2 days ago Jon and I made the trek to Central Plains Dairy Expo, in Sioux Falls South Dakota. We usually try to head out every year for this expo. For me, its like a class reunion, as most of my college classmates are either working on dairies or working for dairy companies in the dairy industry. For Jon, its a chance to meet with different companies that could be potential suppliers for future investments for the health and well being of our cows. Overall it's a great experience!
I attended a seminar where I met with other dairy producers who are also interested in telling the stories of their farms, families, and cows. How uplifting it was to hear those farmers tell about sharing through speaking events, online encounters, and social media. All sharing the honest truth about their farms: they care for their cows, they care for the environment and land, and they care about the consumers who choose dairy~! I am really looking forward to hearing more dairy farmers share their stories, consumers want to know where their food comes from and we should not be afraid to tell them how hard we work and how much we CARE for they food they eat.
Another interesting part of the trip was the amount of field work going on. Last year we encountered a snow storm on the way to South Dakota, but this time it was 70+ degrees, sunny and breezy. It's been an amazing week of weather here! When we left MN we saw farmers in our area digging fields and sowing in their wheat, oats, and alfalfa crops. When we got closer to South Dakota we saw farmers combining 2009 corn that they had to leave in the fields thanks to our soggy fall and early winter snows. Those same farmers were also taking advantage of the warm dry weather, they were baling up dried corn straw/stalks to be used on their cattle farms as bedding. It was really a tale of 2 season....Fall 2009 and Spring 2010. I know that this warm weather has been a real blessing for each of those seasons and we are truly grateful!!
At Orange Patch Dairy, we received a short shower of rain today, and it was as though God himself took a crayon and colored the grass and alfalfa fields green in minutes....EVERYTHING is green and beautiful! Spring is officially here!!!!!
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I write this blog to share my passion for my cows and farming, please be respectful of that. I reserve the right to delete those comments which portray hate, call names, and are out right disrespectful. If you have an honest question, I will respond, to explain what we do on our farm, why we do it and how we do it. Please read with an open mind. My time to blog is short, as most of our days are spent caring for our beloved cows. Thank you!