karen are excellent gardeners! We have an abundance of cabbage, and purple cabbage. We also have lots of carrots and colorful peppers. I guess next year they will have to add celery to the garden plot, because that is the only vegetable we had to pick up at the grocery store!

Freezer Cabbage Slaw

1 Medium cabbage, shredded

1 tsp. salt

        Sprinkle salt over shredded cabbage and let stand 1 hour. Squeeze out moisture.

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped

shredded carrot (optional)

        Mix together with cabbage.

Syrup recipe-

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 cups sugar (can use less)

1 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. mustard seed

        Pour syrup over cabbage mixture. Freeze in desired amounts. Will keep in freezer for several  months. It is fresh and crisp when defrosted!

We now have nine quarts of crispy Cabbage Slaw in our freezer.

Thanks for the recipe, Gary!

What's the Draught Situation?

 

How much rain have you had?

Draught has been a topic of discussion for months among farmers. Naturally it is an important topic since we all know that plants need these three basic elements to grow- soil, water, and sun. We have the soil, and we have the sun, but the rain has needed a lot of help this summer.

Thank goodness for irrigation, but that's not the perfect answer either.

 For my non-farmer readers, here's a simple explanation of how our irrigators work. Irrigators are anchored in our fields by a center pivot. The irrigator then moves, (powered by electricity) across the fields in a big circle. 

Now, take a look at the two corn cobs in the top photo. Both came from the same irrigated field. So why the difference? Simple geometry (the stuff you learned in high school that you thought you would never actually use). Our fields are square or rectangular and the irrigator runs in a circle, leaving the corners unwatered. The little guy was growing in a corner, whereas the full ear of corn came from a watered area. So even though the field was irrigated, several acres of corn are lost to these "dry" corners.

The fields surrounding our farm buildings are irrigated- one hundred ninety acres. Much of that corn crop looks good, like the big cob in the photo, but there is a big cost to that good looking corn! 

Our irrigators ran eleven cycles this growing season. It costs approximately $5 per acre each time the irrigators completes a cycle.

190 acres x $5 = $950 per cycle 

$950 x 11 cycles = $10,450 

And that is just the cost for the electricity to run the irrigators. Now add seed, fertilizer, maintenance and repair costs, machinery fuel, and then there's the time we put into planting and harvesting. Will we make a profit? Probably not. Will we break even? Hopefully.  

And then there is the 70 acres of farm land that is not irrigated. It looks tough...really tough.

Last week our state officials held a news conference announcing the need for assistance to farmers due to the severe draught conditions. Although we appreciate their concern and willingness to help, there is just not enough money to go around. The Governor is proposing passing $10 million in assistance, some loans, some grants. 

Watch the Governor's Draught Relief announcement here.

Food for thought-

There are approximately 2,400 dairy farmers in the state of Minnesota. 

$10,000,000 in aid divided by 2,400 dairy farmers  = $4,167 per dairy farmer

Hmmm... less than we paid for electricity on some of our crops.

And that is just figuring on dairy farmers. I know that possibly not all dairy farmers were affected by the draught, but this $10 million proposal is for ALL Minnesota farmers, not just dairy. According to the 2017 survey results collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Minnesota is home to 68,822 farms. 

This article is not meant to be a complaint. I write this as information in hopes that my readers will understand the draught situation and how it affects the farmer, the government (that wants to help, but is responsible for helping so many) and ultimately how it will affect you, the consumer.

So Proud of "Take A Hike, Mike!"

It's easy for parents to say, "We are so proud of our ________ (insert son or daughter here)." But John and I are especially excited to say it, because our son Michael just received a national award!

Michael is the Executive Director of our local Community Television station, HCTV. Last week the NATOA (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors) awards were announced and Michael came away a winner, not once but twice, for his show "Take A Hike, Mike!"

"Take a Hike, Mike!" visits businesses for a day to learn about what they do, and to lend a helping hand. It's a fun way to showcase local stores, restaurants, factories, services, and yes, even a farm! 

Michael's winning entry was filmed right here, on Bremer Farms. He learned about combining corn, feeding calves, and introduced viewers to Grandma Bremer, and our farm helper Ella, and a few of his favorite cows. It's just one more way to let folks know what happens on a dairy farm!

Full disclosure- Michael DID know how to combine corn and feed calves before filming this episode. 😉

Congratulations to Michael for his 2nd place award for "Take A Hike, Mike! Port of Hastings Outfitters" also. HCTV received five more top awards along with numerous honorable mentions too.

So, it's easy for John and I to say, "We are so proud of our son (insert Michael here)." And this is just one of the reasons we are proud parents!

You can see other "Take A Hike, Mike!" episodes on YouTube.

Zucchini Devils' Food Cake, Yum!

