Celebrate July Ice Cream Month with a Writing Gig

News EditorIce Cream

Do you like to write? Do you love Turkey Hill ice cream? Then, this is the contest for you! Read on to learn more.

July is right around the corner, which can only mean one thing – National Ice Cream Month! Each year on the Ice Cream Journal, we try to do something different to celebrate the greatest month of the year and this year we’ve decided to try something we’ve never done before.

We’ve decided to turn the blog over to the people who make it all worth while – OUR READERS – and let you do the writing. After all, everyone here at Turkey Hill loves reading all the comments you leave, so we’re pretty sure we’ll love to read the blog entries you create.

Here’s how it will work. Listed at the bottom of this entry are 14 topics for blog entries. If you’d like to write one, send an e-mail to icecreamjournal@gmail.com. Let us know which topic you’d like to write about, as well as two other topics you’d like to cover (just in case the topic you chose is already taken). After that, we’ll talk to you about how long the entry should be or answer any specific questions you might have.

Of course, you’ll be paid for becoming an official Turkey Hill blog writer. Each of our 14 blog entry writers will receive a one-month supply of Turkey Hill ice cream! And to reward our loyal readers and commenters, we’ll also give away FIVE one month supplies of ice cream to five commenters chosen at random from all the comments left on the Ice Cream Journal in July.

Below are the topics we’d like you to write about. Let us know with an e-mail to icecreamjournal@gmail.com which entry you’d like to write about (also make two backup choices). But hurry… these jobs won’t last long!

Source: Ice Cream Journal

UterFlush Reproductive Care for Cattle Introduced

Cindy ZimmermanGeneral, Health

Van Beek Natural Science has introduced a new product for reproductive care in beef and dairy cattle called UterFlush.

uterflushAccording to the company, UterFlush is administered intrauterine post-calving to help restore the cow’s uterus back to normal as quickly as possible. It can be given immediately after calving or later on when problems arise. The flush not only assists with uterine problems post-calving, but also sustains the cow’s reproductive performance reducing the breed back time frame.

UterFlush contains essential oils with antimicrobial properties that maintain and restore normal uterine environment. A natural foaming agent, called yucca, helps the UterFlush reach all areas of the uterus. UterFlush is an all-natural product that requires no milk withholding and leaves no drug residue. UterFlush is similar to our current product, Royal Uterine Capsules, but is in a convenient and easy to use liquid form. The UterFlush syringe has a dial to ensure the accurate amount is expelled when mixing the product. UterFlush is available in a 30ml syringe. The product is sold through all major livestock and dairy distributors.

Find out more about the product here.

Dairy Fun Offers Engaging Education

News Editordairy farming, Education

Looking for a fun way to learn more about the dairy industry? Then check out the new website “Dairy Fun” created by Dairylea Cooperative Inc. and Dairy Farmers of America’s (DFA) Northeast Area Council.

The website will teach consumers about all the benefits that dairy farmers provide – from producing high-quality, nutritious products to supporting the economy and creating a ripple effect on both the agricultural and economic well-being of rural America.

“Dairy farmers are the fabric of rural America,” said Karen Cartier, Vice President of Communications for Dairylea Cooperative and DFA’s Northeast Area Council. “They are dedicated to the care of both their animals and natural resources as well as production of a quality product. Our goal is to bring an increased awareness of the importance of dairy in a healthy diet.”

To salute farmer members, increase public awareness on the value of milk and dairy products, and therefore support milk markets for the 2,300 Dairylea member farms and the 1,900 DFA’s Northeast Area Council member farms, a series of initiatives are underway.

* An interactive website to share the positive health benefits of milk and dairy products.
* A free, educational DVD, VRROOMMM! 2 Dairy Farming for Kids. This movie, available to elementary schools, takes a look at life on a 700-cow dairy farm.
* A visit with a local elementary school to educate children on the dairy farming process and provide fun dairy treats.
* Various dairy tours and events around the region – inviting people to take a firsthand look at life on a dairy farm.

Source: Dairylea and the DFA Northeast Area Council

Pa. Center Seeks Dairies for Pilot Program

News EditorDairy Business

The Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence is launching “Transformation Teams”, a pilot project =to aid 10 dairy farms planning significant business transformations. The center will help the chosen farms establish a team of experts to facilitate the business changes, and will offer access to funding and other resources to support planning costs.

“Our industry continues to experience change at a very fast pace and to remain viable, dairy farms need to evolve constantly to meet the challenges of today and the opportunities of tomorrow,” Center for Dairy Excellence Executive Director John Frey said. “Through this pilot project, the center will evaluate the use of a team approach and provide blueprints other dairy farms can use to move through a business evolution and transformation process.”

