Checking in on former Milk Mustache Contest winners

Once upon a time I would promote a kids' Milk Mustache Contest as a way for our farm to celebrate June Dairy Month. From the best of my recollection, it started around 2006 and ran through 2014. I was curious about what these former winners are up to now, so I reached out to as many of their parents as I had contact information for. Several were gracious enough to share an update I could use for a "Then and Now" promotion, and I have been sharing those across various social media accounts throughout the month.

With Dairy Month now drawing near its end, I've decided to post all of those updates here in one place. My thanks to all the kids (and parents) who participated in this project, as well as everyone who took part in our Milk Mustache Contests over the years.

2014 Milk Mustache Contest Finalists

Only three remain in our 2014 Milk Mustache Contest, and now it is time for you to select this year's champion. As in our opening round match-ups and semifinals, you can vote for your favorite milk mustache photo by clicking like/favorite on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (links are provided below). Voting will remain open through Friday, June 27, with the winner being declared on Saturday, 6/28.  Not only will the winner receive a prize package, but we will also randomly select and send a Gilmer Dairy Farm shirt to one of our Facebook page fans that shared the winning photo during the voting period.

vote on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter

vote on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter

vote on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter

2014 Milk Mustache Contest Semi-Finals

The field for our farm's annual Milk Mustache Contest is now down to five photos. A big thanks to all who voted on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in our five opening round match-ups last week! Charlotte received the most votes and has locked down a place in our Final Round that will run June 25-27. Who will join her? That's for you to decide! 

Our 2nd-5th place vote-getters are listed below and will square off in the semi-finals on Monday (6/23) and Tuesday (6/24). Links to photos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will be listed for each semifinalist on the day of their match-up at 8am, and voting will remain open until 3am the following day. 

Semifinal #1, Monday, June 23:

Isaiah - 25 total votes

Treyson - 68 total votes (advances to finals)

Semifinal #2, Tuesday, June 24:

Rylee - 73 votes (advances to finals)

Shelby - 30 votes

2014 Milk Mustache Contest - Opening round eliminations

The entry period for our annual Milk Mustache Contest is now closed, meaning it's time for you to pick our winner! Ten milk mustache photos have been selected for the "playoffs". We will feature two photos each day this week, and the photo receiving the most cumulative votes via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will advance to next week's championship bracket.

We will seed our five finalists based on their vote totals, and continue in the same manner (votes will be reset each round). Next Monday will be #2 vs #5, with #3 vs #4 on Tuesday. The two advancing finalists will join the #1 seed for a three-way championship final. Voting for these three photos will begin on Wednesday and remain open through Friday. The photo receiving the most votes over that time period will be declared the Gilmer Dairy Farm 2014 Milk Mustache Contest winner on Saturday, June 28.

First Round results:

6/16: Charlotte (96), Cora (53). 

6/17: Treyson (60), Charlie (50)

6/18: Rylee (47), Frances Tate (29)

6/19: Isaiah (27), Sammee (20)

6/20: Shelby (27), Paige & Jenna (12)

2014 Milk Mustache Contest

We are happy to announce that we are now accepting entries for our annual Milk Mustache Contest!

2014 marks the 9th consecutive year our Milk Mustache Contest has served as the highlight of our June Dairy Month celebrations. We are hoping for lots of entries this year, and we are giving you several ways to submit your photo:

• post it directly onto our Facebook page
• email it to gilmerdairy [at] gmail [dot] com
• submit an entry via Instagram or Twitter by using the tag #GDFmmc14 (please also tag user @gilmerdairy)

Please include the first name of the person in your milk mustache photo. Submission implies permission for us to save and repost the image and subject's first name for promotional purposes. All entries must be received no later than June 14, 2014.

The winning photograph will be selected by popular vote in one of two ways, depending on the number of total entries received. If we have enough entries, we will create a bracket-style process that will give you several opportunities to vote for multiple photos. Otherwise we will select a group of semifinalists from which you can select your favorite. We will publish the voting procedure no later than June 16.

People of all ages are invited to participate, and you can enter as an individual or as a group. Be original, be "cute", and let that milk mustache shine bright and true! The winner will receive a dairy-themed prize package and will be featured on our website and various social media accounts. So grab a glass of milk and your camera, say "CHEESE!", and enter our 2014 Milk Mustache Contest today!

