Purrt

There is nothing sweeter than baby kittens! Today's book is another favorite from my childhood. It is about Purrt, a gray Siamese mama cat and her two black kittens. I think I love this book for several reasons. Number one, my family raised Siamese cats when I was young. Number two, I named one of my cats Purrt, after this books title. Number three, the black kittens in this book are fuzzy to touch,

 even though I touched them soooooo much, I rubbed off all the fuzz!

Did you draw a cat from the directions I gave at the end of this video?

Add your drawing in the comments on My Barnyard View on Facebook. You could win a free book!

See you tomorrow!

W is for Why

Why do we farm?

• it allows us to continue our family tradition as a proud sixth generation dairy farmer.
• my husband, Farmer John never complains about going to work.
• we have raised our children on our dairy farm, and never heard, "I'm bored!"
• we spend many hours working side-by-side with family, and there's nothing better than spending time with family.
• it reinforces that hard work truly does pay off.
• living and working on our dairy farm teaches us to care for and appreciate God's creation.
• we help feed the world safe, nutritious dairy foods.
• my family and I are "leaving this world a little better than when we found it" through our sustainability efforts on our dairy farm.
• we are the first step to making milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream! Yum...dairy deliciousness!

TV Time Talking Malts

If you know me, you know that I can be quite a talker, (alright friends and family- quit snickering) and one of my favorite things to talk about is dairy. Imagine that! So when I get the chance to talk dairy, you don't have to ask me twice.

I recently appeared on a couple television programs introducing this year's Flavor Of The Fair, which is the one-year-only flavor of malts and sundaes served at the Dairy Goodness Bar at the Minnesota State Fair. (Don't worry ice cream lovers- all your yummy favorite toppings are still available.)
I blogged about this year's choices here- Flavor of the Fair.

I then visited WCCO TV so Jason and Kylie could taste the 3 finalists.
See which one they chose by clicking here.

So the votes are in, and ta-dah, the winner is...
Pie n' The Sky.
It's Minnesota dairy farmers secret recipe vanilla ice cream, tart and tangy lemon curd, spicy crisp "airplane" cookies, all topped with a drizzle of dark chocolate syrup, and it is GOOD!

So good in fact that the Minnesota State Fair featured it as one of the New Foods of 2017, a very elite list! So off I go again to talk a little dairy. This time I went to FOX 9 TV to help present the winning malt along with a few other folks that had their food make the elite New Foods list also.

L-R, Mobster's Caviar, Duck Bacon Wontons, Pie n' the Sky Malts, and Maple Cream Nitro Cold Press Coffee

FOX 9's Cody was more than willing to sample the food, and I'm happy to say he gave the Pie n' the Sky Malt rave reviews. Am I surprised? No. After all, it's brought to you by Minnesota's dairy farmers! Did I mention Pie n' the Sky is also available in Sundaes?

So there you have it. TV personalities Cody, Jason, and Kylie all agree that it's delicious!
See you at the Fair!

Thanksgiving Trivia And Thankfulness

The turkey is now a pile of bones, the mashed potato bowl is licked clean, there's nothing left of the green bean casserole except that one stubborn bean stuck to the bottom of the dish, the cranberry sauce is still untouched, and the pumpkin pie with whipped cream is nothing but a memory. Before heading to the television to watch your favorite football team, take some time to dazzle your family with this Thanksgiving trivia. Hey, today is all about family, remember?

We at Bremer farms wish you a Happy Thanksgiving spent with family and friends. And today, like every other day, we are grateful for you and your love of dairy, and your appreciation for what we do here on the farm to share that dairy goodness with you.

Thanks to Google Image Search

What if we woke up tomorrow with only the things 

we thanked God for today?

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart...

Psalm 111:1

V Should Be For Victory

V is for "Victory."

V is also for "Vikings Victory."

But this week we will have to settle for V is just for "Vikings."

If you have been following my blog for very long you will already know that I am a HUGE Minnesota Vikings Football fan. So is Farmer John, and so is our son Michael. Daughter Sara...not so much.

