V Is For Volunteer

Tonight Bessie and I did a bit of volunteering.

Bessie and I were invited to an activity for United Way of Hastings. United Way describes itself as neighbors helping neighbors, right here in the community you live in. (I love this!) Their mission is to "collaborate with other organizations, identify root causes, and solve our most crucial community needs."

How could Bessie and I possibly say no to an organization that is all about improving the lives of my fellow community members. 

In the spirit of June Dairy Month, United Way held an ice cream social for the organizations it supports. Bessie and I were invited to talk dairy,  hand out dairy recipes and everyone got a dairy filled goodie bag. We also thanked everyone for enjoying dairy foods. Bessie even reminded folks of the importance of  #Dairy3forMe.

I really enjoy the opportunity to visit with new friends about dairy farming. I appreciate all the great conversations. I hope everyone left tonight knowing I am a dairy farmer passionate about what I do, and also knowing how much I appreciate them consuming our healthy and good tasting dairy foods. 

Thank you Mari and the United Way crew, for letting me be a part of your event. Also, thanks for what you and the supporting organizations do for my neighbors in Hastings.

Happy June Dairy Month!

R Is For Reading

I love to read and I also have many, many great memories of spending time at our local library with Sara and Michael when they were younger, so when the library invites me to do a cow story time each June for Dairy Month, my reply is always, "What day and time? I'll be there!"

Whenever I give a presentation, the kids always ask what kind of animals we have on our farm. So I began by reading, The Flea's Sneeze.

The farm in this book has many kinds of animals. I shared that our farm has only cows and cats. And since the Flea in this book shares his cold with the other animals, I then talked about what we do to keep our animals healthy, including visits from the veterinarian, and using medicine when, and only when, necessary.

Have you read the book Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type? My next book, Giggle, Giggle, Quack is written by the same author.

Farmer Brown goes on vacation, and the animals have a little fun with their caretaker. The cows even order pizza for dinner! This segues into sharing what our cows eat...and it's not pizza. I also explain how we grow all the food our cows eat. 

Lastly, I read, Cow's Can't Fly. Our cow's can't fly, but they can do something else pretty amazing...

Our cows give lots of delicious milk! I then talked about the milking process that my family does two times a day, every day, including holidays. The kiddos then got to share all the foods they could think of that begin with milk! 

Before handing out the dairy goodie bags, and cow backpacks (thanks to the Dakota County Library for the backpacks), I asked the kids and their parents and grandparents that brought them, to pledge to have three servings of dairy each day. Have you pledged yet? If yes- we dairy farmers say thanks! If not, here's your chance. Go to Midwest Dairy #Dairy3forMe.

Q Is For QT's

Q is not an easy letter to work with, so I fudged a little. 

Q Is For QT (cutie).

I can't think of anything cuter than a calf. Let me introduce you to a few of Bremer's QT's!

Some are sassy.

Some are curious.

Some love to share.

And some are hams for the camera.

They all live in our "calf hotel."

They are all well cared for, well fed, and well loved!

 

 Pledge #Dairy3ForMe here

P Is For Planting

Today I am taking a little step back in time to June 2nd. That was the final day of corn planting 2016. Earlier in Spring I shared that I planted for the first time in our nearly 33 years of marriage. I planted alfalfa, oats, peas and barley (isn't there a song title in there somewhere?) 

In typical Farmer John fashion, he spoiled me again. No, he didn't wash the tractor windows this time, but he did fill the planter.

  We finished our planting season by planting silage corn. We plant this corn last because it is not necessary for it to be fully mature before harvest.

 We want the corn kernels to be mature, but not hard. This corn is cut at ground level because we feed the entire plant.

This was my view as I planted. The dark "stripes" are used to follow as I plant. This helps to plant straight rows too, as long as my first row is straight!

 This is the marker. It makes the dark "stripes" I just mentioned. There is one attached to each side of the planter. Newer, larger planters use GPS to dictate where to plant. Since our equipment is smaller, and older, we use the marker system.

 This is what I see behind me. The yellow tank is applying liquid fertilizer as I plant. I am planting six rows at a time.

 

The weather has been perfect for growing corn. It seemed like as I was finishing the field, the first row of plants were already popping their heads through the soil. Well, maybe not quite that quick.  :)

See you tomorrow! Until then, celebrate June Dairy Month
by taking the #Dairy3ForMe Pledge.