2013 Milk Mustache Contest

It's that time of year again...time for our annual Milk Mustache Contest! Last year we received more milk mustache photos than ever before, and we hope you will send in even more this year. To enter, take a photo of you or your child proudly and prominently displaying a milk mustache and either post it to our Facebook page or email it to " gilmerdairy [at] gmail [dot] com ". Be sure you include the first name, age, and home state of the person in the photo!

All entries must be received by Saturday, June 8. Filtered photographs such as Instagram will be accepted, but please do not add special effects or text to the picture. Originality, "cuteness", and milk mustache visibility will be considered during the selection of finalists. We will announce the finalists on June 10 and allow our Facebook fans to vote for their favorite milk mustache photo. Depending on the number of entries, we may also include a semifinal round of voting to select two finalists. The winner will receive a prize and be highlighted as part of our celebration of June Dairy Month.

In years past, we've had winners all the way from North Dakota to south Mississippi. This year, it might just be you...but only if you enter! So grab your camera and a glass of milk, say "CHEESE!!!", and help us celebrate June Dairy Month by entering our annual Milk Mustache Contest!

2012 Milk Mustache Contest Winner

We at Gilmer Dairy Farm are proud to announce that Carly, a six-year-old girl from right here in Alabama, is  our Milk Mustache Contest winner for 2012!

Carly received 202 of the 370 total votes cast last week on our farm's Facebook page. For winning, she'll receive a dairy-themed prize package and will be our "poster child" for the remainder of June Dairy Month.

We would like to thank everyone who submitted a photo for our contest, as well as all the people who took the time to support their favorite milk mustache photo during our fan voting. We are very happy with this year's level of participation, and hope that we get even more photos and votes next year! We'll even begin accepting submissions for next year's contest right away.

Enjoy the remainder of June Dairy Month, and make sure you're getting your "3 Every Day" of milk, cheese, and/or yogurt!

Happy Dairy Month!

It's June, which is of course celebrated as Dairy Month all across this great land of ours!  I hope each of you will celebrate daily with at least three servings of delicious, nutritious milk, cheese, or yogurt. Heck, throw some ice cream in there as well! I promise that if you'll celebrate Dairy Month with "3 Every Day" you'll likely want to keep celebrating year round. That would be awesome (for you and me)!!!

Things are busy, busy, busy here on the farm. We planted our silage corn a couple of weeks ago, and it looks really promising at this early stage. I'm in the process of planing our forage sorghum (which we'll also harvest for silage), and should have half of it planted by the end of the day. Apart from the planting, I've been giving the tractor a workout applying fertilizer and spraying weed killer in and around our various silage fields, hay fields, and pastures.

The downside of June is that it is one of our most expensive months. On one hand we have all the costs associated with growing and harvesting our animals' forages, and on the other we have the reality that milk production (and the price we receive for milk) is going down. This is nothing new, though, so we know how to plan for it.

Speaking of the drop in production, we're getting to the point where we'll be "drying off" pregnant cows nearly every week. Eight left the herd for a two month vacation on Tuesday, and three or four will be following next week. We're currently milking 176 cows, and I can see that number possibly dropping below 160 sometime this summer. Time will tell.

Before I slam one more cup of coffee and go crank up the tractor, I'll leave you with a few tidbits:

• Listen for me and other Southeastern dairy farmers on your local radio stations this month as we share how we're "Dedicated to Dairy" during Dairy Month.
• Speaking of radio, I might be doing a Dairy Month-related radio and/or television interview sometime next week. I'll be sure to let you know once as I get more info.
• Don't forget to click over to our farm's Facebook Page and enter our Milk Mustache Contest. Time's running out, so don't delay!
• Speaking of contests, so me a favor and vote for Mississippi State's Muscadine Ripple Ice Cream this week in Progressive Dairyman's 2012 Flavor Faceoff.

Thanks, and y'all have a "Dairy" good week!

Milk Mustache Contest

Grab a cold glass of milk, say "cheese!", and help us celebrate this year's June Dairy Month by sending us a photo of your best milk mustache! You can either post your photo on our farm's Facebook page or email it to "gilmerdairy [at] gmail [dot] com". 

