Dropping Milk Prices, Emotional Stress

If you don’t know by now, consider this your notice, milk prices on-farm have been dropping for months and currently are at the lowest point they have been in almost 7 years.  The last time financial impacts like this hit the dairy community there was a mass exodus of producers, many of which wish they didn’t have to sell their cows but they couldn’t provide for their families anymore.  This is our current reality.  Today I read articles about record cheese inventories in the United States putting pressure on milk price to drop even lower.  I heard from fellow dairy farmers that the exodus has started again, dairy farmers are being forced to sell their herds and even land in order to pay off debt and save themselves.  This dip in prices will have long lasting effects on the dairy community, no matter the size of the farm.  It does not discriminate.  So as a reader, why should you care?  What is my purpose in sharing this with you? 

These dairy farmers work tirelessly for their families, their cows, their farms, and yes you the consumers.  They are experiencing emotional stress that you can’t even describe.  These dedicated farmers wake up every morning fully aware that they are literally paying admission to milk their cows.  They are not receiving income from their farms, but paying just to keep them.    Many farms are accumulating thousands and even millions of dollars of debt just to feed and care for their cows.   But it isn’t the financial situation that concerns me the most.  What concerns me the most is the emotional and mental health of these amazing people.

These men and women will most likely sacrifice everything they have to give to keep doing the one thing they know and love, milking cows.  I talked to a dear friend in Ohio who has a small herd.  He told me he will farm until he’s completely broke and go to a food bank for himself and his wife before he sacrifices his cows.   That’s right, he would sacrifice for his family before he would sacrifice for his cows.  He’s not alone, I know many just like him.  I know of farmers trying to make cuts to the budget, but they refuse to compromise their soil, water, and cows’ well-being.  These passionate men and women believe in a hope that is impossible to describe, because many believe if they keep pushing forward through the hard times that good times will soon follow.  Their perseverance pushes them to keeps them fighting for their calling.   Crops were planting this spring and hay is being harvested, farmers’ optimism continues, but at what price?  I can see the stress on their tired faces.  The worry is in their eyes: how will they feed and clothe their families, how will they pay even part of their monthly bills, how long will this last and can they make it that long? 

What can you do to help farmers?  Keep drinking milk, eating cheese and enjoying yogurt.  Dairy foods are some of the most local foods we have available, with the average gallon of milk traveling no more than 100 miles to the grocery store from the nearest dairy farm.  By drinking milk, you are helping your neighboring dairy farmers.  Please help these amazing farmers provide for their families and yours, by doing something as simple as making sure you and your family enjoys 3 servings of dairy each day.  And while you’re at it, please pray for these hard working heroes, they need all the love and support they can get!  Thank you!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom

In order to properly give recognition to my mother this weekend, I thought it was time that I did a blog post dedicated to her.  So here’s my Mother’s Day Dedication to my Mom.

I am the oldest of 4 children.  I have 2 other sisters and a brother.  My mother and I have bucked heads since the earliest memories I have.  I am an independent spirit, I am passionate, I am head strong, I am willful, I am just as much my mother’s daughter as I am my father’s daughter.  If she doesn’t realize it, she should now.  I can remember the fights with her in kindergarten when I wanted to wear my favorite purple corduroy pants for picture day and she wanted to put me in a flowery and lacy dress.  I won that fight, and I stood proudly in the back row of my class picture.  I remember demanding to grow my bangs out in 5^th grade and the awfulness that came after that.  I was a tom boy and my mom was hoping for more of a little lady.  I wanted to tag along with dad doing chores, milking cows, riding in tractors and getting dirty. 

When I hit my teen years I really challenged my mother.  I wasn’t too much of a trouble maker, but every time she gave me a boundary that I thought was unrealistic I challenged it.  I tried shorts that were too short and speeding tickets to football games.  These were not my proudest moments and I know I am responsible for more than a couple gray hairs, but my mother remained firm.  Every time we fought, I apologized and tried to do better.  I knew my mother was being firm out of love for me.  Now as a 30-something woman, I look back and see how much of blessing she was for my siblings and me.  Those boundaries helped keep me from bouncing too far off the straight and narrow path.  When there was an injustice at school, mom went to bat for us, meeting with the principle to make sure our lives were fair.  Her love for us was so passionate at times that it came out as frustration when we made choices she knew were less than our ability.  She taught her daughters the value of modesty and respecting ourselves for more than our appearance.  She encouraged us to travel and try new things, but at the time seemed like she was just bossing us around.  She taught us the value of a dollar, hard work, and how to save and sacrifice for something we really wanted.  She gave her time to drive us to school events making sure that we experienced the arts, sports, and community service through 4-H and church. 

