Two Kids In A Candy Store

 

I felt like a kid this week. I played hooky! I tossed my responsibilities aside for a day, kidnapped my Mom, and took her on a surprise adventure.

Our first destination was Bass Lake Cheese in Somerset, Wisconsin. Bass Lake Cheese is a family owned and family run award-winning cheese factory owned by "Master Cheesemaker" Scott Erickson and his wife Julie. Bass Lake Cheese has a fun display of old dairy memorabilia as well as a large window to watch cheese-making. Sadly, they were not making cheese the day we were there.  We will just have to visit again. Like two kids in a candy store, Mom and I studied all the cheese cases, sampling several varieties, trying to make a decision on what kinds to take home with us. I decided to buy provolone and green olive cheddar, but the cranberry cheddar was tempting too. 

Following our cheese excursion, we traveled on to River Falls, Wisconsin, home of the Best Maid Cookie Factory. I guess you could say this was our second "candy store." Along with the factory, Best Maid has a wonderful retail outlet store with delicious cookies, that we HAD to sample. Chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, sugar cookies, the only thing missing was the cold glass of milk. Wow! Even while playing hooky I think about dairy. Once a farmer, always a farmer. 

After purchasing several cases of cookies, (Yes, I said cases. Hey, there was a sale!) we settled in for a good visit over lunch at a neighboring restaurant.  Mom and I had a great day. I never played hooky as a child. If this is what it's like, I might just do it again. What are you doing next Wednesday, Mom?

Shakes and Floats Without The Root Beer

HCTV Staff  (My son, Michael is holding the red bindle stick)

 Shakes and Floats!

I love a parade! I may be a bit bias, but I think Hastings Rivertown Days has one of the best! Hastings is located on the banks of the "Mighty Mississippi" so we embrace the river! Our three day community festival is held the 3rd weekend of July each year. The weekend is filled with shows, dances, crafts, a carnival and so much more, but my favorite is the parade.

My daughter Sara helps too.

Our family has helped with the Hastings Community TV float for the last three years, (since my son started working there). Building the float is almost as exciting as being in the parade. It is fun to watch the parade viewers wave at the cameras on the float, to see themselves on TV. We have a lot of "hams" in Hastings!

Klover Klub 4-H helps distribute milkshakes

I also have another favorite in the parade. It's the County Dairy Princesses. Each year our three princesses walk with the Hastings Co-op Creamery. Together with Klover Klub 4-H, they hand out hundreds of milkshakes to the spectators that are eager to enjoy a cold, tasty treat while they watch the parade. Chocolate shakes and a parade! So sweet!

Dakota County Dairy Princesses

Janna Sorg and Beth Donally.

Not pictured Maggie Stiles.

When It Rains, It Pours!

I wish the title of this post was a commentary about the weather, but sadly it is not. Unfortunately, we are in need of rain here in Minnesota, but more about that in a moment. My plan is to post on my blog once or twice a week and as you can see, it has been longer than that, much longer. When it rains, it pours is in reference to the busy, crazy times going on here. In the past 2 weeks I have helped plan and execute a retirement celebration for our Pastor of 31 years, sewed 6 costumes for my son's work and a pirate costume for my daughter, and helped construct a booth and a float for our annual summer festival in town. Whew! All of this on top of the day-to-day duties that continue. I'm not complaining, in fact, I look forward to this kind of additional "busyness." I love working with family and friends to accomplish goals, and we've accomplished a lot in the last 2 week. Now, about the weather...

According to the National Weather Service- Climate Prediction Center, "The drought and heat arrived at a critical time for Midwestern agriculture, especially corn. The combination of heat and dryness has severely reduced the quality and quantity of the corn and soybean crop, with 38 percent of the corn and 30 percent of the soybeans rated as poor or very poor as of July 15 by NASS/USDA. Some states, such as Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana, had  over 70 percent of their corn adversely rated. Unfortunately,drought is expected to develop, persist, or intensify across  these areas, and temperatures are likely to average above normal."  

Although not as desperate, our area is praying for rain too. We have had some, but not enough to provide the moisture we need. Our farm is fortunate to have mostly irrigated land. Granted this watering system is not free like what Mother Nature provides, but it is a welcome back-up plan for this dry, hot weather. 

My prayer is that rain will be provided and we will see relief from the heat so that farmers can continue to FEED THE NATION that we are so proud to do!

PS- I am still sporting the "Rambo" look. See my previous post for an   explanation.