 We have zucchini coming out of our ears! Have you heard that saying before; coming out of our ears? I wonder how that saying originated. It sure conjures up a strange image in my mind! I Googled (of course) the saying but came up with nothing. Anyway... zucchini.

Sara's garden is blessing us with lots of zucchini, so after putting several packages of the grated stuff in the freezer, I broke out the cake pan and my mom's favorite zucchini recipes. First up, Zucchini Devils' Food Cake. Hmmm, I wonder why it's called devils food and not just chocolate? Hey, Google...

Zucchini Devils' Food Cake

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup cocoa

1 cup grated zucchini

Cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs. In seperate bowl sift together flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar and butter mixture. Then add egg mixture alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla. Blend in cocoa and zucchini. Pour batter into 2 - 9" greased cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. OR pour batter into 9"x13" greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 43 minutes. 

TIP: If you do not have buttermilk you can subsitute plain yogurt OR place 1 tablespoon  lemon juice or vinegar in measuring cup and add milk to equal 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes before using.

Apron's Optional Meets Princess Kay Brenna

Our daughter Sara has a cooking show on our local TV station. It's called Aprons Optional, and it's filmed right here in our kitchen on our farm. 

I agree with Sara when she closes each episode with, 

"Remember, the apron is optional, but the flavor isn't."

Aprons Optional had a special guest at last weeks filming. Princess Kay (Minnesota's official goodwill ambassador for the dairy community), Brenna Connelly stopped by to share her recipe for Cheesy Hasbrowns. All the recipes featured in this episode are posted below. #DairyGoodness #Yummy!

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients 

3lbs chicken pieces, rinsed and patted dry
½ cup melted butter
½ cup flour, heaping
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ teaspoons paprika

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix together flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a plastic bag. Dip chicken pieces in melted butter and then coat evenly with flour mixture.
Place in a single layer on a greased shallow baking pan (skin side down – if you’ve left the skin on).
Bake 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes.

Creamy Corn Salad

Ingredients

2 lbs. frozen corn, thawed under cool running water

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced purple onion

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions

Combine the corn, red bell pepper, onion and jalapeño in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together the yogurt, mayo, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Gently stir into the corn mixture. Add in the chopped cilantro and stir. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cheesy Hash Browns

Ingredients
Hash Browns:
1 (20 ounce) package Shredded Hash Browns
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
Topping:
1 ½ cups corn flakes, coarsely crushed
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 quart glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl combine all hash brown ingredients; mix well. Spread into prepared baking dish. In small bowl stir together topping ingredients. Spread topping evenly over hash browns. Bake 45 minutes or until hash browns are tender.

Dairy Trivia and a Prize!

 

As June Dairy Month winds down, let's have a little fun with some dairy trivia. The answers are at the bottom of the page. There is an opportunity to win a great prize too. You'll learn about that following the trivia answers.

1. Some cows wear pedometers, which can track:

a) how many steps a cow takes

b) the cow's overall health

c) how much milk a cow gives

d) all of the above

2. Who used chemistry to help perfect soft-serve ice cream? 

a) Angela Lansbury

b) Margaret Thatcher

c) Paul Newman

3. How many servings of dairy do Americans consume each day? 

a) one

b) two

c) three

4. How long does it take from the time the milk leaves the cow until it reaches your grocery store?

a) 7 days

b) 2 days

c) 1 day

d) 5 days

5. How many gallons of fresh milk does the average food bank client receive each year?

a) one gallon

b) 4 gallons

c) 10 gallons

6. Cows tend to produce more milk listening to what type of music?

a) rock

b) country

c) pop

d) classical

7. What is the approximate cost of milk per glass?

a) 10 cents

b) 25 cents

c) 75 cents

8. At any given time, what percent of Americans have ice cream in their freezer?

a) 40%

b) 67%

c) 87%

9. Dairy cows contribute to a sustainable food system.

a) true

b) false

10. American fighter pilots made ice cream using their planes during WWII.

a) true

b) false

ANSWERS: 

1. All of the above! New technology isn’t just for delivering that delicious pizza to your front door. It also helps dairy farmers track the health of their cows, keeps tabs on the cows’ activity levels around the farm and monitors if a cow isn’t feeling itself or needs extra attention.

2. Long before she was the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher’s work in chemistry helped perfect soft-serve ice cream.

3. On average, Americans consume about two dairy servings of dairy a day. Adding just one more serving of dairy would help fill the average American’s nutrient gap.

4. Believe it or not: your local grocery store has the milk on its shelves within 48 hours of leaving the farm! Most people usually live within 100 miles or less from a local dairy farm, which means the milk you enjoy every day is fresh and local. A win-win!

5. Those relying on food banks receive about one gallon of milk a year. Milk is one of the top five most in-demand items at food banks. Learn how you can help by visiting The Great American Milk Drive.

6. You are not the only one who can get into a steady groove listening to your favorite playlist. Researchers have found that many cows tend to produce more milk when classical music is played.

