Farm 2 School And A Vote Too

 

October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections that are happening all over the country between schools and local food!

Carolyn Hudson, RD, Midwest Dairy supervises the cow milking.

Minneapolis (Minnesota) Public Schools recently hosted a Farm to School Community BBQ to raise awareness about recent efforts to improve the amount of healthy, locally grown foods in school meals. Nearly 1,000 students, parents, teachers, and community members gathered together to enjoy farm fresh food, learn about farm animals and crops, and hear about the exciting Farm to School activities coming up this school year. I was invited by Midwest Dairy to attend the BBQ to speak to folks about life on a dairy farm, and the importance of dairy foods. I was joined by Bessie the cow, who was happy to let everyone try their hand at milking her.

Numerous studies have found healthy eating behaviors contribute to better academic performance. As a dairy farmer, I know the importance of enjoying 3 servings of dairy each day to receive 9 essential nutrients. And milk is not just for school students either. Moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas too-you never outgrow the need for dairy in your diet!

Thanks to Minneapolis Public Schools for letting me (and Bessie) 

share our Farm To School story. 

 

Also, my family would appreciate your vote in the Show Your Pride contest where we show our enthusiasm for the Minnesota Vikings and

 Fuel Up To Play 60. The winner receives a farm visit from an NFL player! 

Please vote. (Hint-hint...you can vote everyday).

This And That Thursday- 2

Photo from Google image search.

This week we are making corn silage. Corn silage is made by chopping the entire corn plant into small pieces using a machine called a forage harvester, which is pulled by a tractor. A wagon with tall sides is pulled behind the forage harvester to catch the chopped corn. The wagons are then taken to the bunker (see The Life Cycle Of a Silo) where they are unloaded and the silage is packed tightly using a tractor. Silage must be firmly packed to minimize the oxygen content, or it will spoil. After packing, the pile is covered with plastic sheeting to help it ferment and also for protection from the weather. We will chop about 40 acres of corn to make the silage needed to feed our dairy cows.

We had visitors this week. Cooper brought his daddy Paul to see the farm. It was Cooper's first visit to a farm. I don't know if he was more excited about seeing a farm, or wearing his big-boy boots for the first time.

Tonight I attended the Minneapolis Public Schools Farm to School Community BBQ. I was invited by Midwest Dairy to share my story about life on a dairy farm. I'll share more about the BBQ next week. Here's a little teaser...

The Farmer Takes A Wife

As a child, I often played "The Farmer In the Dell." We all stood in a circle, sang the song, and anxiously waited to see who would be chosen as the wife, child, dog, cat, and on and on. This past weekend I witnessed the real-life "Farmer In The Dell" as Aaren (the farmer) chose Dena (my niece) as his wife. But although fun and games were included, this was serious business, as the farm boy from southern Minnesota married the city (o.k.- the town) girl.

Photo by Sheree

I'm thrilled that this farmer took this wife! At the reception Aaren shared a humorous story about when he knew Dena would make his perfect mate. It seems Aaren was fixing a barn door, dropped a screw in the manure, and without hesitation, Dena, the town girl, swooped down to pick it up. Ah, yes, true love will make you do almost anything, even things we may not have even considered before. But isn't that what marriage is all about- diving in, without hesitation, to make someone else happy, while making yourself just as happy? 

 

A farmer and his pick-up are rarely parted.

My advice to Dena, from one farm wife to another- 

• Be patient. Remember when you want "date night", he has no control over when animals give birth.
• Be understanding, even when he is late to meals. I'm guessing a piece of machinery broke down.
• Be forgiving. Weather that is not conducive to farming can lead to a husband that says things he may not otherwise say, to you or aforementioned machinery.
• Be gentle, when you nudge him awake after he dozes off on the sofa from a long, hard day of doing what he loves...farming, which provides both of you with the best life you can live. Welcome to farm life!

Special thanks to Larry, Dena's new father-in-law, who was seen promoting my blog by handing out my business cards at the wedding reception. 

 He's another proud farmer!

This And That Thursday- 1

A new baby is born! Yes, my blog is hatching a new feature. "This And That Thursday" will become a weekly feature where I will update you on what's happening on the farm, in our lives, with our dairy promotion, you know, life in general. This gives me an opportunity to share what we have been doing, but sometimes our tidbits don't require an entire blog post to fill you in. Thus, "This And That Thursday" is born!

Remember back in August when I launched My Very First Giveaway? I later announced Randy K. W. as the winner. Randy was nice enough to snap this photo at the Dairy Goodness Bar, at the Minnesota State Fair, where he presented his coupons for the 4 free malts he won. I bet he didn't mind receiving the 4 admission tickets to the Fair either. 

