Selecting 4-H Animals for the County Fair

Each spring, we select 4-H animals the boys, and others from the Geauga Dairymen 4-H club, will exhibit at the Geauga County Fair. It's always a fun process for our family.

Garrett, Jack, and Lad look at the heifers (and the heifers look at them!)

Jack finds one he especially likes!

The Hastings men

Garrett checks in on his first 4-H animal, Lucy, who is due to calve in June

Jack with the March calf he picked

The boys will work with these animals all summer, teaching them to walk with a halter, grooming them and providing the care they need to grow and thrive. In early September, they will take them to the Fair to show with other 4-H members in our county. It's a lot of work and fun, overall a great learning experience.

Year in Review: 2014 Blog Highlights

I enjoyed sharing the happenings of my farm and family this year. Here are some highlights from 2014:

Six Most Popular New Blog Posts in 2014

1. Cow's Milk vs Non-Dairy Imitation Milk posted April 1, 2014     

Comparing naturally superior cow’s milk to non-dairy imitations.

2. Why are calves separated from their mothers? posted January 14, 2014    

Explaining how calves are raised on our farm.  

3. It’s National Agriculture Day! posted March 25, 2014   

A look at agriculture’s far-reaching impact in all of our lives.

Chumey and Jack

4. The manure is deep in Farmed and Dangerous posted February 24, 2014  

Me and other farmers sharing thoughts on Chipotle’s silly fiction Farmed and Dangerous.

5. Farmland: The Movie posted April 22, 2014    

My review of this documentary which follows six young farmers and their families through the joys and challenges of production agriculture.

Lad, Garrett and Jack with some friendly heifers

6. Is Milk Safe? How do I Know it’s Free of Antibiotics? posted April 29, 2014   

The facts about milk quality and safety.

 

Me and Lad in the milking parlor

My 3 Favorite Blog Posts this Year

Coming Soon. . .Rowdy Cow Creamery posted July 8, 2014

Sharing the progress of constructing our on-farm milk bottling creamery.

The County Fair – Generations of Showing Cattle posted August 26, 2014

Pictures of me, my husband and our parents showing cattle at the county fair throughout the generations.

Garrett and Lad with Vanessa before going into the show ring

Farm Animal Treatment & the See It? Stop It! Program posted November 11, 2014

Featuring the great team at our farm with the animals they care for.

To see pictures highlighting 2014, check out A Look Back at 2014 on the Farm.

I hope you'll visit my blog in 2015!

Me walking through a barn on our farm

Top 5 Reasons Starbucks and other Restaurants should Embrace Traditional Dairy

Why is Starbucks considering serving only organic milk in their restaurants? I would like to share with Starbucks, and all restaurants considering going only organic, the top 5 reasons to embrace traditional dairy.

1. Milk Quality – All milk, organic and traditional, meet the same quality standards and naturally contain the same nutrients. All milk must be tested free of antibiotic and pesticide residue before it gets to the store shelf. All dairy farms are inspected and required to follow the same guidelines to ensure a wholesome product.

2. Sustain Family Farmers – The majority of dairy farms (about 98%) are owned and operated by families. The perception that many dairy farms are “factory farms” under the control of corporations or “big ag” is false. When you purchase dairy products, organic or traditional, you are helping to sustain family farmers.

Generations on the farm - my parents and my sons

My son, Jack, with one of our favorite cows

3. Support Content Cows – Dairy farmers love their cows. Our priority as dairy farmers is caring for cows to keep them content and healthy. Irrespective of farm size, production method, housing preference, and specific feed ingredients. There is more than one way to successfully keep cows comfortable and happy. 

Our content cows in their barn

Healthy, curious calves in their pen

4. Price & Value – Traditionally produced dairy products are an exceptional value and less expensive than their organic counterparts.

5. Consumer Choice – People should have a choice. When you go to a restaurant or the grocery store, you should be able to choose the products you want. That choice shouldn’t be taken away because of a small, loud, radical minority.

Read what others are saying about this topic. I’ve pulled a quote from each, but you can click on the title for a link to the full post:

Dear Starbucks: Please Don't Cave to #OrganicMilkNext by Nurse Loves Farmer Blog
"The agriculture world needs the diversity of various farming methods, it's not "one-size fits all" farming. Enjoy your choices and I'll enjoy mine--just don't try to take them away." 

Dear Starbucks, About That #OrganicMilkNext by The Udder Side Blog

“The truth is that there are no quality differences to distinguish organic milk from milk produced from a regular dairy herd. Also, using "organic" as a measuring stick of milk quality or cow quality is not accurate by any means. The size and type of the farm has little relevancy in comparison to how the farmers and their employees do their jobs."

Why I'm Not Converting the Farm to Organic Production by Andrew Campbell

“Despite the continued mind-numbing objection to genetically modified crops, fact after fact (including the latest that 100 billion animals fed GMOs over 30 years showed zero difference to those fed non-GMO grains) points to technology benefiting more than just the definition of our television or the quality of life through medical breakthroughs.”