7. Milk is a nutritional bargain, costing about 25 cents per 8-ounce glass. Few foods deliver dairy’s powerhouse of nutrients in such an affordable, delicious and accessible way.

8. Americans really love their ice cream! We have it in our freezer at any given time about 87 percent.
9. True! There are many ways that dairy cows contribute to a sustainable food system. For example, Cow manure can serve as a fertilizer, cow manure can be converted into electricity, and cows can eat and use food that people can’t. Learn more about on-farm sustainability practices.
10. True! To pass the time, American fighter pilots in WWII attached pairs of 5-gallon cans of milk and cream to their planes. The cans were fitted with a small propeller that spun the mixture as the planes flew, and the higher altitudes froze it. By the time they landed, ice cream was ready! 

HERE'S THE BOARD GAME PRIZE YOU COULD WIN!

HEAD ON OVER TO MY BARNYARD VIEW ON FACEBOOK AND COMMENT ON THE POST WHICH DAIRY TRIVIA QUESTION SURPRISED YOU OR THAT YOU FOUND THE MOST INTERESTING. A WINNER WILL BE RANDOMLY SELECTED ON JUNE 29. GOOD LUCK!

Retail value $34.00

THANK YOU TO DAKOTA COUNTY FARM BUREAU FOR THE PRIZE!

Clarabelle

 There are so many fascinating things to learn about cows and the milk they produce. Did you know-

• A cow has to give birth to a calf before she can give milk
• Cows produce nearly 30 gallons of saliva each day
• Milk is never touched by human hands
• All milk is tested repeatedly to make sure it is clean and pure.

There is lots more I could tell you, but let's see what Clarabelle can tell us. 

No matter what farm you visit, or read about, or learn about, you can bet that no matter what size the farm is, dairy farmers are doing their best to keep their cows safe and healthy.

P.S. The book bundle giveaway is over, but there will be another giveaway soon. Keep checking in here or My Barnyard View on Facebook.

Princess Kay, Who will it be in 2021?

This year the 68th Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Minnesota's goodwill ambassador for the dairy community, will be crowned. Dozens of dairy enthusiasts from across Minnesota all gather in May to participate in judging. Dairy princesses are young women who are from dairy farm families or are involved in the dairy industry through their employment or that of their parents, or raise or lease dairy animals. At the conclusion of judging, the 10 Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists are announced. 

Brenna Connelly, 67th Princess Kay of the Milky Way

Princess Kay finalists are then judged again in August. Judging involves a written application, a short speech, a professional interview and a simulated media interview. Princess Kay is then crowned the night before the Minnesota State Fair opens, and serves as the dairy industry’s goodwill ambassador for a year, helping people understand the dedication of dairy farmers to wholesome and nutritious food, and the way milk is produced. Dairy farmers sponsor the dairy princess program through Midwest Dairy.

The 2021 finalists include:

• Emeliya Dose, 18, of Plainview, representing Wabasha County; daughter of Paul Dose and Miranda and Rob Young 
• Kelsey Erf, 19, of Oakdale, representing Washington County; daughter of Dave and Kathy Erf 
• Anna Euerle, 19, of Litchfield, representing Meeker County; daughter of Vaughn and Joan Euerle 
• Alaina Johnson, 18, of Dakota, representing Houston County; daughter of Ryan and Tracy Johnson 
• Kelsey Kuball, 19, of Waterville, representing Rice County; daughter of Shannon and Nathan Kuball 
• Emily Leonard, 21, of Norwood Young America, representing Carver County; daughter of Tim and Amy Leonard 
• Isabelle Lindahl, 20, of Lindstrom, representing Chisago County; daughter of Kevin and Tara Lindahl 
• Megan Meyer, 17, of Rollingstone, representing Winona County; daughter of John and Connie Meyer 
• Jessica Ohmann, 20, of Albany, representing Stearns County; daughter of Ron and Ami Ohmann 
• Katrina Thoe, 22, of Hayfield, representing Dodge County; daughter of Susie and Jeffrey Thoe 

National Cheese Day!

 National Cheese Day seems like the perfect time to share this cheesey recipe. It's one of the first recipes that my daughter Sara made by herself. Maybe that's why my family refers to it as 

Sara's Cheeseburger Pie!

Sara's Cheeseburger Pie

1 pound hamburger                                        1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup minced onion, optional                        3 eggs

3/4 cup Bisquick                                            1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tomatoes, sliced                                          1 cup milk 

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger and onion, drain. Beat eggs, Bisquick, salt and pepper. Put browned hamburger and onions in 10" pie pan. Pour liquid mixture over this and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Take from oven. Top with tomatoes and cheese. Return to oven and bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean (5-8 minutes). Serves 6-8. 

And for dessert, how about 

Creamy Cheesecake.