It’s ‘Raise A Glass’ Time in Tennessee!!

For several decades, the Tennessee June Dairy Month Kickoff has been the launch for events across the state highlighting Tennessee’s collective dairy industry.  The 2018 event was held at Battle Mountain Farm, the event venue of Hatcher Family Dairy Farm, College Grove, TN on May 30.  The rural setting, with Holsteins and Jerseys grazing in a nearby pasture, emphasized that tasty and nutritious dairy products truly do begin on a farm.

This event honors several aspects of Tennessee 4-H involvement in dairy related activities.  4-H County Chairmen, who conduct dairy promotion and awareness events across the state are recognized.  The Tennessee 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl Finals are held. And always, an inspirational speaker brings life’s insights to 4-H’ers as they return home to begin June Dairy Month events.  Their activities allow them to compete for awards in several categories, which are presented at the next years events.

This year’s event was organized by Denise Jones, of The Dairy Alliance, who put the engaging tables and decor together and set a great dairy mood as folks entered the beautiful event venue.  She was assisted by Joan Benton and Cindy Cooper of The Dairy Alliance.

Following are some photo highlights of the event.

Emma Mull, McMinn County, Grace Rich, Clay County, and Elizabeth Bright of Loudon County, are three of several County Dairy Month Chairs who have a full slate of activities planned.

You can follow Grace on Instagram as ‘udderlylegendairy,  Emma will be social on Facebook as McMinn County June Dairy Month, and Elizabeth Bright’s creative videos and spots are on Facebook at June Dairy Month – Loudon County.  Look for other social promotions and public activities from chairmen in your area of TN!

Part of the setting front and center of the banquet hall, framing the dynamic Denise Jones, the event organizer, of The Dairy Alliance!  Did you know MILK is Tennessee’s Official Beverage?  It was given that designation in 2009 by the Tennessee Legislature.

Three 4-H’ers, who will become future consumers, related how their participation both in Dairy Production Projects and Nutrition, Health, and Fitness projects, have made them appreciate dairy’s unparalleled nutritional benefits, along with the hard work of Tennessee farmers who produce that milk. Abigail Ferguson, Ashley Bell, and Kathryn Fellhoelter all gave great presentations.

Marshall County is the winner of the Dairy Quiz Bowl Competition, and will be headed to the National Contest later this year.

Some more of our Tennessee County 4-H Chairmen!  Do you know who the 4-H Dairy Chairman is in your county?

Jeff Aiken, President of TN Farm Bureau, and a former dairy farmer himself, represented the organization as an event sponsor, and brought words of encouragement to those attending.  He was accompanied by many Farm Bureau staff members from across the state, as they came to support the TN June Kickoff event.

Do You Know “What’s Your Why?”

George Wilson, who retired from the Tennessee Titans after an NFL career with several teams, challenged the audience with the question “What’s Your Why?”  A two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year in the NFL, he inspired with point after point:

1. Be the first to show up, and the last to leave. Be grueling, tough, and unrelenting in the pursuit of your dream!
2. Be mindful of what you do and the choices you make, and of those whom you allow to make decisions for you.  [He began at an SEC school, Arkansas, on an academic scholarship, walked-on and made the football team, and then was able to receive a football scholarship because someone got arrested and lost the scholarship they had.  And that set the stage for his 11-year NFL career.]
3. Sometimes in life, “Opportunity is Disguised as Hard Work!“  [It took 15-16 years of hard work and sweat on the football field to finally get a starting position on an NFL team and an interception against the cowboys on national TV.]
4. “I give of myself because others gave of themself to me.  THAT’S MY WHY! He prayed, “Lord, if you you allow my dream, I will give back.“  And then noted, “that is a debt I’ll never repay!”
5. Why does he care about Fuel Up to Play 60?  Because his thoughts were captured by this statement: “We could be raising the first generation of kids who won’t outlive their parents.  FUTP 60 puts power and decision-making in the hands of students who participate in the program.”

 

Celeste Blackburn, President of TN American Dairy Association, served as MC for the event, and gave Mr. Wilson an appreciation gift featuring some of Tennessee’s farmstead dairy products.

At the event close, Jimmy Hopper, Assistant Commissioner of the TN Department of Agriculture overseeing TDA’s Consumer and Industry Services Division, was honored with the TN Outstanding Dairy Promoter Award. One of Hopper’s responsibilities was overseeing the Dairy Quality Division, charged with quality and safety on dairy farms and in milking barns, in processing plants, and addressing retail dairy sales outlets.  Jimmy went above and beyond a ‘job description’ to serve Tennessee’s dairy industry.  And he did it with class and respect for all he worked with. During his tenure, Tennessee’s first robotic milking barn was installed.

The Tennessee Cooperator has a great summary of Hopper’s career.

Always a man of humility, Hopper encouraged young folks present to find a dairy farmer and work with them for a while.  He noted there was no better role model for developing a work ethic that would serve one well throughout a career.

McMinn & Loudon 4-H’ers Helped with a Milk Drive on World Milk Day!

Wasting no time getting started with June Dairy Month promotions, and in a way that serves others, the McMinn Co. 4-H Chairman, Emma Mull, and Loudon County’s Elizabeth Bright spent World Milk Day (June 1) helping Second Harvest in East TN at the Randy Davis Memorial Milk Drive. 

The event they participated in was held at Lenoir City, in Loudon County, Tennessee’s #1 Dairy County.   On that one night, in a 4-hour period, 1457 gallons of milk were purchased and loaded on a Second Harvest refrigerated truck, destined for distribution to neighbors in need in their 18-county East TN service area.

These annual events, held onsite with the cooperation of Ingles Groceries in East TN, encourage purchases of milk at the groceries for the purpose of distributing milk to hungry neighbors.  With their hands-on approach, the onsite drives encourage human-to-human connections in the spirit of giving back, and ignite a life-long spirit of being a benefactor to the community.

Customers coming in to the grocery stores can contribute in two ways:  they can make monetary contributions, which the Milk Drive Team uses to purchase milk from the store, or  they can purchase the milk themselves and bring to the waiting Second Harvest Refrigerated Truck.

Tennessee Agriculture has had a very difficult spring in 2018, dealing with price and market challenges in all sectors of agriculture, Dairy included.

With future consumers enthusiastic and connecting with farmers and industry leaders present, the 2018 TN June Dairy Month Kickoff served as a happy occasion to remind us all in the TN Dairy Industry to reflect:

So, “What’s Your Why?”