Each year for Michael's birthday we cheer on our beloved Vikes at a game that Michael chooses. This year it was verses the Detroit Lions. 

Here's how our day went...

Get up earlier than usual to do chores and milk cows. 

Grab a muffin and some yogurt and head off to the light rail station.

Ride the light rail to the game. 

(This avoids traffic and parking headaches at the stadium).

Me and birthday boy Mike

Farmer John and Sara

Once at the stadium...

Find bathroom, food, and seats...in that order.

Since the Minnesota Vikings are currently building a new stadium, 

this (and next) seasons games are being held at 

the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium.

It is a beautiful stadium on a 60 degree, slightly breezy October day. A December football game...hmmm...maybe not so much.

Win or lose, we always stay until the end.

Other than my creepy "hat-hair" I love this picture.

So our Vikings couldn't pull out a victory (congrats to Detroit) but you can bet we'll be heading back to celebrate Michael's birthday with the Vikes again next year. Until then...

Heading home to do chores.

The players were leaving the stadium at the same time we were and I snapped this picture of 6 foot 8 inch, 343 pound, tackle, Phil Loadholt. After the game, I guess it's back to reality for all of us, dad's and farmers.

For more of our Minnesota Vikings encounters...

You can read about, and view a video of the day we met the Vikings, here-

F Is For Fuel Up To Play 60

and learn about the Vikings player that came to our farm, here-

 It's Toby Day!

F Is For Fuel Up To Play 60

It's June Dairy Month! The barn doors are open, 

so join me on my daily A to Z journey 

to learn more about dairy. 

  F is for Fuel Up To Play 60

 

Fuel Up To Play 60 is a program funded by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League in collaboration with USDA, that empowers students to take charge in making small, everyday changes at school. Students are encouraged to change the way they look at food and nutrition, and change their attitudes about physical education. 11 million students are involved in this program. We dairy farmers contribute to the success of this program.

Each year the Minnesota Vikings help build a playground for a needy community. I was asked by Midwest Dairy to give a short speech at the Playground Build to explain dairy farmers commitment to the Fuel Up To Play 60 program. 

We at Bremer Farms are proud to be a part of this program that promotes healthy foods and healthy activity. Dairy foods are a perfect fit in the Fuel Up To Play 60 program!

As an added bonus on the day of the Playground Build, my family and I got to hang out with the Minnesota Vikings! Take a peek...

Why Do We Do What We Do?

 "You work long hours. You don't get paid what you're worth. You never get a day off. Why do you do what you do?"

We farmers hear these types of comments all the time. I often feel that if you don't grow-up in a farm family, our career choice is a difficult one to wrap your head around. Why would anyone choose to work seven days a week, with long hours, with no medical benefit plan or paid vacation days? It's all about... passion.

Dairy farmers, like us, are passionate about caring for our cows; keeping them comfortable and healthy. Dairy farmers are passionate about caring for the environment; the land, air and water. Dairy farmers are passionate about our families; making a good life for us and our children. And dairy farmers are passionate about helping others; whether it is supplying dairy foods to a growing population, or raising our sons and daughters with a strong work ethic so they too can help others. Farmers are passionate. 

Last week I was surrounded by passionate people when I was asked to attend the Midwest Dairy Dairy Ambassador Workshop in Kansas City. Dairy farmers, along with Registered Dietitians came together to learn about how we can share our farm to table story. 

Brenda, Janet, Anne, Cindy, Becky

Registered Dietitians Cindy and Anne already knew the importance of dairy foods in our diet, but workshop activities gave farmers an opportunity to share what we do to produce these healthy foods and the love we have for what we do.

Dairy farm moms got together to learn about ways to share our farming passion through Twitter, FaceBook, Pinterest and Blogging. I was asked to speak on how I connect with consumers through blogging, a topic I was happy to take on.

Chris Heins, Heins Family Farms

With the average age of America's farmers being 58 years, I was excited to see the enthusiasm of the younger farmers that attended this workshop. It looks to me as though the passion for farming is going to continue for a very long time.