Butter is the Best!

Butter is the real deal. You can't beat the taste of real butter for cooking and baking. It's a very simple food, the ingredient in butter is cream (and sometimes salt). It's real food. Maybe that's why butter consumption has increased across the country.

Butter has received lots of attention lately, check out these articles featuring the delicious golden gem:
Ending the War on Fat, Time Magazine
This article substantiates the fact that whole milk and butter is good for you.

Butter Makes Comeback as Margarine Loses Favor, Wall Street Journal

“Changing views of nutrition are turning butter into one of the great comeback stories in U.S. food history. Humans have been eating butter for millennia, valuing its ability to store longer than most meat and its utility as a flavoring.” 

7 Reasons Why Butter is Good For You, Authority Nutrition  
This article lists the attributes of butter including some of its health benefits.

Speaking of butter, tomorrow is the first day of the Ohio State Fair where the famous butter cow display will be revealed. The American Dairy Association Mideast, an organization supported by Ohio dairy farmers, has done a butter cow display since 1903. For many, a highlight of the fair is seeing what unique display will be carved out of butter each year. 

The Butter Cow display at the 2014 Ohio State Fair

This year there was a contest to name the butter cow and calf. Submissions were made via Twitter using the hashtag #ButterCowNameGame. The winning names are Scarlet for the cow, and Grayce for the calf. For those not from Ohio, scarlet and gray are The Ohio State University colors.

The 2014 display features symbols of Ohio

The cow and calf watch over the display

The stars of the display Grayce and Scarlet

If you are going the Ohio State Fair, be sure to visit the butter cow display, take a selfie and tweet it with the hashtag #ButterCowSelfieContest. This year’s display features 15 symbols representing the history, character and spirit of Ohio, including a carnation, cardinal, whitetail deer, and tomato among others. This display was created using 2,033 pounds of butter.

In addition to this wonderful butter display, the American Dairy Association Mideast building offers ice cream, streams dairy farmer videos, has an Ag Is Cool Station for kids and more. It’s worth your time to stop in.

Click here to see a video featuring the butter cow display.

Dairy Farmers and the NFL sponsor Fuel Up to Play 60

Last week, I joined 150 school staff, teachers and administrators at a Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60) program advisor training camp at the Cleveland Browns stadium. The purpose of the training is to motivate and teach program advisors how to empower students to make a difference in their school with FUTP60.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a school-based program encouraging students to eat healthy and be active. It’s sponsored by U.S. dairy farmers and the National Football League. Both groups share values of promoting health and wellness. The goal is teaching children good eating and exercise habits that will last a lifetime.

Currently, FUTP60 has been adopted in 73,000 schools, reaching more than 11 million students nationwide. Since the program began in 2010, over 260 Ohio and West Virginia schools have received $795,000 in FUTP60 grants to make sustainable changes in their schools. Grants were used to acquire equipment such as milk vending machines, mobile breakfast and after school snack carts, and student activity stations. 

I had the opportunity to represent Ohio dairy farmers at this event. Dairy farmers invest $.10 per every 100 pounds of milk to a state check off program. A portion of these funds support FUTP60. Dairy products are a nutritious part of a healthy diet. It’s important to share this message with school and nutrition professionals. 

Me addressing the group

Dr. Mike Thompson kicked off the session with some words of wisdom. He spoke about the importance of character, making good decisions and being responsible. Two simple messages that stuck in my mind; 1) Healthy In, Healthy Out, and 2) Good Choice, Poor Choice, My Choice. He inspired us to be optimistic and focus on the future to make a difference.

The first half of our session was in Brownstown inside the stadium

Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns left tackle, addressed the group. He’s a strong role model for students and adults. Joe has played in 104 consecutive games for the Browns. His positive attitude and commitment to what he does is great motivation for everyone! When asked how he stays in shape and avoids injury, he shared that he eats healthy foods, stretches well before practice and games to maintain flexibility and regularly soaks in an ice bath to sooth his muscles.

Joe Thomas, me & Scott Higgins (CEO, ADA Mideast)

Joe lead us onto the Browns field where we participated in some physical activity; doing the cupid shuffle dance. It was fun!

On the field getting ready for the cupid shuffle

Chomps, Cleveland Browns Mascot, joined in the fun

After a delicious lunch, teachers, staff and students representing several schools in Ohio presented explaining how they use FUTP60 funds to promote healthy eating and physical activity. Because we as dairy producers invest in this program, it was great to hear how it’s being implemented in schools. I was impressed by the student involvement and creativity of the programming. Thanks to the schools who are participating in FUTP60!

If your school is interested in FUPT60, click here to get more information. For regular updates, follow Fuel Up to Play 60 on Facebook.

Did I mention that it was really cool being at the Cleveland Browns Stadium?

What do Ohio EPA & the Ohio High School Athletic Association have to do with dairy?

I serve on the Ohio Dairy Producers Association (ODPA) and the American Dairy Association Mideast (ADA Mideast) Boards. The ODPA is a group of dairy producers who share an interest in sustaining Ohio’s dairy industry. This group focuses on dairy issues, policy, and research. The ADA Mideast is the state dairy check-off which is focused on nutrition research/education and promoting dairy. Both boards meet quarterly in Columbus, Ohio and last week I attended the spring meetings.