The Center for Dairy Excellence will select individual farms to participate in the pilot project that is being supported by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. The grant will fund the cost of paid team members, pre-implementation expenses, and other discovery-related costs of the transformation team.

Producers interested in applying must have a documented interest in navigating the planning and exploratory processes needed for pursuing a transformation within their business. Those planning to implement increased use of technology, modernization best management practices, environmental improvements, renewable energy systems and enhanced marketing plans are eligible to apply.

Participating farms must provide detailed documentation of their planning processes and experiences, which the transformation team will use to prepare the case studies to share with others contemplating transformation projects. The case studies will be used to document the steps involved in the transformations and how the teams aided in each of those steps. The center will compile those studies and share them with the dairy industry to be emulated by other dairy farms considering business model changes.

Applications for the pilot project must be submitted by June 25 and are available through the Center for Dairy Excellence by calling 717-346-0849 or e-mailing info@centerfordairyexcellence.org. Farms will be selected based on eligibility and scope of the project. Farms accepted in the project will be notified by July 15, with the farms expected to establish their transformation team within 60 days of being notified. The amount of funding available will be announced upon selection of the farms and all funds will be dispersed as work is completed. Funding will be used primarily to cover the cost of paid team members on the teams.

Source: Center for Dairy Excellence

'Get Up and Mooove!' with Cabot Creamery

News EditorCompany Announcement

Cabot® Creamery Cooperative invites all cheese-lovers to “Get Up and Moooove!”

“Get Up and Mooove” is a social game that challenges you and your friends to small acts of movement — “micro-fitness” — that can be easily done at any time, in any place. Examples include short spurts of walking, pushups, and even grating Cabot cheese for 15 minutes. It’s that easy. By logging on to the Cabot Creamery Community “Get Up and Mooove” page http://getupandmove.me/cabot, Cabot GUAMMIES have an opportunity to declare fitness challenges on friends and family members as often as they like. What’s more, participants’ “micro-fitness” challenges and user statistics are tracked on the “Get Up and Mooove” individual page! Through user-feedback from Cabot GUAMMIES and others, the website is continuously adding features that foster friendly fitness challenges and healthy incentives.

“We’re thrilled to work with Cabot Creamery to build this very special community encouraging healthier choices for moms, kids and cooks. The farm family coop has a long history of taking care of both farmers and consumers and continually supports programs and activities that lead to healthier lifestyles. This makes Cabot the perfect partner for building a ‘contagious’ campaign spreading small random acts of fitness through social sites,” said Jen McCabe, Get Up and Move/Contagion Health’s co-founder and President.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, only 33.5% of adults in the United States engage in regular leisure-time physical activity*. Most people offer any number of excuses for not exercising, the most common being “lack of time.” With “micro-fitness,” excuses for lack of time are eliminated and the fun can begin.

Regan Miller Jones, Cabot’s National Nutrition Communications Manager and Registered Dietitian, says, “The Get Up and Mooove challenge is a great way for people to interact with family and friends while promoting a healthy lifestyle. It only takes a few minutes a day to do ‘micro-fitness’ activities but the results can be amazing.”

Anyone interested in participating in “micro-fitness” challenges can visit Cabot’s Random Acts of Fitness page and they can also access additional Cabot health and fitness information at Cabot Health.

Source: Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Schmitt is Summer Intern

News EditorDairy Checkoff

The Midwest Dairy Association welcomes Emily Schmitt of Hawkeye, Iowa as their industry relations summer intern.

Schmitt’s duties will include writing press releases and other communications materials, coordinating appearances and promotions, attending industry meetings and other events, and assisting industry leaders in coordinating special dairy events that further extend Midwest Dairy initiatives. Schmitt will also play a key role in planning dairy promotions at the 2010 Iowa State Fair, August 12-22.

“I’m excited to help Midwest Dairy further its promotion efforts,” Schmitt said. “This position combines my study of public relations with my dairy background, allowing me to stay connected to the dairy industry while practicing communication skills I will use in my career.”

Schmitt is an incoming senior at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. She is a communication arts major with an emphasis in public relations and minor in leadership. On campus, Schmitt works for the college’s communication and marketing department and contributes to the Wartburg Magazine. She is a writer and editor of The Trumpet, the college’s weekly newspaper, and is an account executive of Tower Agency, Wartburg’s student-run public relations firm. Schmitt also chairs the homecoming publicity committee, serves as a student senator and is captain of the dance team.

Growing up on her family’s 250-cow dairy farm, Schmitt has developed a strong background and passion for the dairy industry. She is a former Fayette County dairy princess and was active in 4-H and FFA dairy projects and contests in high school.

Source: Midwest Dairy Association

Purdue Dairy Digest Podcast

Cindy ZimmermanEducation, General, University

Purdue University is introducing a new podcast for dairy producers.

purdue“Purdue Dairy Digest,” a podcast series created by three Purdue Extension animal science specialists, will be available for free download by noon each Wednesday beginning June 16. Each podcast will run about two minutes and will include both information directed to dairy farmers and some general information for the public.

