Jump with Jill - brought to you by Michigan dairy farmers!

Today I went to Oakview Elementary School in St. Johns for Jump with Jill - the "world's only rock & roll nutrition show!"

They start with a salute to Michigan dairy farmers, processors, and the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.  The show is all about eating healthy and exercising.  They sing, dance, and have tons of audience participation.  The kids loved it!

It's fun to go a show and know the people on the banner ... see yourselves, McCunes and Gaspers?  (Fellow Michigan dairy farmers and friends!)

They had kids and teachers come up and dance ...

The PE teacher, Joe Matulis, won a free show for the school.  Here he is with the cast!

The kids danced, and since this was an elementary school, ALL the teachers danced, too.  It was great!

Do you see how cool this milk is?  Sunglasses?  Cannot get any cooler.

They treat dairy farmers like rock stars, too.

Great promotion, great show, and great fun!

The videos are here if you want your own little nutritional dance party right now.

Meanwhile, back on the farm ... Kris chopped corn the entire day.  This will continue for the next two weeks.  After chopping, the boys and I helped him with calf chores.  Inexplicably, the boys wore their nicest school shoes, but assured me they would "dry overnight."  After the boys went to bed, Kris went back to finish calf chores ... he offered that I could do them and he could go to bed, but I told him I'd let him do them.  I had a blog to write!


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Losing a floor, gaining a use

Kris went on a trip with other dairy farmer friends to tour five dairy farms in Wisconsin.  Huge dairy farms - like some of them milking 5000 cows.  Some of them had rotary parlors, where the entire room turns (with the cows in it) in a big circle and the milking never stops.  One of the farms had its own water treatment system.  He said it was interesting to talk to the other farmers he went with as well as to see the different kinds of farms.

I was telling my friend Julie about it - her family owns the hand truck company Magline.  She thought it was interesting that the farmers were willing to give tours of their farms to other farmers - she said there was no way that her company would give a tour to another hand truck company.

The nice part about it is - it's not like we're in competition, because we all have somewhere to sell our milk.  If we were competing for customers, it'd be a different.  But because we're not, it's a sort of feeling like we're all in it together.  As a result, farmers are always giving tours to other farmers!  For example, the president of our local MMPA has made it a point to tour almost every farm in his district.  People go to see each other's new barns and new setups.  It's like giving someone a tour of your new home.

It may not be everyone's idea of a vacation, but for a group of young dairy farmers, it's great fun.

***

The guys have been carefully removing the floor of the haymow.  Josh said it was interesting seeing how it was all put together - so long ago, by my great-grandpa Floyd Anderson.  How did they get these giant boards up there?  How did it all hold together with just two nails on one board?  Where did they get these boards - from a mobile mill or from another town?  So long ago.  We're going to use the wood when we remodel ... someday.  It's been good for 130 years and it'll be good for more!



No ceiling - more room for bales

Changing the look and the use of the barn

If you're around, drop by and see it!  I mean it.  That's what we do.