Dairy Headlines by Fred & Bessie

The time has come……for Fred and Bessie to be packed carefully in their mailing box and sent home to Flea in Oklahoma. While gathering the bubble wrap and foam I happened to notice that Bessie was whispering something into Fred’s ear. Pretty soon they both approached me with a request……they wanted to host a blogpost of dairy headlines before they left our farm. I agreed.

F & B invited the house cow herd to be their “studio audience”……so to speak…..er, moo. The house cows were tickled to be featured on the blog for once.

The list of dairy headlines was written on cue cards for Fred and Bessie to use. First up is a sampling of current stories from the well-known dairy magazine, Hoard’s Dairyman, published in Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin:

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FARMLAND VALUES IN IOWA HAVE DROPPED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TEN YEARS, down from $5619/acre last September, to the current average price of $5297/acre.

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A NOVEL ENTITLED “BULL JUSTICE”---BY GLEN JENSEN---HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. The main character is a dairy herdsman who formerly served a term in a reformatory.

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WITH LOW MILK PRICES, WATCH FOR SIGNS OF DEPRESSION……(in people, that is)

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WHO STAYS? WHO GOES DRY? WHO GOES FOR GOOD?

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GET YOUR PASTURES READY FOR SUMMER GRAZING

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WILL $4 CORN SHIFT MILK PRODUCTION BACK EAST?

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CALVES ARE WHAT THEY EAT

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Whew…..that was quite a list! Fred and Bessie need a short break……to catch their breath……and, to catch up on kissing!

Ok……next we’ll hear some headlines from the Dairy Star newspaper, published in Sauk Centre, Minnesota:

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NEW DAIRY BILL INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS BY SENATORS ARLEN SPECTER (D-PA) AND ROBERT CASEY (D-PA). THE BILL IS KNOWN AS “THE FEDERAL MILK MARKETING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2009”……(Since 1981, dairy farmers have been subjected to several unorthodox pricing formulas that created severe roller-coaster rides for the dairy farmers’ milk prices.) DAIRY FARMERS ARE URGED TO CONTACT THEIR U.S.SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN SUPPORT OF THIS BILL.

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FROM HIRED MAN TO HERD OWNER

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WHAT DAIRY FAMILIES CAN DO AMIDST LOW MILK PRICES

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WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT COW “FRIENDSHIP”? Social status within a herd may affect feeding behavior. Also, cows seem to pair up in order to groom each other with “social licking”. (Fred & Bessie could readily relate to this one.)

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TIPS FOR SAVING ELECTRICITY ON YOUR FARM

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MINNESOTA BECOMES FIRST IN NATION TO REQUIRE 5% BIODIESEL IN ITS DIESEL FUEL SUPPLY….(While biodiesel has been produced mostly from soybeans to date, some Minnesota producers are now processing or are moving toward processing biodiesel from alternative sources such as animal fats, spent cooking oils, or even algae.)

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Well, I don’t know about you, but I found these headlines to be interesting and informative. Whether the house cows listened very closely is anyone’s guess. You can never tell with cows. Most likely, grooming each other was the main subject on their minds, anyway.

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Well……the time has come……time for Fred and Bessie to be drawn together for one last kiss here on our Iowa dairy farm.

Eventually, I pried the two apart and bundled them carefully into layers of bubble-wrap and foam. They’ll be deprived of contact with each other until they reach Flea’s house. Wow……by then Fred and Bessie will REALLY be in the mood to resume their lip-locking!

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Good-bye, Fred & Bessie! We enjoyed your company!

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