Last week on Saturday I had one of my best experiences in advocating for agriculture (agvocating). I had the pleasure of helping at Clinton County’s Breakfast on the Farm at Steenblik Dairy Farm. All 5,500 of the breakfast tickets were sold out a week before the event was being held. With that in mind, I knew this was going to be a big event.
Photo Shoot
My last post told about how my family had been chosen as one of the families representing Michigan Dairy Farmers in Kroger stores this summer. Recently, we had our photo shoot and I’m going to share some of the behind the scenes experience. If you’re lucky enough to live near a Kroger store the heifers you will see in the background are from my family’s farm. There will be 4 farm families featured in the promotional materials as well.
Agvocating
During the last few days, some exciting events have happened in the world of agriculture and Messing Dairy. Friday afternoon my mother called me absolutely bewildered. “Ashley, you will never guess who I just got off the phone with.” Of course, I had no idea so I asked her who it who it was.
Meat-In Saturday
Yesterday, I got a call at about 3 in the afternoon saying that the Michigan Governor, Jennifer Granholm, made March 20th “Michigan Meat Out Day”. March 20th is also National Ag Day, a day used to celebrate agriculture and everything it does. Michigan agriculture is not going to sit down and take this, March 20th is our day to celebrate and we are going to stand up for the fact that meat is an essential part of a balanced diet. The USDA’s new food pyramid suggests 5 oz. of lean protein every day and three cups of dairy! According to… Read More
Happy Ag Week!
Have you fed your family today? If so, thank a farmer. This week is especially close to my heart because it is National Ag Week. This week is important because it is a fabulous time to thank farmers and ranchers for the hard work they and their families put into producing food. For farmers and ranchers, we use it as an opportunity to promote and educate what being in agriculture is all about. With the beautiful spring weather being everyone is feeling extra motivated, making it the perfect week for Ag Week. Ears are extra perky and tails are held… Read More
From the Bunk to the Cow
Food, it is one of the essentials that all life on earth have in common; we have to eat something. Different species have different requirements and ways of getting food, but we all still have to feed ourselves one way or another. So, you might ask what my post is about today. Well, try to contain your excitement… I’m going to show you how we feed cows through pictures! I’m also going to write about the process. I’m going to start by showing you from the bunk. When it’s harvest season I will show you about harvesting the feed and… Read More
I Believe
When I think of The National FFA Organization, so many memories come to mind. With it being National FFA week I thought I would revisit a few of these memories. When I first decided to join the FFA, I had no idea where it would take me. My cousin Jolene kept telling me about all of the fun things she was doing so I joined. During my second year as a chapter officer and a multiple contest participant, the school hired a new advisor. When Melissa Cantrell stormed into the Ubly FFA my entire perspective changed. I found out… Read More
New Additions
One of the best parts of living on a farm is the life cycle. My family and I have seen the cycle rotate time after time and I appreciate everything it stands for. The understanding that everything dies at some point and the joy of someone new coming into the world is an irreplaceable experience. Here he is! Yes, it is a he. This is what a BRAND NEW calf looks like! Okay, so he’s not brand new in this picture. He’s about 14 hours old here, but he looks brand new. He was in a warming room. It’s a… Read More