It is obvious how far the irrigation water reached at the corner of this field.

This week I was again contacted by WCCO Radio, our local CBS affiliate, about the effect the drought is having on farm crops, as we near harvest. I explained that we are in the moderate drought (some crop damage) area, but farmers just 50 miles north of us are seeing severe drought (crop loss likely) conditions. We at Bremer Farms are blessed to have mostly irrigated land, but Mother Nature's FREE water is even more of a blessing. I also shared how soybean farmers are affected by the drought since dry weather restricts the soybean pod from filling to the fullest. Our dry fall may also affect how much fall tillage (preparing the soil for spring planting) we are able to do.

We are baling our third crop hay. Farmer John has been baling round bales to feed our dairy cows and steers. You can read more about baling at Hey Hay, Looky Here!

And two baby girls joined the herd! Meet Annabelle. She stole my heart. Shhh...don't tell the others.

Learn more about dairy at Dairy Makes Sense

Say Cheese, Please

"Cheese" is a frequently heard word at our house. You can bet cheese can always be found in our refrigerator, often times found on our sandwiches, and usually found in daily cooking. And each night as I walk to our barn for evening milking, I'm snacking on a piece of string cheese. Yes, we have a close relationship with cheese at our house. So it was no surprise to my family when I wanted to attend the Minnesota Cheese Festival and daughter Sara happily came along.

Our adventure began with a workshop featuring Patrick Moore, The Cheese Guy. This cheesy guy shared with us how to Perfect Your Cheese Plate. One thing I learned was that I will need about 1/4 pound of each variety of cheese for each of my guests. I also learned that "What grows together, goes together." In other words, foods grown in the same area where the cheese was produced, are delicious compliments to that cheese.

Then it was off to sample the best cheeses that Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa have to offer as well as wine and beer from local producers. Yummy! Here are some of our favorites-

 
Sara with Brett from Castle Rock Organic Farms.

Sara chose Castle Rock as her favorite Smoked Sharp Cheddar.

Pasture Pride Cheese is a cheesemaker which produces fine cheeses made from milk produced by small Amish Dairies.

 

Sara and I fell in love with Pasture Pride's Juusto, which is served warm.

 Of course we sampled the famous Ellsworth  White Cheddar Cheese Curds, even though they are always in our fridge at home! Ama-ZING!

We dairy farmers went out of our comfort zone and sampled, loved, and purchased goats' milk cheese from Stickney Hill Dairy Farms.

I was excited to see Alise and Lucas, and Alise's sister Maggie from Redhead Creamery.

Alise and Lucas, along with Alise's parents Linda and  Jerry, are just breaking into the cheesemaker scene. They plan to break ground this fall on their cheese plant right on their dairy farm in Brooten, Minnesota. You can support them on Kickstarter, like Sara and I have done, to achieve their goal of making "ridiculously good" cheese while also caring for the earth with their go-green attitude. Please hurry, there's only a few days left to reach their goal!

Redhead Creamery's "ridiculously good" cheese curds.

Visit  Dairy Makes Sense  to learn more about the power of cheese.

Saying Goodbye To Dad

 

My Dad passed away this week. After 10 years of struggles with the results of a stroke, diabetes, and just growing older, God chose to end my Dad's pain and bring him to his heavenly home where God has lovingly wrapped his arms around 

 my great dad, 

  my mom's loving husband of 63 years, 

 my children's amazingly supportive grandpa, 

 a passionate farmer, even after retirement,

a caring Christian, 

 and a truly funny guy.   

I love you dad, and you will always be In Our Hearts.

 In Our Hearts

by Rose de Leon

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday.
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories.
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we’ll never part.
God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.

Dear Diary, Here and There

August, 2013

Dear Diary,

Most of my days at the Minnesota State Fair begin here at the 4-H building where I judge some great demonstrations.

One of my favorite resting spots is the many band shells with free entertainment. Normally it's standing room only, but not when we are enjoying a 107 degree heat index!

 

Thank goodness there is plenty of ice cold milk to keep us fair-goers refreshed on such hot days.

Fair-goers enjoyed the misting stations...

just as much as our hay fields appreciate the "misting" to produce a third crop of hay.

 

The fair will soon be over, but I always have the memories to remind me of what to look forward to next year. My tickets and malts MN State Fair giveaway winner, Randy K. W. is going to the fair today. I wonder what flavor of malt he will enjoy?

Learn about dairy at Dairy Makes Sense