You'll Get More With Dairy

Letting my oldest, the county June Dairy Month Chairperson, guest post today. Here is her recent essay.

Every morning when I wake up I immediately head to the kitchen for some milk and my favorite cereal, Froot Loops. When I sit down, I look out my window to see the milk truck driving by. In it I know is my family’s milk. The milk truck will take our milk to the processor and then take it to your breakfast table. But how exactly do you get more with milk? I am Catherine Bright,our county's 4-H dairy chairwoman, and this is how you get more with milk.

Milk is a great way to stay healthy. Not only does it possess tons of nutrients, but it also has other health benefits. Did you know that drinking milk can lower the risk of certain types of cancer by 35 percent? Or that consuming milk, or other dairy products, can reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure in adults and obesity? I mean, one cup of 1 percent milk has the calcium of 10 cups of raw spinach. Moms, trust me on this one, most kids would prefer milk over spinach any day.

Some other nutrients found in milk include protein, phosphorus and magnesium. These keep your bones and teeth strong and healthy and also helps in their development. These are certainly all ways that you can get more with milk.

I am an avid dancer, and after three long dance classes I am extremely tired, hungry and thirsty. So, when I get to the car I am so excited to see a bottle of cold chocolate milk waiting on me.  When I ask my Dad why he got me milk instead of a sports drink or water he tells me that milk has carbohydrates, proteins, fluids and electrolytes that you need to stay energized.  “Besides,” he says, “chocolate milk is a way better recovery drink than any ol’ sports drink!”  Even professional athletes include chocolate milk in their workout. They include it because it strengthens their muscles and doesn’t keep them as sore the next day. Milk really is a great way to refuel after a long practice. Trust me, I know.

Milk is something I love and try to drink as much as possible. It has nutrients that strengthen my muscles to better help me dance and work. However, some of the people who need milk the most are unable to get it. There are actually 1.1 million people in Tennessee who are food insecure, and this includes 400,000 children. One item that most families request is milk.

On May 31, the Great American Milk Drive began, and for the rest of June, which is dairy month, each 4-H region of Tennessee will compete to donate milk to these families. You can donate by going to Milk Life and entering in your zip code for the area you would like to donate to. Every donation could help someone else get more with milk.

Milk is a great way to stay fit and healthy, and I think it is delicious. You can most definitely get more out of milk. From the nutrients to the prices, milk cannot be beat.  I know that milk helps to strengthen my muscles, teeth and bones. So, it seems that you really can get more with milk.

My Cody James Boots Review and Giveaway

I was pretty excited when the nice folks over at the Boot Barn offered to send me a free pair of their new Cody James line of boots if I would review them and even more excited when they also said I could also give away a pair to one lucky reader in a June Dairy Month contest. I went to the website and eventually decided on the Distressed style of the Cody James boots.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that the boots were exactly like those shown on the website. The stitching looked beautiful and the distressed look was just what I wanted. I tried them on and my next impression was how sturdy and supportive they were. This might be due to the genuine steel shanks and the Goodyear welt. For comparisons sake, I pulled one off and put one of my old boots back on. The wife and kids sure gave me funny looks as I walked around the house with two different boots on. There was a big difference between the two.

After wearing them for a while I can say the Cody James boots are much more form fitting and supportive around the ankle than boots that I have worn in the past. I really like the way my foot slides into place when I put them on. They are very comfortable to wear.


I have also been impressed with the quality of the workmanship and materials. The leather just feels thick and strong, like it will last a long time. I'm rough on boots and shoes in general. I've been wearing these every chance I get to see if they tear up or scuff easily. I've worn them to just about any place I've wanted to and they still look great with jeans or dress pants. I definitely enjoy wearing them.

Now, how would you like to win your own pair of Cody James boots from the Boot Barn and help me celebrate June Dairy Month?

I love ice cream. I know you love ice cream, too. To enter the contest leave a comment below telling me what your favorite flavor of ice cream is. It couldn't be any easier, right? I'll select one random comment to be the winner next Wed (June 27th).

