This And That Thursday - 16

A little bit of this and a little bit of that- here's what we've been up to.

Our local CBS television station has an ongoing segment called "Good Question" where viewers are encouraged to submit questions that need answers. Last nights "Good Question" was "Why are we drinking less milk?" Here is the link to the interesting and informative response-"Why are we drinking less milk?" 

Quote from "Good Question"-
“I think it’s because a lot of people don’t understand that even as adults we need to be having dairy products every day,” said Deb Sheats, the director of the Nutrition and Dietetics program at St. Catherine University.

And also this week...

My previous post Don't Get Mad...Get Even? was my response to Chipotles online satire comedy series about "industrial farming" and its effect on consumers. I disagreed with their approach to satisfying "consumer curiosity." Chipotle responded to my post, via Twitter.

The conversation continued after this initial interaction. You can see the entire conversation on Twitter. 

I chose to leave the conversation after several exchanges, and here is my reasons for doing so- Mr. Arnold is being paid by Chipotle to endorse their stand on this issue and therefore will not agree with my thoughts even if, by chance, he personally did agreed. Secondly, Mr. Arnold did not broaden the conversation by using #hashtags, therefore not encouraging others to jump into the conversation. It appeared it was becoming a one-on-one battle of words.

I have not given-up on sharing my perception on our ethically grounded, scientifically verified and economically viable way of farming, I am just doing it my way...answering consumers questions, being open about what we do on our farm, and building trust between us farmers and your family. I'm choosing to take the high road!

Visit Dairy Makes Sense

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

Last year at this time, I was preparing for a trip to Kansas City, Missouri. I was invited to attend a dairy moms workshop, exploring the possibilities of social media. I was anxious, nervous and excited to attend. I knew nothing about social media, other than my Facebook account, (which my kids helped me set-up). Would I be able to keep up with the discussion and the terminology? Well, I am proof that you can teach an "old dog" new tricks! Even though I left Kansas City with my head spinning with all of the new information I had gained, I knew a blog was a project I wanted to tackle!

Some of the 2012 Workshop Attendees

This blog was born in May of 2012. My plan was to give my readers an inside look at my family's love of dairy foods and dairy farming. Most people are two or more generations removed from farming, and because of this, many folks don't know what we do "down on the farm."  Soon after beginning My Barnyard View, I began a Pinterest account, and quickly followed with a Twitter account. Last February I never thought I would be this involved in social media, but over the past year I have seen the benefits of sharing my dairy story. I have been approached by folks of all ages that are eager to get answers to their farm related questions. I have discovered that people truly want to know the story of how that delicious dairy food got to their table. I am happy to share my story, even if it means this "old dog" had to learn some new tricks!

This week I will be heading back to Kansas City. Another dairy moms workshop will be held, and I have been invited back as a mentor. I am hoping I can instill confidence in other dairy moms to take the journey and share their stories of life "down on the farm."

Visit me at my other social media locations:

Pinterest - mybarnyardview  (dairy recipes and other things I enjoy)
Twitter - @mybarnyardview  (my thoughts while I'm on the run)


Workshop sponsored by Midwest Dairy, which represents more than 9,500 dairy farm families to nearly 38 million consumers across 10 Midwestern states. Midwest Dairy works on behalf of dairy farmers to increase dairy sales, foster innovation and inspire consumer confidence in dairy products and practices.