You Can Call Me Rambo

Last night when walking into our barn to begin our evening milking, I was greeted by my husband John. "Hello, Rambo!" I didn't know if he was referring to my Rambo-like fierce determination to get the milking done, or his observation of the bandana I had tied around my head. (You will notice I am not including a photo.) It turns out it was my new bandana fashion statement.  It was one of my attempts to keep myself cool in the nearly 100 degree heat we Minnesotans have been experiencing the past 14 days.

Bremer farms fierce determination is full speed ahead in this hot weather. No matter what the weather, we strive to keep our animals comfortable, but this long stretch of extreme heat brings on additional challenges. The ideal temperature for cattle is between 59 and 77 degrees, so our cows are not happy with this Summer blockbuster heat.

One of the ways we meet this heat challenge is with our free-stall barn. This barn provides shade for our cows. The tall roof line and the open ends of this building provide for good airflow, and the fans really keep that air moooving. Water is another way to beat the heat. A cow drinks an average of 30 gallons of water a day, even more on the scorchers we have been experiencing. We always insure that our cattle have access to plenty of clean, fresh water. While most jobs have set hours, a dairy farm is open around the clock. The health and well-being of our animals is our top priority, day and night, and especially when it's steamy hot we check our animals around the clock.

Yes, these are steps we take every day to insure the comfort of our cows. We tackle every day with fierce determination, no matter what the thermometer reads, but when it is 95+ degrees we do it in style, bandana style!

Don't Have a Cow, Man!

The last day of June also means the last day of June Dairy Month. But the "last day" doesn't mean "the end." Every day of every month we, on Bremer Farms, are proud to produce wholesome, tasty dairy products for you. So don't have a cow, man! June Dairy Month may be drawing to a close but our commitment to the dairy foods we all enjoy, goes on year round.

I thought this was the perfect time to share some dairy facts about Minnesota. 98% of all farms in Minnesota are owned by families. In Minnesota, the average dairy cow will produce 7.5 gallons of milk per day. That's more than 2,257 gallons over the course of a typical year. Minnesota dairy farms produce 1.06 billion gallons of milk annually. Dairy is the 2nd largest agricultural business in Minnesota, and generates $1.66 billion a year. That's a total economic impact to Minnesota of $11.5 billion.

To learn more about dairy, I invite you to visit midwestdairy. While you're there, look for my dairy makes sense blog post, "Dairy, Here, There, and Everywhere."

So don't have a cow, man! Dairy is here to stay!

What Happens In Wisconsin...

I like the size of the cheese, but not the mouse!

What can be more perfect than visiting "Wisconsin-America's Dairyland" during June Dairy Month? John and Michael promised they would do just fine on the farm without us, so Sara and I hopped in the van and dashed for the border. We were off to see Matt and Heidie tie-the-knot. I invite you to join us on our journey.

In typical farmer fashion, our inner alarm clocks didn't let us sleep late, so we were one of the first guests to enjoy the continental breakfasts each morning at our motels. It was also hard to remember that we didn't have to "rush home to milk cows" each day. Old habits die hard.

Heidie and Matt's wedding was held in a traditional country church, surrounded by cornfields. The service was beautiful. The dinner was delicious, complete with cheese sauce on the chicken. Go dairy! And, we danced like crazy. "YMCA!"

The National Mustard Museum. Did you know there is one?

Jelly Belly Factory Tour. Yes, there are jelly beans in the bags.

 Three outlet malls in one day! Lots of bags in the car. We stayed until closing.

 I won 20 cents at the Casino. I didn't bother cashing in the voucher.

Sara with an orange moose? We're not sure why it was there.

Three Antique Malls and no purchases. Sad face!

Purple Cows?

Happy First Day of Summer! Have you ever seen a purple cow? Every day our family gets the pleasure of seeing black and white Holstein cows, but when we  take a snack break, especially on a hot Summer day, we often see purple! Sara and Michael brought this recipe home from kindergarten 20+ years ago. Our children had Ms. Wintermeyer as their teacher and she introduced them to purple cows. 

Purple Cow
1 cup milk

1 scoop vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
1/2 cup grape juice
Mix together until smooth.

A Purple Cow is a yummy and healthy treat. It provides some of your daily dairy which gives you 13 essential nutrients. Hey, what does "essential nutrients" mean, anyway? Essential nutrients mean dietary substances required for healthy body functioning. They must come from our diet because the human body can't manufacture them in sufficient quantities to meet our daily needs. Dairy provides calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins D and A and B12, Riboflavin, and Niacin. Whew! And I bet you just thought dairy was all about calcium. To learn of the importance of these "9 essential nutrients" go to Midwest Dairy.
Happy purple Summer!