Modern-day Farm Chick

Sharing stories from my modern-day farm life

An Ode to Judy

Ugh.  Not a good start to my week.  Let’s start this story from the beginning…  This past weekend I went back to my hometown to visit family and help a good friend of mine pick out her wedding gown.  I was ecstatic early Saturday morning when I received a picture message from my husband informing […]

How to Respond When Your Farming Practices Are Attacked

I have been blogging and sharing stories from my farm life for a little over a year now.  I am a proud 5th generation dairy farmer and my goal is to share the truth about modern agriculture with dairy consumers.  With so many misconceptions about the dairy industry, I find it extremely important to show […]

What Do Dairy Farmers Do On Holidays?

There are no days off on the farm.  Cows don’t care if it is Christmas and that you have eggnog to drink; they still need to be fed, milked and cared for.  It may be business as usual at the farm, but we still make time to celebrate with family and friends.  The whole crew […]

If Your Belly is Full, Give Thanks.

These days it seems that just about everybody has an opinion on how their food should be grown and produced. Organic vs. Conventional, GMO vs. non-GMO. etc.  With so many food buzzwords, misconceptions and various opinions, debates tend to get heated. I often wonder if folks would have less to say about the food on their […]

COWfessions: Stories From the Barnyard

Growing up on a dairy farm has taught me many things.  One of them being that funny, embarrassing things happen and the best thing you can do is laugh about it.  Life is too short not to laugh!  I asked my Facebook followers to share their crazy farm stories with me and now I share them with […]

Fancy Macaroni

Smoked Gouda. Bacon. Mushrooms. Butter. Best Macaroni and Cheese EVER! I had purchased a small block of Apple Smoked Gouda and while I normally just eat it by the slice, I wanted to do something amazing with it. I call it, “Fancy Macaroni”!

Who’s Your Daddy: Artificial Insemination

Things are getting HOT today, we are talking about reproduction! (Cue sexy music). Okay, cool your jets; it is not as wild as you might think. In fact, on many dairy farms, reproduction in cattle doesn’t even involve a live male (bull). A majority of today’s dairy farmers artificially inseminate their cattle .

Parading the Product

Today my good friend, Jill, shares with us another side of the dairy industry; the “show” side. That’s right, cow beauty pageants. Dairy farmers are extremely passionate about dairy and many enjoy showing off their quality animals. Farmers travel great lengths with their cows to participate in cow shows and compete with others. Showing cattle is a great way to bond with cows and other folks in the dairy industry. Read below to learn more about the show circuit!

Cows, Antibiotics, and You

See this happy, healthy cow chowing down on some TMR?  Well, last week she wasn’t so happy…or healthy; she had mastitis.  Mastitis is an inflammatory response to infection causing visibly abnormal milk (clots, off-color). As the extent of the inflammation increases, changes in the udder (swelling, heat, pain, redness) may also occur. Mastitis is caused any bacterial […]

Quit Putting Fear in My Food.

Maybe it is because I just got done sorting cattle and a cow slipped and splattered manure all over me, but I sure am fired up today. First, I discover that The Original Muck Boot Company supports HSUS, a company that “claims to save animals”, but in reality only a small fraction of their profits […]