Agriculture + Lifestyle
“Get More with Milk” during National Dairy Month!
Posted on June 20, 2018 12:00 AM
By Jay Moon, Dairy Farmer
Dairy farmers around Georgia, like myself and family, invite you to join us in celebrating National Dairy Month this June! Dairy Month honors the hard work and dedication it takes to produce wholesome, nutritious milk. Our Dairy Month theme is “Get More with Milk,” which showcases milk’s powerful package of nine vitamins and minerals, including calcium and eight grams of protein.
National Dairy Month began in 1937 as a way to promote dairy consumption during the summer’s peak milk production period. Today, its rich history continues with communities, companies and people around Georgia celebrating in many ways. From dairy festivals and farm tours, to milking competitions or “milk mustache” contests, there are lots of fun ways to reconnect with life on the farm and enjoy delicious milk and other dairy products.
Milk is and has always been one of the best nutritional values in the store, despite competition from alternate beverages. One look at the label and you’ll see those others can’t compete. With a cost of about 25 cents per eight-ounce serving, milk provides one of the most affordable sources of high-quality protein and essential nutrients. That goes for all types, from whole milk to skim, and of course delicious chocolate milk as well! We give milk and other dairy foods to our own family all the time, and you know we only want what’s best for them. I encourage you to do the same!
Milk is also as safe and wholesome as ever. We work with vets to keep our cows healthy and treat them when they’re sick. Any treated cow’s milk is kept out of the supply chain, so you never have to worry about antibiotics in milk. Farmers like us take exceptional care of their cows, because we know that healthy and happy cows produce the highest quality milk.
One thing that a lot of people don’t know about farmers, especially dairy farmers, is how committed we are to sustainability and the environment. My family is very careful how we treat our land and water, using less fertilizer and pesticides than ever. That’s important because we live on this very same land and want it to be healthy and useful for generations to come. We recycle just about everything we can whenever possible, and thanks to advances in technology and animal care, were able to produce 60% more milk with nearly two-thirds fewer cows than just half a century ago. In fact, it takes about 90% less land to produce a gallon of milk than it did back then. That’s the kind of hard work and dedication it takes to feed a community, a country, and even the world.
If you want to know where your food comes from, just ask me or another farmer. Or better yet, come visit our farm! If you aren’t sure how to find one, why not start with a Dairy Month event! In the meantime, raise a glass of cold milk or enjoy some delicious ice cream to honor my fellow dairy farmers. For more information about June Dairy Month and farms in your area, go to TheDairyAlliance.com.