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.

A Is For Area

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month! 

So come on in...the barn doors are open!

A Is For Area 

Many people have an image in their mind of what a dairy farm looks like and where you will find it... a two story white house, a red hip roof barn, surrounded by rolling pasture land, in the middle of "nowhere." This may describe some farms but certainly not Bremer Farms. Today I'm sharing a glimpse of the area where we live and farm.

We are two miles south of the Mighty Mississippi River, 

Hastings Bridge

and less than four miles from Hastings, Minnesota which is one of the most beautiful river towns.

City Hall

It's where Farmer John, Sara and Michael went to school,

Hastings High School

and the city Sara, Michael, and I all work our off-the-farm jobs.

Son Michael works for Hastings Community TV

Hastings is also where we have all gone to church our entire lives.

We may live in the country, but we are still very active members of our community. It's where we shop, work, volunteer, and worship. 

We are certainly not in the "middle of nowhere." Did I mention our farm is across the street from a golf course and only 20 minutes from downtown Minneapolis?

Other dairy farms may not be close to a large metropolitan area like we are. Other farms may have the white house, and the red barn and rolling pastures. But no matter what the farms look like or where they are located, we all have the same goal- to give the best care possible to our land and our animals, and also contribute to our communities.

You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...
A Is For Acre
and
A Is For Antibiotics 

Sum-It-Up Saturday

"That about sums it up." 

Have you heard this phrase, or is it a Minnesota thing? 

"Crazy busy!" That sums up our week.

We finished combining corn this week. You can  learn about the process here. It is a huge job to cross off our to-do list. Now Farmer John is baling corn stalks to use for bedding.  Learn about stalk bales here.

Daughter Sara's community TV show premiered this week too. Aprons Optional is all about preparing 3 recipes; one easy, one medium difficulty, and one more time consuming. By the look on Sara's face, this is not the easy one!

Speaking of TV, my other local television star, son Michael (aka. Take A Hike, Mike!) and I handed out candy to over 550 kiddos at a local Halloween Community Event. So fun, and lots of Frozen costumes! You can see Michael's show Take A Hike, Mike visits Bremer Farms  here.

Our week began with my mom having colon cancer surgery. Through God's guiding hand, mom's surgery went well. Thank you Lord for giving me a mom who is stubborn, and always willing to fight whatever battle is set before her. Love you, Mom!

Our week ended with an addition to our family. A big welcome to the family to Porter, my mom's first Great-Grandchild, and my first Great-Nephew, and Mommy and Daddy (Dena and Aaren's) first child. I'm hoping to hold him, and spoil him real soon!

Lastly, congratulations to Cindy Q. You are the winner of my latest giveaway, and this addition to your herd, cow bank, will be in the mail next week.

So that about sums it up. See you soon!

Follow-Up Friday 2

This week on Bremer Farms...

 

This week our kitchen turned into a television studio as Sara and Mike filmed the first three episodes of daughter Sara's new show for Hastings Community TV, Aprons Optional. We have been enjoying many yummy samples! Apron's Optional premieres in early October.

The hollyhocks are in full bloom near our calf barn. 

Grandpa Roy says they are his favorite flower and they remind him of the farm he grew up on.

Sara is gearing up for her biggest Holiday Outdoor display in the history of Bremer Farms. I'm thinking UPS and Fed-Ex is looking to the amount of packages Sara is receiving as their job security.
Santa's reindeer stable arrived this week.

We pride ourselves on keeping our farm neat and organized. This week our  metal recycler paid us a visit. We have been working on many projects; replacing our feeding system (blogging about that next week) re-purposing a shed (blogging about that when it's complete) and replacing gates and water tanks. We are all about recycling, not only because we like our farm neat, but we care about the environment. Reduce, reuse, recycle... priorities every day here.

It's sweet corn season on the farm, and although we do not grow sweet corn, we get a lot from a very generous neighbor. 15 quarts are already in the freezer with more to come. I shared my recipe on my blog post 

Santa Lives In Our Neighborhood

We made our first visit to the Minnesota State Fair on Wednesday night.

We were greeted by Fairchild, our state fair mascot, as John, Sara, and I attended the coronation of the 61st Princess Kay of the Milky Way. Our neighbor Gabriella Sorg was one of the 12 finalists. You can learn more about her, and the princess program by clicking on her name.

Gabriella (in the pink) was selected as Miss Congeniality. That was no surprise to us, as she is one of the friendliest and sweetest girls you will ever meet! One of these 12 "milkmaids" will be crowned Princess Kay and will represent Minnesota Farmers and the dairy industry for the next year. 

And the winner is...

Jeni Haler

Congratulations Jen!

The Princess Kay program is sponsored by Midwest Dairy

Follow-Up Friday 1

My Minnesota State Fair giveaway posted on Dooby Dooby Moo and A Giveway Too ended at midnight and the winner is...

HEATHER

 

Heather will be receiving 4 admission tickets and 4 malt coupons to be used at the Minnesota State fair. Have fun Heather, and don't forget to visit the All-You-Can-Drink Milk Stand.

Thanks to everyone who entered and welcome to my new Twitter followers!

In other news...

Remember back in June... K Is For Kitten Meet some of the newest additions to Bremer Farms. Sara and I both noticed an offer we couldn't refuse in our school email. "10 kittens. Free to a good home." 

Here they are two months later.

All ten...

are still...

going and...

growing strong,

even Rebel (on the right) is behaving!

More news...

This past week we also completed combining oats. The oats are now safely tucked in the grain bin.

They are stored here until they are mixed with corn and minerals and then fed to our cattle.

And finally the last bit of news for this week... 

Sara and I had fun off the farm as we were invited to compete on a new game show on Hastings Community TV Go For The Dough.

Watch Go For The Dough here.

Only 6 more days until the Great Minnesota Get-together!

See you there!