Will Gilmer is a dairy farmer in Alabama. He blogs at http://gilmerdairy.blogspot.com. My family gathered together at my parents' home for our traditional Thanksgiving meal on Friday evening. Mom had cooked just about everything one could hope for: turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, rolls, and deviled eggs (I ate eight).

I love the Christmas season and being reminded of the greatest of all gifts to mankind, the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem, even the Christ child. Many sights, sounds, smells and events bring back a flood of good memories of Christmases past. I’ll never forget one Christmas as a young boy, when I was out of touch with the concept of time. I confused the 23rd of December to be Christmas Eve day, waking on the 24th to find out that Christmas was actually the next day. Now that was a long 24 hours, let me tell you.

Stationed in the center of theCollege of Agricultural and LifeSciences on the University of Wisconsin– Madison campus, the Babcock HallDairy Plant not only provides dairyproducts to the surrounding universitybut is also the site of cutting-edgeresearch.

Laird Manufacturing recently marked the opening of its new, state-of-the-art facility with a celebration attended by nearly 400 customers, vendors and associates. The demand for the California-based company’s cattle feed products necessitated the expansion to a facility nearly four times the size of its previous location. When operating at full capacity, the new facility will more than double the current output.