A few rules:
Remember you can only enter once!
You have to be 18 or over.
Boot Barn ships to anywhere in the US and Canada (sorry no PO Boxes)

The fine folks at the Boot Barn have also told me that these boots are very popular and literally everybody (including the cows on my farm!) want a pair. For that reason if the winner's first choice of style/size is not available immediately they will have to wait until more stock becomes available or they can choose a different style.


So leave a comment with your favorite ice cream flavor and you might win your own pair, but if you can't wait, by all means head on over to the Boot Barn and order some now.

Dairy Farmers (Can) Count

While milk and dairy products are important for June Dairy Month, it may also be a time to shed a little light on how dairy farmers count.  SUDIA and Dairy Farming Today are a great source of dairy farmer facts. For instance 98% of the over 51,000 U.S. dairy farms are owned by families or individuals. One dollar of milk sold from a farmer creates $3 in economic activity. In Tennessee the dairy industry had 500 million dollars worth of economic activity in 2011 and it is the top agriculture industry in eleven other states. Nationwide there are 900,000 jobs supported by farmers milking cows.

Counting Cows

So do dairy farmers count? While I might be a little biased, I think they do. The next question is can dairy farmers count? I'll let you judge for yourself by this book I made called Counting Cows. It is a simple picture counting book you can read right here or even download a free copy to put on your computer, phone, tablet, etc and share the gift of reading with a young person in your life. Be sure and leave a comment if you like it and I hope you remember the farmers during June Dairy Month.

Counting Cows

Major Tom Should've Packed Cheese

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I heard David Bowie's Space Oddity the other day and couldn't help but feel sorry for poor old Major Tom.

The line I was thinking about in particular was:

"Take your protein pills and put your helmet on"

Protein pill? That protein pill was probably huge and terribly hard to swallow for Major Tom. And the worst part would be he'd half to drink Tang to try and swallow it and Tang just tastes awful. There has to be a better way.

Maybe if Bowie had written it as"

"Scramble some eggs and put your cheddar on"

I came across an interesting dairy fact today. It turns out that one ounce of cheese has more protein than one egg; seven or eight grams for cheddar cheese versus six grams in an egg. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on eggs here. I'll take my eggs scrambled with cheese, please.

Cheesy Egg Scrambler (Photo from Nat'l Dairy Council)

I think Major Tom would have been a lot happier if he could have eaten a protein packed Cheesy Egg Scrambler. Cheese and eggs sound so much better than a pill to me.

The recipe for this tasty looking dish is one of the many recipes you can find at The National Dairy Council to celebrate June Dairy Month.


Here's Bowie singing the song (his way!).

Happy June Dairy Month!

Last night I picked up my daughter from dance practice and when she asked for something to drink I handed her the chocolate milk I had picked up for her on the way. "Does this come from magic brown cows?" she asked jokingly. "No," I replied, "this is regular milk from regular cows."

But maybe saying it is regular milk is wrong. Maybe I should say it is extraordinary milk from extraordinary cows. Milk is packed with nine essential vitamins and minerals which makes it a great nutrient rich food. With all the wonderful dairy products that start with it there's no way to describe it as ordinary.

The cows and I wish you a Happy June Dairy Month!

Be sure to celebrate with milk, cheese, ice cream,

and all your other favorite dairy products!

June is Dairy Month!

June is dairy month! Woo-hoo! (You can't see it but this is the part where I'm jumping up and down.) Imagine having your birthday celebrated everyday for a month, that is what June is like for a dairy farmer. All over the country for a whole month people will be talking about dairy farmers and dairy products.

There's a lot to love about dairy.  From milk to ice cream, all types of cheeses, butter, and don't forget yogurt because I know if I forgot to buy yogurt my girls would be upset!  The cows, too, there's a lot to like about the cows out there producing nature's most perfect food. Look at them there eating hay and getting ready to go be milked.  That is dairy delight!

So be sure to celebrate June dairy month and support the cows, farmers, and everyone else down the line that brings delicious dairy products to you!