“The dairy industry is still in a very challenging time and due to the low milk prices of last year, a lot of producers are still having financial issues,” said Tamilee Nennich, Purdue Extension dairy specialist. “Although the milk price has recovered somewhat, it has been a slow process. With dairy farmers facing so many challenges, we hope this will be a good information source to help manage their operations as efficiently as possible.”

Every Wednesday, Nennich or Purdue Extension dairy specialist Mike Schutz, will speak about topics important to both producers and consumers to help bridge the gap between the two. Podcasts will include information on general dairy topics, management issues, animal welfare, updates on upcoming conferences and meetings and more.

“Purdue Dairy Digest” will be available for download each week at http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/DD. The podcasts also will be available by searching “Purdue Dairy Digest” in iTunes.

Dairyline Markets In Review

Chuck ZimmermanDairyline, Markets

The bleeding continued in the cash cheese market although prices reversed gears and regained a penny on Friday. The blocks closed June 11th at $1.37 per pound, down 2 3/4-cents on the week but still 22 cents above a year ago. The block price has lost 13 cents in three weeks. Barrel closed Friday at $1.33, also down 2 3/4-cents on the week, and 23 3/4-cents above a year ago. Thirty one cars of block traded hands on the week and 32 of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. block price average gained 3.6 cents, hitting $1.4680. Barrel averaged $1.4795, up 2.5 cents.

On a brighter note; cash butter gained 3 1/2-cents on the week, closing Friday at $1.61, 38 1/4-cents above a year ago. Nothing was sold all week, the gains all came on unfilled bids. NASS butter averaged $1.5425, up 4.3 cents.

Cash Grade A nonfat dry milk closed Friday at $1.25, unchanged on the week, and Extra Grade closed at $1.25, down a penny. NASS powder averaged $1.3034, up 1.5 cents, and dry whey averaged 37.16 cents, up 0.2 cents.

Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

CWT Export Update

News Editorcwt

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) accepted one bid from Dairy Farmers of America and two bids from Darigold on a total of 750 metric tons (1,653,467 pounds) of Cheddar cheese to the Middle East. The product will be delivered June through December 2010.

Since CWT reactivated the Export Assistance program on March 18, 2010, it has assisted members in making export sales of cheddar cheese totaling 16,318 metric tons (36.1 million pounds) to 18 countries on four continents. Figures have been adjusted as a result of a cancellation and slight adjustments in amounts.

The Export Assistance program was reactivated when economic analysis indicated that sizeable cheddar cheese inventories overhanging the market are hampering a recovery in producer milk prices. Assisting CWT members in exporting American-type cheeses provides the most immediate way to positively impact producer milk prices in both the short-term and the long-term.

CWT will pay export bonuses to the bidders, only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

Source: Cooperatives Working Together (CWT)

Giant Ice Cream Sundae Salutes Pa. Dairy Farmers

News EditorIce Cream

A giant ice cream sundae is a delicious way to celebrate June Dairy Month. The folks with Pennsylvania’s dairy promotion organizations did just that this week, serving up 90 gallons of vanilla ice cream.

The annual salute to dairy farmers is sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, who work together to promote milk and dairy products. Dairy is the largest segment of Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry, generating more than $4.5 billion in economic activity. Each year, Pennsylvania’s 541,000 dairy cows produce 10.6 billion pounds, or 1.2 billion gallons, of milk.

“Producing fresh, local, nutritious milk for my fellow Pennsylvanians is a great honor,” said Lolly Lesher, a Berks County dairy farmer who spoke on behalf of the state’s dairy farmers. “I get to work with cows, the land and my family every day, which makes dairy farming one of the best jobs around.”

Joining Lesher with opening remarks, Secretary of Agriculture Russell C. Redding read Gov. Rendell’s proclamation declaring June is Dairy Month in the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Krystal Wasson and other dairy princesses from across the state helped with the day’s festivities.

Following the opening remarks, volunteers created the giant sundae using 90 gallons of Turkey Hill vanilla ice cream. The mountain of ice cream was covered with 10 gallons of chocolate fudge, 10 gallons of cherries and 30 pounds of chopped pecans. The sundae was topped off with real whipped cream and a giant, 12-inch ball of cherries.

“June’s 30 days are a wonderful opportunity to salute the 7,400 Pennsylvania families who produce 5.6 percent of the nation’s total milk supply,” said Cindy Weimer, director of industry image and relations for Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association. “Dairy farmers take great pride in caring for their animals. The public can be assured that dairy farmers care for their herds by providing a nutritious diet, good medical care and healthy living conditions.”

Source: Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association