Do you wonder where your food comes from? River Valley Chapter 35 got answers to their questions about dairy farming yesterday when they visited our farm.
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| River Valley Chapter 35 |
River Valley Chapter 35 is a part of MSNA (Minnesota State Nutrition Association), a state organization of school nutrition professionals committed to advancing school meal programs through education and advocacy. I love their mission statement- Our Mission is to provide our members opportunities for professional development and to build relationships that make a difference in the lives of children.
After a short
video of our farm it was time for the tour... but not today. Since we have been
blessed with lots of unseasonable snow, which now has become mud, our tour could not include showing where the feed is prepared and served, but we were able to head to my You Tube channel again to watch
our cows food prep and eating. Thank goodness for technology!
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| Getting a good look at the milking machines. |
The milking barn was next. After explaining the milking procedure, it was time for additional questions, and Farmer John and I got some great ones. Do cows enjoy being milked? Where do our replacement cows come from? Do you ever go on vacation? What is your milk used for? It was exciting to share that milk is never touched by human hands and that it only takes two days to get from our farm to their school or grocery store!
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| Learning about the youngest calves. |
We spoke a lot about sustainability and that there is no such thing as waste on a farm. Our corn stalks are used as bedding, and when the barn is cleaned- the manure and bedding is brought back to the fields to rebuild the organic matter. Our visitors also learned that water is run through pipes to cool the milk and is then used as drinking water for the cows.
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| Our calf barn. |
While visiting the youngest members of our herd, we shared about the care the calves received, and how we believe in being proactive in giving good care to all our animals.
And of course a trip to our dairy farm is never complete without a treat. Bring on the ice cream!
Thank you River Valley Chapter 35 for swinging by Bremer Farms and learning about where your food comes from, and thanks for what you do to provide healthy meals for the students to fuel their day!
