December 2011 Highlights « Back

Fuel Up to Play 60 in Missouri

Midwest Dairy hosted a Kansas City Chief’s tailgate party for students from two elementary schools in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. The chilly Sunday night game of the Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers was November 27 and was part of a reward for the school district receiving breakfast grants from General Mills.  Several dairy producers attended, interacting with students and parents by answering questions about dairy farm practices. The Chiefs provided 50 tickets between the two schools and filmed the students in their Fuel Up to Play 60 t-shirts and stickers at the tailgate party. The video played on Arrowvision during the game. A select group of the students participated in a human tunnel to greet the Chiefs players coming onto the field prior to the game.

Dairy producer Steve Strickler of Iola, Kansas, played host to Kansas City Chiefs mascot KC Wolf and former wide receiver Eddie Kennison at his farm last month, providing the backdrop for a photo and video shoot. The guys started off their day by feeding calves, and Eddie noted this activity would be the perfect workout for wide receivers! KC and Eddie spent time on the tractor, in the hay loft and with the calves, while Steve filmed a video tour of his farm. The photos and video will be utilized for the new Midwest Dairy/Chiefs Fuel Up to Play 60 school assembly program hosted by KC Wolf.

A Fuel Up to Play 60 Program Advisor activation award was given to Jarrett Middle School, Springfield, for activating Fuel Up to Play 60. The prize package contained Fuel Up to Play 60 premiums and items to keep the kids and supporters excited about Fuel Up to Play 60 and further engage the entire school.

Your Health and Wellness program manager serving Missouri, Bridget Sheehan, was invited to the Missouri School Nutrition Association Conference, where she led a breakout session with Lee’s Summit School District’s nutrition coordinator, Lori Danella. In the presentation, Bridget and Lori discussed ways to increase dairy participation in schools and how to apply for Fuel Up to Play 60 funds.

Also within the past month, Health and Wellness program manager Stephanie Cundith facilitated Midwest Dairy’s co-sponsorships at both the Missouri WIC Association Annual Conference and the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians Fall Conference. At each, a nutrient-rich break was provided to attendees, and exhibit opportunities allowed for discussion around dairy’s overall role in child health and wellness, the nutritional benefits of low-fat, fat-free and flavored milk, and involvement in Fuel Up to Play 60.

As a National Dairy Council Ambassador, Cundith also recently contributed a blog article to NDC’s The Dairy Report titled “National School Lunch Week (Oct. 10-14) Gives Us Reason to Celebrate.” The blog highlighted the importance of the School Lunch Program in helping children meet the Dietary Guidelines and encouraged conversation with students about where foods come from.

Other Missouri Updates

Richard and Shirley Best of Houston recently hosted a farm tour for fourth graders from neighboring schools. They were part of the Farm Expo in Texas County that was sponsored by Farm Bureau. This year, 240 fourth-graders arrived in big yellow school buses from Licking, Houston, Plato, Summersville and Cabool. The Bests soon knew what the children wanted after watching the four-minute video – to ask questions and touch a big black and white cow. All the kids were given “I met a Dairy farmer” stickers provided by the Midwest Dairy’s Producer Service Center. They served more than 400 ice cream bars that day and had good coverage in their local newspaper in LIcking. The Bests had a lot of fun doing this and the children learned some facts about the how dairy farmers love their animals and care about the products they produce. Thank you, Richard and Shirley, for sharing your story.

Recently Chris Heins, a dairy producer near Higginsville, was interviewed by Jessica Naudziunas of KVNO News of Omaha, Neb.  The title of the news piece was Antibiotics: the Scarlet A of livestock production. The news story takes a look at antibiotic use in livestock. Also interviewed for the story was retired veterinarian Chuck Massengill from California, Mo.  Here’s an excerpt from the coverage:

There also has been particular concern among activists about antibiotics showing up in milk and other dairy products.

Chris Heins is the dairy herd manager for Heins Family Dairy in Higginsville, Mo. The dairy produces 6,000 gallons of milk a day, but Heins said the vet bill is low.

“So much of that has to do with how you design the barns, treating the animals well,” Heins said.

Heins practices preventative measures to keep his cows healthy and said he can do that by cutting down on the stress the animals experience. He makes sure the cows have proper ventilation, feed with the right nutritional balance, with access to plenty of clean water and space to move around.

“I only try to use antibiotics when it is necessary for the health of the animal,” Heins said. “You know, our cows don’t have health insurance and antibiotics aren’t cheap.”

Even if he uses antibiotics, it’s not like the cows continue to be milked for human consumption, Heins said.

“(A sick cow’s) milk will not enter the rest of the milk,” Heins said. “It will not get shipped to the store or anything like that. As soon as any cow gets antibiotics, she will get moved to a separate pen.”

To view the entire segment, click here.

I was able to attend most of the DFA District meetings in my four-state territory the past four weeks and enjoyed visiting with many of you there. I really appreciated the opportunity to share with each group how your checkoff dollars are working for you through our partners like McDonald’s and Domino’s, and how your investment in the Fuel Up to Play 60 program is having long-term effects on future consumers. I am honoured to work on your behalf to promote the best, most natural food available in the world, milk.