A Dairy Healthy Heart

Hearts, flowers, chocolate, and...cheese!
My kids school does Valentine's a little different.
They celebrate Healthy Heart Day instead of the traditional Valentine exchange party.  The entire day is devoted to healthy living education and activities.  The kids rotate through 9 different stations during the day.  They hit a little of everything- a hygienist came to talk about dental health, they learned a little Zumba, and even a lesson on CPR.
I was asked to bring in String Cheese as part of the healthy snack.  (As you can see from the picture, it was accompanied by a fruit cabob and a piece of dark chocolate.).
Luckily, I live and farm in the great state of Michigan so I was able to apply for a grant through the UDIM.  The program is designed to provide dairy farmers with funds to promote dairy products in their communities. 
Have a big community event coming up that needs a little dairy touch?  Well there's an app (as in application) for that!  Any dairy farmer in Michigan can apply.
The best part of the day...my boys told me they didn't have to ANYthing at school today.  Love it when learning is disguised as fun:)
Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweet! Potatoes

Hot, baked, sweet? No. Just regular white potatoes are coming into SwissLane by the truck load.  And the cows are loving it!  They are sorting through their Total Mixed Ration just to find the potato to nibble on, much the way I would eat an apple.  We are loving them too!  They are bringing our feed costs down. 
We made it through the physical heat of the 2012 Drought.  But the ramifications of this summer are going to make an impact for many months to come. 
Corn is an important part of a cow's diet because it provides energy.  The drought has brought the cost of corn from $4.50 to $7.50 or more.  And the price we are being paid for our milk is staying the same.  That means we need to be very creative if we want to stay in business.
 So bring on the potatoes!
Apparently, hot and dry conditions are primo for potato farmers and they are experiencing a bumper crop.  They have already fulfilled all of their contracts so the leftovers are going for a great price.  These are some pretty good quality veggies here- we actually ate some in our Breakfast Burritos this morning too!!




Cottonseed, Gluten, distillers- are among some of the other commodities that we have added to try to reduce costs too.
 

Don't Mess With Milk

I love Sunday's.  The Lord's Day.  A day of Rest.  The beginning of a new week.  And the only day you can take a Sunday afternoon nap.  I love Sunday's.
Just to give you some background...
  We have been a little lighter on the labor force this week(end) due to some much needed vacations.  It was our(Jerry and I) weekend "on"  (we are dairy farmers so really almost all weekends- unless we are on vacation- we are working.... but just not- well.... lets just say it's complicated and pretty much if you're a dairy farmer you don't get a day-off very often.  Even when it's not your "weekend-on")  So anyway, busy weekend.  But it went very well.  Even though it was the hottest, record breaking, sweltering heat I have ever endured- my calves all look great!  Very satisfying.  I have been looking forward to my Sunday nap since 4:30am Saturday. 
After church, I decided to check Twitter "real quick" before I snuggled up, and came across this article:
Got-milk? You Don't Need It

And that is what killed my Sunday nap:(
Here is the comment I posted (that took me way to long to write):

Mark,
I am not too familiar with your work but reading your bio above it says you wrote “Food Matters,” which explored the crucial connections among food, health and the environment."
Food, health and the environment are some values very important to me too. That is why I find satisfaction in being a dairy farmer.
I am a mom of 3 and listening to my kids pour and mix chocolate milk for their snack as I type. I am glad they don't have an allergy so it is very easy for them to get 9 essential nutrients from 1 little glass.
I have been a runner for about 20 years and completed a couple of marathons. I have found my recovery to be much quicker when I started using chocolate milk as a post-run drink.
I love, love being outside with my animals and am so humbled to be responsible for the land that my great-grandfather passed on to other generations. I know that my job is to leave it in better condition for my kids.
As you were posting this article, my family was working 10-16 hour days during the hottest week in history trying to care for our animals. I am on my way back to the farm now trying "to make a living producing and selling milk." This article makes that just a little more challenging today.


Yes, and then I can't just leave it at that- I go and take even more of my precious Sunday-Afternoon-Nap-Time to tell all you fine folks about my frustrations.  Post/Rant Completed:) 
And now, back to the barn!  Have a great Sunday!

Maple Syrup Making 2012

Maple Syrup Season is something we always look forward to every year around the farm.

The steam coming off the evaporating sap smells so so good! Its my favorite.

This year was a good year for those of us who are impatient because the season started about 2 weeks earlier than normal due to the warm temperatures.
For 3 weeks, our family and friends tapped, gathered, boiled, and canned almost 300 gallons of Maple Syrup!


Some of the future Syrup makers in front of the Shanty!

A friend of mine, who is a great blogger, came out to visit the end of February and documented her experience at the Sugar Shack. Click here to see photos, video and lots of details about the Syrup Making process.