Most of all mom led us in example of how she treated our father.  She has always worked to care for dad: doing cooking, cleaning, laundry, running errands, serving him lunches in the fields.  She ended her career to stay at home and raise 4 children, while helping my father farm.  Dad often says that was one of the most wonderful things mom ever gave him…4 beautiful children.  Their marriage like so many others faced hard times, and it wasn’t perfect but it worked for them.  Mom prayed with dad and shared that faith with us.  I’m sure more than once she said a novena on my behalf.  To this day I will default to praying the rosary in times of crisis or severe weather thunderstorms; that is all mom.  Mom made sure we knew that you could argue in a marriage and make up, that you could work through the conflicts.  So much that mom did for us while we were growing up, I feel like I took it for granted at the time. 

I see women especially, that didn’t have a mom like mine, and I see how much they struggle in life trying to find out who they are.  If it wasn’t for the hard boundaries and lessons in faith and self respect from mom, I don’t know if I would be half the woman I am today.  I see now how important her example was in who I am today.  Yes we still buck heads but we can handle conflict because of how she taught me to handle conflict.  I know at the end of the day, when mom gets really passionate about something, it is because she loves me so much and only wants the best for me.  On this Mother’s Day weekend, I say thank you and I love you to the best mom I could’ve ever imagined! And God Bless you always and forever!

What's Your Ideal Size?

A close friend of mine asked me a very personal question about my fitness and health. “Through your exercise, what size or weight are you aiming to reach?”  You should never ask a lady her weight or size, it’s just impolite.  But this was a good friend and I laughed because I had fought with this issue for several years.  In my short lifetime, like many other women, I have battled with what my “ideal” size and weight should be.  I have had the years where I went into healthy overdrive and shrank to an unhealthy weight and I have had the years where a change in lifestyle and stress level caused me to rise to an unhealthy weight.  I know as women we change sizes so much and let’s face it, it effects our self-esteem and our confidence.  It’s ridiculous what women will put themselves through in order to try to gain back their self-esteem.  Then one brilliant day, I came to terms with one outstanding revelation: no matter my shape, size or age, I will always be ME, and I love ME, so why not just keep on being ME. 

So, what’s my ideal size or weight? ME!  I want to be a healthy ME.  I want to be able to physically play sports that I enjoy or go on a long walk without getting winded.  I want to be able to eat chocolate cake guilt-free but also make a healthy dish with vegetables and fruits.  I want to go to the doctor for my yearly physical (yes, I do those) and not fear my blood tests and heart checks because I know I am in good health. I want to be able to run after the cows when they get out of the pen, to stop them from going onto the highway.  I don’t want my lifestyle to revolving around my workout schedule or feel like I am in competition with other women.  I want to have the freedom to go on a leisurely Friday night walk with a friend but also veg out on my couch and watch movies on a Saturday.  I want to be able to put in my ear buds and enjoy a podcast and nature while out on a hike on a beautiful Tuesday night, after work.  I want to use this time to collect my thoughts and get back in touch with my soul.

I have been doing a little bit more running since it is finally nice outside again, and this is what I am after.  I want more of this!  I have lowered my resting heart rate 10 beats per minute, to 52 beats per minute and I’ll bet my blood test is awesome.  Have I lowered my weight or a pant size? Nope, and that’s ok, because I want to like exercise and I want to look forward to eating.  Health is about balance.  It is a balance of nutrition, fitness, mental, social, and spiritual.  Here’s to your health journey, and finding an ideal size or weight for yourself!

How to Fit Exercise into you Busy Life Schedule?

The follow article was published in the Dairy Girl Network March Newsletter, be sure to check out all of the great articles in their amazing newsletter and their resources!

How to Fit Exercise into your Busy Life Schedule?

