This was the Christmas she had been looking forward to for 30 years – Christmas with no rush, no exhaustion. This year there would be time to find the Christmas spirit. Not since she and Jim were married and Peggy and Beth were nonexistent had Margaret been able to walk out of an orderly kitchen at 2 o’clock on Christmas Eve.

Milk is one of the most nutritious items requested by food bank clients, but it’s rarely donated. Because it needs to be kept cold and safe, and has a relatively short shelf life compared with other donated items, it must move through the system quickly.

Bicycles and collection centers improve milk cooling and delivery in Africa Emerging dairy sectors in developing African countries cannot cool raw milk on-farm due to the lack of reliable electricity. Often the quality of the evening milk is lost because it doesn’t survive the overnight heat.

The outlook for the Hoof Trimmers Association (HTA) was bleak in the late 1990s. Costs for conferences and other expenses outpaced income and membership dues.

Can you imagine only getting one cup of milk out of each of your cows every day? For many people in Kenya and South Sudan, that is reality. Not only that, but many of them have never heard the name of Jesus Christ, let alone the Gospel.

Alan Reed was looking for options. Early last spring, he attended a presentation at the United Dairymen of Idaho offices featuring University of Minnesota dairy economist Marin Bozic.

Thirty years ago, Dale Mortimer started milking five Jersey cows with his wife, Doris, after he moved to the outskirts of Rigby, Idaho, to raise his family. With the help of his dad, Mortimer says he was very selective when he picked out his original five cows because he wanted to start with good foundation cows.

Dairy producers are held to high standards. Day after day, farmers are expected to produce consistently high-quality milk. Working with their employees and business partners, they strive to reproduce results seamlessly, fine-tuning and improving management practices when required.

1. You have a ton of places to hide gifts. The hayloft, an unused grain bin, and the baler you won’t be using until next summer are all great places to hide gifts until the big day. Shh, don’t tell my kids.

Whenever anyone says they just “love” snow, I always think, “They never had to get cows milked through a snowstorm.” I am not a total curmudgeon about seeing a few snowflakes, and I do think snow scenes can be pretty, but the reality is: Snow robs many hours each year because farmers have to deal with the snow as an additional chore during an already busy day.