Some older posts on Maple Syrup making at SwissLane:
Family Bonding...So Sappy!
The Sugar Shanty (behind the scenes)

Dinner in the Shanty! We cook on Old Cookstoves with wood(no gas/electric and believe me it's tricky!) and there's nothing like it! This is Blueberry Pancakes with syrup straight from the pan and to top it all off...a glass of MILK.

pink Slime

I just spent most of my night reading through several reports and many comments on the Pink Slime stories from ABC and Huffington Post.
Why do I do this I ask myself? Well...
1) I am passionate about my work. Producing food for people is my family's responsibility and our livelihood- not a J-O-B.
2) I didn't have time (or any fresh fruit in the house) today to pack my kids a lunch. They all had hot lunch and I never gave it a second thought.
Enter in the facebook and twitter posts that force me to view pictures of raw (and gasp! PINK?!?) meat. Now I am guilted into believing I have put my children's health in jeopardy.
No... I am tired of the media using a couple of gross buzz words and close-up shots of raw meat to make me doubt both my parenting and livelihood all in a 2 minute timeframe.
Just 3 points that I came up with tonight so I can sleep and once again, not think twice when kids walk out the door in the morning with no lunch sack.
1. This is a comment that I really appreciated from "pjcamp"

" Have you seen what is in a chicken nugget?

Connective tissue gelatinizes under heat. That is what makes pot roast and barbecue so lip smacking good.

Ammonium hydroxide is chemically related to sodium hydroxide which is an essential ingredient in making hominy, lutefisk, green olives, canned mandarin oranges, pretzels, Cantonese moon cakes, zongzi dumplings, Chinese noodles and ramen noodles. So it isn't intrinsically hazardous, and is used in some pretty tasty things. The FDA classifies both as "generally recognized as safe."

None of that means this stuff is nutritious. But it doesn't mean it is bad for you either and so it shouldn't be used in scare stories. "

When we hear terms we are not familiar with it can be scary. Do a little bit of digging before you freak out! What if they started spraying everything with Di-Hydrogen Oxide?!? (AKA H2O)

2. Pretty much this "slime" is fat that is cooked and cleaned and added back in. Not artificial or substitute. When we send our deer to be processed I ask for beef fat to be added in to the burger! The venison will be too chewy for my high class taste buds- texture is important when it comes to my chili.

3. So this 7 million pounds of pink slime that are going to schools should now go where, Jamie Oliver? In the dumpster? To the dogs? I don't want to be the one to tell the starving children of Africa.

Farm Fresh Food Blog

Two months ago I was asked by the Michigan Ag Council to participate in their new Farm Fresh Food Blog! This blog is a collaboration of Michigan farmers who share stories and recipes right from their own farm! Very exciting! My first thought was "No problem- I already blog so this should be easy." Well here we are 2 months later...I think I was suffering from Blogophobia or something! Finally submitted my first post! We have lots to get caught up on and first up- Maple Syrup Season 2011! Better check it out...I even give out our 6th generation Swiss Pancake recipe!

Team BEEF at the Boston Marathon!

We all know that physical activity is more effective in conjuction with a protein-rich diet becuase it maintains muscle while burning fat. I have been a runner since 7th grade track and believe that it is always important to "protein up" to provide the fuel to finish!
On Monday April 18, 2011. A dream came true. A goal was accomplished. A check off the Bucket List. I ran in the 115th Boston Marathon!

I knew that there was a reason that I was able to qualify, register, and scrape up enough money to go to the Boston Marathon. Seriously, if I told you all the little things that had to work just right for this to happen...it can only be explained as Devine intervention (Hebrews 12:1-2)! It was such an awsome experience.
One of the highlights was being a member of Team BEEF/ZIP!

(Me at the Team BEEF booth at the Fitness EXPO)

I enjoy promoting my farm, Dairy Discovery, the dairy industry, agricluture, etc... through Facebook and Twitter. A few weeks before the race I asked a some "friends" and "followers" how I could promote beef or dairy at the Boston Marathon and was directed right to Team BEEF/ZIP(Zinc Iron Protein)! There were 18 team members that recieved a jersey and $75 off the registration fee for Boston 2011.
The back of the jersey read: Running powered by BEEF!
My family usually ends up eating some sort of beef (its whats) for dinner at least 4 times/week (steak, tacos, meatloaf, roast,etc..). It works well for us because it is readily available, fills my kids bottomless pits, and provides protein that is essential for runners in training.
While I did enjoy some exquisit seafood, the here are a 2 of the Boston beef dinners that you need to see to believe! YUMMY!

Veal Parmagiana

And my post-race reward (and nutrients you need to start the recovery process)... Tenderloin carved tableside!

A few days after the race I was asked to be a guest on a radio program Rural Route with Trent Loos. The most intersting part of the conversation was on the subject of changing the name Team ZIP to Team BEEF.
Trent's view: Team ZIP forces people to think about the nutritional benefits we get from eating beef.
Beef Council: Team BEEF is more recognizable.
Me: I ran for 26.2miles wearing a shirt that read Team ZIP. Several spectators cheered out "Go ZIP!" but did they really have a chance to grasp the concept? I feel running for Team BEEF would mean more to me personally. I know that in the end, the purpose of beef is to provide essential nutrients but, for me, its about more than that. Not only does beef mean zinc, iron, and protein to me- it means my livelihood, heritage, future, and more.

RESULTS
My finish: 3:36:38
Overall Place: 9566 of 23879
Gender Place: 2235 of 10073



Weeknights are crazy. Here is a quick and easy go-to recipe of mine. For some classier fare check out www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com

Monday Night Meatloaf
2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1 box Stove Top Stuffing
3/4cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350. Mix beef, eggs, stuffing, and 1/2cup ketchup in bowl. Shape into 2 loaves and place in 2qt casserole dish. Top with remaining ketchup. Bake 45-50min or until cooked through. Makes 6 servings.