*Disclaimer: I am not a trainer or coach, just a dairy girl offering some practical advice to help make exercise a part of your daily life. www.dairywomanstrong.blogspot.com

We all know exercise is important to healthy living but let’s be real it takes time and commitment and we’re all very busy women.  A few weeks ago a post on the DGN page shared some favorite ways to de-stress, many of those comments included physical activity.  Personally, for years exercise was not a priority and I paid for it dearly in my mental, emotional and physical health.  I let the craziness of the farm dictate my diet and lifestyle choices which yielded very poor results.  I had no energy, even with sleep I felt tired.  Slowly, small changes really started to change my attitude, self-confidence and physical health.  For me the actual act of unplugging from the hectic schedule at work and the farm forces me to relax, think, recharge and heal my body and soul.   Besides the physical benefits of exercise there are many social, psychological, mental and spiritual benefits.  So we know it’s good for us, how do we fit exercise in?

·       Write down your goal to have physical activity at least 5 times a week, giving yourself a couple days to “cheat” and take a break.  We all know writing down goals is an important first step.

·       Pick a time of day that you can consistently commit to, for me it was right after feeding calves in the evening.

·       Start small and light, perhaps 30 minute walks or biking around your neighborhood (be sure to wave hello to the neighbors when you pass by!).

·       Sign up for a local 5k, thereby setting a deadline and a goal to train for.  Represent Team Dairy while you train by refueling with chocolate milk!

·       Choose a variety of activities: I do everything from running, walking, hiking, biking, and even dance cardio in my basement.  Mix it up!

·       Play with your kids!  This totally counts!  I don’t have children but I will gladly go running with my nieces! Plus this makes some great memories for your kids!

·       Schedule time to work out with your friends.  Some of the best workouts I had were when I helped a friend train for a marathon.  My friend ran while I rode bike with her.  It was almost effortless to workout with someone, plus we had time to talk to each other and we had each other to keep accountable.

·       Bring tunes or your favorite podcasts!  I love my phone and ear buds!  Walks and runs are the perfect time to catch up on your favorite podcasts, audiobooks or even listen to some spiritual music to get in the right state of mind.

·       Make sure you are getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water and making moderate food choices.  All of these factor into your energy level and total health.

·       Give yourself permission to take time for yourselves.  When we are better versions of ourselves we are better wives, mothers, friends, co-workers, bosses, and women.  Be sure to give yourself permission to take care of yourself, because you are worth it!

Enjoying a beautiful day for a hike/run in the woods, complete with my favorite podcasts for meditation time.

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1/2 Cup Butter

1 1/2 Cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tsp Almond Flavoring

3 1/2 Cups Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp. Soda

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, vanilla, almond flavoring and sour cream.  Mix thoroughly.  Measure in  separate bowl the dry ingredients.  Slowly fold in the dry ingredients into the creamed butter and sour cream mixture.  Cool dough for 2 hours.  Roll out on flour or powdered sugar to about 1/4 inch thick and cut with your favorite cookie cutters.  Bake at 425* for 4-6 minutes. Cool on wire rack or wax paper.  Ice and decorate.

I love making sugar cookies for Christmas and Easter, in fact if the mood strikes me right I love making cookies just about any time.  The best part of delicious cookies besides being made with love is the butter.  I use real dairy butter in the cookie (even sour cream) and butter and milk in the icing.  Below are my favorite recipes.  Be sure to try them out!  They are so delicious!

Mom's Favorite Cut Out Cookies

1 Cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup Shortening

1/2 Cup Butter

2 Eggs

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tsp Almond Flavoring

3 1/2 Cups Flour

1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

Cream together sugar, shortening and butter.  Add eggs and flavorings.  Slowly fold in flour and baking powder.  Cool dough for at least 2 hours.  Roll out with powder sugar or flour at about 1/4 inch thick and cut with your favorite cookie cutters.  Bake at 375* for 10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack or wax paper.  Ice and decorate.

My Favorite Icing Recipe (makes roughly enough for a double batch of sugar cookies)

1 Pound bag of Powdered Sugar

2 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tsp Almond Flavoring

1 Stick of softened Butter

Milk to add to correct texture (roughly 1/2 cup)

Put softened butter and flavorings in a large mixing bowl.  Add powdered sugar.  Pour milk a few tablespoons at a time until the correct thickness is reached for icing and blend until smooth.  Dye according to your liking. 

Easter Cookie Deliciousness