The ADA Mideast Office in Columbus

During the ODPA meeting, we hear updates to learn what’s happening in agriculture and the dairy industry in Ohio. Including reports from the Ohio Department of Ag Dairy Division, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio State University, Ohio Milk Haulers, and others organizations that impact dairy farmers. One of the highlights was speaker outside of the dairy industry, the director of Ohio EPA.

One important issue facing Ohio is water quality. Ohio Farm Bureau and many other agriculture groups have come together to work on policy and solutions that maintain clean water. A little over half of Ohio’s land is in farms. The other half is woods/forest/natural areas and urban/cities. We all play a role in water quality, but sometimes it feels as if agriculture is singled out as the “problem”, so I was curious to see what Scott Nally, Director of Ohio EPA, had to say.

My son, Jack, and I enjoying one of the wonderful lakes in our county

Director Nally explained that water quality issues are a three leg stool: 1) agriculture, 2) cities/towns, 3) manufactures/businesses. All of these groups are responsible for maintaining clean water in Ohio. He shared information about the many municipal waste water projects underway in Ohio. He said that one goal is trying to, “Drive technology to create products better for water quality.” For example, all phosphorous has been removed from lawn fertilizer sold in Ohio. He shared that embracing technology is good for the environment. I appreciated what Director Nally had to say and found him to be an intelligent person with common sense.

I’m glad to see Director Nally working with the Directors of the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of Natural Resources to focus on all “legs of the stool”, not singling out one.

Our group shared with Director Nally how the U.S. dairy industry has used technology to become
more efficient. Today U.S. dairy farmers use less land, feed and water and produce less manure to
make a gallon of milk. These efficiencies benefit the environment and water quality.

During the ADA Mideast meeting, we were fortunate to have a special guest, Dr. Dan Ross,
Commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). We as dairy farmers are
connected with Dr. Ross because chocolate milk is the official beverage of the OHSAA. He
advised that the OHSAA is very selective about who they choose as partners. They are looking for wholesome organizations with integrity.

Dr. Ross is a genuine and inspirational person who shared several stories illustrating when perseverance, integrity and teamwork were displayed by high school athletes. I think the best thing he said was, “Our job is to prepare kids for the next level of life, not the next level of sports. I want the students to learn life lessons they will need in their lives and jobs.” He went on to say that sports are a great way to learn teamwork and allows students to learn by making mistakes. This humble man has visited 462 of the 600 high schools in Ohio. He regularly has lunch with student athletes to recognize the good they have done. He really seems to care about the students he serves.

The ADA Mideast partnership with OHSAA has allowed Ohio dairy producers a presence at numerous high school sports activities around the state to spread the word about how nutritional dairy products, including chocolate milk, are an important part of student athlete’s healthy and active lifestyle.

Smith Dairy's Fat-Free Cow

Another thing I want to share is a neat new dairy app. It’s called Herd of Heroes and it was produced by Smith Dairy. My oldest son had lots of fun testing it!

My Involvement in the Dairy Association and Farm Bureau

I love agriculture and enjoy being around others who share the same passion. Last week I had that opportunity. I traveled to Columbus, Ohio to participate in an American Dairy Association Mideast Board meeting and Ohio Farm Bureau Leadership Conference.

The American Dairy Association Mideast (ADA Mideast) is the local dairy checkoff program for dairy farmers in Ohio and West Virginia. ADA Mideast works on behalf of dairy farmers to increase sales and demand of U.S. dairy products and ingredients. The good work of the staff has earned them status as a trusted source for science-based nutrition information. ADA Mideast staff work with educators, school nutrition directors, health professionals, academia, industry, consumers and media who share a commitment to fostering a healthier society.

Dairy farmers invest $.10 per 100 pounds of milk to fund ADA Mideast. A Board of Directors, consisting of 15 dairy farmers, set policy, approves budgets and provides direction. I serve on this Board that meets quarterly. In addition to promoting dairy products, ADA Mideast strives to share the stories of dairy farm families. I like serving on this Board to learn about the latest dairy promotion efforts, be involved in the discussion and decision making process and oversee how check off funds are spent.

One of many projects of this group is the Meet Ohio Dairy Farmers website. The “Hear Our Stories” section features videos about popular topics such as antibiotics in milk, organic or regular milk, farm size, calf care and more. This site also features pictures and videos from dairy farm families all over Ohio. It’s a great source of information about dairy farming, milk questions, and animal care topics. I hope you’ll check it out!

After my ADA Mideast Board meeting, I participated in the 2-day Ohio Farm Bureau  Annual Leadership Conference.  The purpose of this event is to bring together leaders from county farm bureaus for training, fellowship and information sharing. I currently serve Geauga County Farm Bureau as President. 

The Ohio Farm Bureau Leadership Conference

The Farm Bureau represents all sectors of agriculture from livestock to grain to specialty crops and farms of all sizes. A focal point of the conference was encouraging farmers to engage people in conversations to share the story of their farm. We in agriculture recognize that people have questions about how their food is produced and we want to do a better job answering your questions. 

Dinner with friends (I'm in the middle)

Having fun at the evening activities - Picture by Roger Baker

I’m involved in Farm Bureau is because I’m passionate about sharing what we do on our farm. I support this organization that gives agriculture a voice in state and federal policy, which can have an impact on how we do things on our farm.

As I looked around at the 300+ attendees, I was reminded that agriculture is a family-based business. The room was filled with people of all ages from a variety of farms across Ohio. These are real people who love what they do; for many it’s been in their family for generations. I value that about agriculture.