Be sure you include your name, age, and hometown along with the photo. We will accept entries from May 8 - June 10. If we get several good submissions, we'll post finalists on our Facebook page and let the winner be determined by fan voting. 

Friday farm tidbits

Happy Friday and happy June Dairy Month everyone!  Here are a few tidbits about what's been happening on and around Gilmer Dairy Farm:

It's HOT, Man! - The weather around here has been brutal this week as we've seen record-breaking temperatures push into the upper 90s with afternoon heat indexes well over 100.  We're running 8-10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year, and trust me when I say you can definitely feel the difference.  The cows are feeling it too, despite our best efforts to keep them as cool as possible with fans & sprinklers. More on this in a moment.

the official drought is still to our south

It's DRY, too! - We aren't officially under drought conditions according to the latest US Drought Monitor, but we are eight days past our last rain and have only received a total of 0.4" over the past three weeks.  The soil moisture in our bottom land is still good enough to get our corn growing thanks to a wet winter and spring, but our fertilized hayfields and pastures are basically doing nothing.  We also can't begin planting our forage sorghum crop until we get enough rain to soften the soil.  If there is a bright spot in the dry weather, it is that it's better for the cows. Why? Throw in lots of moisture with this kind of heat, and cows will wallow-out mud holes in the pasture and run a higher risk of mammary infections.

the milk decline is udderly depressing

Milk production is FALLING! - The cows seem to be producing less and less milk every day. The heat is a major factor, but there are a couple of other factors as well. We're entering the summer with the youngest herd (based on avg. lactation number) we've had in 5 years, so our overall potential production isn't quite as high as it would be with older cows. Also, we have the highest average days-in-milk and days-pregnant we've had in 60 months. This means that an average cow in our herd has been milking for over seven months, is 5 months pregnant, and her milk production would naturally be in decline. The heat stress and related loss of feed intake (like most of us, cows don't eat as much when they're hot) speeds up that decline.  Our milking herd currently stands at 186 cows and will continue to shrink to 165-170 until we begin "freshening" more cows than we dry off sometime mid-Summer.

Nutrient & Pest Management - The dry weather has given an opportunity to spread fertilizer on hayfields and kill weeds in a few pastures earlier this week. The last couple of days we've been working on building a 3-point hitch mount for our 30-foot sprayer boom. If all goes well it will be field-ready by the end of the day, and I'll spend much of next week applying a post-emerge rate of Atrazine in our corn fields and glyphosate in our sorghum fields.

me & my boy

Tee-Ball & Graduation - In the "farm family" category, there are a few things that are coming to an end.  School is now out for the summer, so my wife will enjoy being able to stay home for a couple of months. On a side note, I hope this also means that I get a better quality lunch everyday for the next couple of months!  Secondly, our twice-weekly trips to the ball field will be on hold until next spring now that our 5 year old's tee-ball season is over. I had a lot of fun helping coach his team, and it was gratifying to see how much he and his friends improved over the past couple of months. Best of all (and most importantly at their age), the kids seemed to have fun from start to finish. And finally, our son will "graduate" from pre-school tonight, which just happens to be the 11th anniversary of mine & my wife's first date. I'll tell you what, time sure does fly when you're having fun!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and that the weather is agreeable to you wherever you are. Don't forget to celebrate June Dairy Month by enjoying lots and lots of nutritious, delicious dairy products!  And remember...there's only one more week to enter our farm's Milk Mustache Contest.  We've had some great winning photos in the past, and expect the same this year.  If your kid loves milk and you think he or she has what it takes to be our Milk Mustache "poster child" for the next year, hurry up and grab your camera, pour one more cold glass of milk, and get some photos coming my way!

Become a "Friend of Elsie"

June is Dairy Month, and becoming a "Friend of Elsie" is a great way to help us celebrate!

When you visit www.friendsofelsie.com, you'll find lots of good stuff, including a Father's Day-themed bl0g post I wrote as well as lots of recipes.

I'm partial to the Fast Fiesta Cheeseburger...great for tailgating!

