Spring in February

We had a super-warm and lovely February.  Whenever it thaws, it gets super muddy and messy on the farm.  Kris doesn't particularly like it.  I ... love it.  We were barefoot around the farm last weekend! Then this week it got cold and we had flurries - it even hailed.  The tulips that were already pushing their way out of the ground were completely surprised!



I hosted Fuel Up to Play 60 at Ford Field in Detroit.  It was so much fun! It is such a great event, because the kids are so excited.  We had two motivational speakers, a workout with the Detroit Lions, different dairy foods, and we did it all with fun people like these two dairy girls here - Ashley Messing Kennedy and Madeline Meyer.



I attended the Voice of Ag in Traverse City and toured the FARM Science Lab. It is SO cool.  They take it around to different schools to bring the science about ag to them!  I can't wait until we can schedule it for ours.  People in Michigan - I'm pretty sure they're scheduling into 2018 now.  Go ahead and contact them for your school.



Here we are making plastic from corn.  This enthusiasm is not faked.  We loved it.  Science experiment love is not limited to kids, obviously!



Most exciting to us, we welcomed new cattle to the farm.  So far, they love it here and are giving us lots of fantastic milk.  Thanks to our friends for selling them to us!

As February ends, it's back to winter around here.  Our hats and mittens are back on, we're back indoors, and we're ready for spring when it really comes!

Want to know more about the farm?  Like the page on Facebook, on Twitter @carlashelley, or sign up to get the blog by email - the form is on the right side of the page.

Voice of Agriculture!

Michigan Farm Bureau puts on a Voice of Agriculture conference that helps people get ideas about promotion and get educational resources for doing outreach in schools, for adults, and to the media.  

I attended the breakout sessions on working with the media, doing lesson plans with The Cow in Patrick O'Shanahan's Kitchen (which teaches about food sources), and social media.  Then I did the motivational, go-get-em speech.  It was a blast!  Everyone was so enthusiastic and invested!  

When I was in a breakout session I met some new people - they were whispering funny things in the back of the room.  One girl is a cherry farmer!  She asked me, "Have your kids ever picked cherries?  Have YOU ever picked cherries?"  Big no to both of those.  So she immediately invited us to her farm this summer and said she'd save us some to pick.  

So obviously, the day was already a success at that point.  

Another girl had a sheep farm.  (I learned a common question for sheep farmers - "Do the sheep get cold when they're shorn?")  The background of her phone was a picture of a sheep.  Know why?  Because they're adorable.  She lives in the same area as the cherry farm ... probably should visit.

After my talk, and meeting great people, and learning about promotion and education - I ate the snack they had.  Warm, salted pretzels, which are one of my favorite treats.  The drink they provided? Milk.

Thanks to Farm Bureau!  You really know how to put on a good conference.  Inspiring, entertaining, and nutritious.

Like my farm page on Facebook

Follow me @carlashelley

Get posts in your email - form is on the right