Ohhhhhhhh The Cow Suit...

So Dairy Club has gotten off to a great start this year. We've already participated in Fall Roundup, which is where all the clubs set up a booth and the freshman visit each one to see which ones they want to join. I also must say, our cow print display was pretty awesome...

Also, a few members went to the South Farm Showcase, a public event held for an entire Saturday, "showcasing" all of MU's farms and clubs. It was at this event that we premiered our latest investment- the cow suit. It was a hit to say the least. Members took turns being "Ol Betsy" and the kids loved her. She even went over to the Collegiate Horseman's booth and got a picture with a horse. We are very excited to showcase her at our Milk and Cookies Booth Fundraiser this week, as well as a few other activities we have planned this semester.

You may be asking yourself... What will that crazy Dairy Club do next?? Take on Madison, Wisconsin! That's right folks, 8 of Dairy Club's finest will be roadtripping (and yes, sadly, missing classes) to enjoy the highly anticipated WORLD DAIRY EXPO! Of course, I'm one of the 8, and I'm driving. Anybody who knows me is probably taking bets on if we actually get there or not, but I'll have my GPS, we'll be fine. The 8 of us are very excited and counting down the days until the big departure day. I'll have both my camera and camcorder ready, and of course, will post our adventures on the Dairy Queen blog.

It's Raining Calves!!

It's calving season over here at the farm! We have about 150 cows and heifers due to calve in a 3 month period. The season started the beginning of this month and will be over in mid November. We try to calve as much as possible during the fall and spring months because it's the most comfortable temperature for both cow and calf, as well as to eliminate disease and pest risks.

To help us out, the Dairy Production students pair up and do two overnight calf watches. I'm also in the class, so I participated and my partner was my friend Destinee. She was so excited when she found a calf. She fed her bull calf his four quarts of colostrum- which is the first milk from the cow, containing lots of fat and immunoglobulins to jumpstart the calf's immune system. We then got his naval dipped and put him in a pen with lots of dry straw. We house calves individually for the first 2 months of life, so they don't get each other sick.

After a couple days, they are used to drinking their milk replacer out of the bottle holder, and can down a bottle in a matter of minutes. I really enjoy watching them all going to town on their breakfast! (video above)
-We feed our calves a milk replacer, which is like baby formula for the calves. This way, they get a consistent meal with the same components everyday, which stimulates healthy growth. The "formula" is also fortified with antibiotics, to keep them healthy as their immune system strengthens.

Most of the time, I was really busy with these babies and their mamas, but I managed to get some pictures of the kickstart of calving season :)

Destinee feeding her calf

Me trying to be efficient!

Why Is Cheese Yellow Project

Okay, so something I learned this summer on my internship is why cheddar cheese is yellow. I hadn't even really thought about it, and wondered if the average consumer ever thought about it either. So, I started asking my friends, and was surprised to see that it's really not common knowledge. Here are the responses I have so far, and I'll continue to post more funny responses to the question: Why is cheese yellow? Do you know?