Mustache Time

Ever year in celebration of June Dairy Month we hold a Milk Mustache contest. We'll take entries throughout the spring then select three finalists in early June. We named this year's finalists yesterday.

Making the selection was very tough due to the many quality entries, but, just like good cream, these three rose to the top. Anyone who "likes" our farm's Facebook page can help us pick a winner by simply clicking "like" under the photo you think is the best. Fan voting is open through Sunday, June 13, and we'll announce our 2010 winner on the 14th.

Click here to vote!

You Decide 2009 - GDF Milk Mustache Contest!

It was tough just picking three finalists from all of the many good entries in our 2009 Milk Mustache Contest, much less a winner. So, we're asking for your help! Please vote for your favorite Milk Mustache photo on our farm's Facebook page this weekend. The votes will be tallied and the winner will be announced on Monday, June 15!

Celebrate Dairy Month

If you haven't heard, June is Dairy Month! We hope you will help us celebrate by consuming at least 3 servings of dairy products every day. Having milk, cheese, or yogurt as part of your breakfast makes a great start to your day!

We'd also love for you to enter our Milk Mustache Contest! The winning photo will be featured on our farm website and the winner will receive a prize package. Hurry though, because all entries must be received by the end of this Wednesday!

The Dairy Crisis

First and foremost, let me say Happy Dairy Month to all of you reading this! America's dairy farming families have expertly provided safe, healthy, delicious, and affordable milk and dairy products to our consumers for years and continue to do so. Even though many if not most of our nation's dairies have fallen on hard economic times, our commitment to providing quality products has not and will not change. It is our pleasure to serve you, and we have every intention of supplying you with products you can trust and enjoy for years to come.

If you're not familiar with the dairy industry, the way farmers are paid for their milk is pretty complicated...it's not as simple as saying we get x% of retail price. Because there are so many variables involved, it makes our price very volatile and we experience periods of highs and periods of lows. We're currently in a period of very low lows, made worse by the fact that our on-farm expenses are much higher relative to other periods of low milk prices. Many dairy farm families are depleting their cash reserves and even their retirement accounts just to keep the business afloat, and many others have already started borrowing monthly operating capital from lending institutions with the hope that somewhere down the road the price will improve enough to repay their loans. But there's a limit to how much money, reserved or borrowed, a dairy has access to. There's a breaking point somewhere, and though we're not sure where that point is we do know that we're moving closer to it every day.

We have to do something, but what?

There are several ideas being discussed within the industry right now from pricing reform to supply management. Some focus on short-term relief while others promote industry models that would attempt to provide future price stability that would help us avoid these devastating downturns. Finding good solutions won't be easy, either. Differences in markets, geography, farm size, and pricing are just a few of the challenges that will have to be overcome in developing a plan that works for all of us. And we also have to realize that there most likely will not be a single "magic bullet" that will benefit all farms fairly or equally.

But whatever solutions are discussed and ultimately presented as actionable, we in the dairy business will have to do something that's proven difficult over the years: we ALL have to work together and realize that if we don't buck history we will be history.

Welcome to June

Today's the first day of June, and it's a doggone hot start to the sixth month...one of those days you have to put on a fresh pair of socks when you return to the farm after lunch. June is also when we celebrate Dairy Month, but more about that in a later post.

We've only planted 22 acres of a summer crop so far, and have a long way to go be where we need to be. We'll be planting sudex for grazing and hay, sorghum for silage, and we have about 70 acres of bermudagrass that we'll cut for hay as well. Putting the pencil to paper and figuring out what our planting costs will be is proving to be a sickening experience, but I just keep trying to tell myself to focus on the end "cost per ton of drymatter produced" figure which should easily be less than what we would pay for someone else to grow our forages.

We're also beginning to thin out the milking herd, which is typical for us this time of year. We "dried off" ten pregnant cows on Saturday, and those girls are now on good pasture with plenty of grass and shade and won't need any additional feed for a few weeks. We're sending 7 older, lower producing cows into the beef supply tomorrow, and will be drying off an additional 4 by the end of the week. That's a 10% reduction in our milking herd we will have made in a week's period, but these girls are no longer "paying their way" with milk prices as low as they are. Hopefully we'll get a turnaround before too long, but I'm not holding my breath.