American Society of Animal Science Issues Statement in Support of Conventional Milk
“There is no scientific basis for Starbucks to stop using conventional milk. The U.S. milk supply is safe, wholesome and nutritious. That remains true nearly two decades after the introduction of genetically engineered (GE) crops in 1996. Furthermore, it has been repeatedly shown that feed crops of biotech origin do not compromise the health, well-being and ability of food-producing animals to contribute to a safe, plentiful food supply.”

Consumers are mislead about organic safety by John Block
“Organic foods are four to eight times more likely to be recalled than conventional foods for safety issues like bacterial contamination. In short, the federal government is strict about science, labeling and claims for all industries except one. The marketers of organic food are allowed to make scientifically false and misleading claims about the safety and wholesomeness of conventional food, while their products are increasingly likely to be recalled for safety reasons.”

I ask you to support the cows on our dairy farm by consuming traditional dairy products.

Visit our Dairy Farm this Fall

Fall is a wonderful time to visit a farm! We have four events happening on our farm in September and October that are open to the public. Come on down to the farm to meet our cows and check out the progress of our new milk bottling plant.

Cow Tales Adventures

Dates: September 17 and October 2

Time: 10am – 12pm

Special Instructions: This event is specifically for children 5 & under with a caregiver. Plan to arrive by 10am and be at the farm until 12pm to take part in all of the activities. Includes a cheese snack.

Cost: $6/person (12 months & under are free)   

Fall Dairy Days

Dates: September 28 and October 12

Time: 1pm – 5pm

Description: This event is open to all ages. All the activities are going on the entire time we're open. Come and go anytime.

Cost: $6/person (1 years-old & under are free)  

Cow Tales & Dairy Days include;

• Guided tour of the milking parlor to watch the cows being milked
• Visit to the calf area where you can pet and interact with calves
• Wagon ride tour of the farm to see where the cows live
• Rides for children on the Chugga Chugga Moo Moo train  
• Time to play on the farm-themed outdoor playground, pedal tractors & corn box
• Indoor Junior Dairyman play area with farm themed toys
• Cow Craft activity
• Great photo opportunities!

Some of these activities are outdoors and some are inside. The events will go on rain or shine, we recommend wearing boots or old shoes. Please be prepared to pay with cash or check, we are not able to process credit cards. No reservations required.

Our farm is also available for scheduled group tours or parties in September and October. For more information, check out the Hastings Dairy website.  

Here are some scenes from previous Cow Tales Adventures & Dairy Days events:

Kids love riding the Chugga Chugga Moo Moo train

Watching the cows milking from the observation balcony

Watching the cows in the milking parlor

Taking a wagon ride around the farm

A favorite activity; petting the calves

Playing in the corn box

Building a log barn in the Parlor room

Fun in the giant sandbox

Families enjoying a picnic on the playground

See our new milk bottling plant; we'll be selling milk soon!

See you down on the farm!

Summertime on the Farm

My family is having an active summer. It's been cooler than normal, which the cows like. My sons have been busy working with the animals they'll show at the County Fair at the end of August. We've had lots of cows calving this summer, so the boys like to check the maternity pen to see if any cows are getting ready to calve.

Here are some images of from our farm over the last few weeks. . . .

Garrett, Jack and Lad have a chat

A favorite cow, Chumey, with Jack

Curious cows take a drink after being milked

Lad spraying flies in the barn

A great grandma cow, she's 12 years-old and doing well in the herd!

There have been lots of births at the farm over the last few months.

Jack with his calf, Daisy

Jack shows Daisy to Grandma Pat

Garrett working with Lucy, one of the heifers he will show at the Fair in a few weeks

My parents, Tony and Carolyn, with Jack, Garrett and Lilly

Jack with farm kitty Sophie

The boys help me measure our growing corn

Garrett in our Sudan grass crop

My family enjoys showing visitors around the farm

The boys found a turtle, frogs, and tadpoles in the pond on our farm

We had some fun off the farm too. . . .

The boys on the Chagrin River

Fun at the water park

We love going to Lake Erie!

It's hard to believe school will be starting soon and fall is around the corner. We're savoring every moment of summer!

The Creation of our On-Farm Creamery

We’re in the process of building and equipping an on-farm creamery to bottle milk from our cows for retail sale. There is an interested in purchasing products directly from the farmers who produce them. Our creamery will allow people to purchase fresh milk from a local farm.

We will produce small batches of non-homogenized, whole milk in white and flavors. The creamery is located just steps away from where the cows are milked. You can’t get any fresher than that! Very few dairy farms in Ohio, or across the country, make products on-farm for retail sale. We’re excited about this new adventure!

We remodeled a portion of office space in the barn for the processing room. Here are some pictures from the construction of the Creamery which started in February. . .

The office space before becoming a Creamery

A local Amish family remodeled this space

The room with it's new ceiling

Me in the Creamery after the walls were complete

Experts from Burton Carpet carefully install the tile floor

Preparing the concrete mix for the Creamery floor

The tile floor during installation

The 250 gallon vat pasteurizer being delivered

Lad moved it with the loader while I watched nervously

Lad moved the pasteurizer onto the front porch with the skid steer

Moving the vat pasteurizer into it's new home

Discussing the next steps to installing equipment in the Creamery

We plan to sell milk at the farm, at local retail outlets and restaurants. We hope to be producing milk for sale by mid-June. For updates, check this blog or the Hastings Dairy Facebook page.