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!

Spring silage harvest has begun

After making a few "test runs" over the weekend, we are now full-bore into our spring silage harvest. As per normal operating procedure, we will cut our wheat and ryegrass with a hay conditioner and chop it with the forage harvester (silage chopper) a few hours later. We plan on harvesting roughly 75 acres over the next week and a half, weather and equipment permitting. Following the harvest, we will turn our attention to planting sorghum and harvesting our first cutting of bermudagrass hay.

Our silage wagon is still topless after my little accident last Fall.

A dump truck will transport the freshly cut forage
to the silage pit where it will be packed and sealed.

FARMLAND to be screened in Birmingham on 5/1/14

Get ready, Birmingham-area residents! On May 1st, you will get the opportunity to shake the hand that squeezes the teats of cows that make the milk you drink! That's right, I will be in B'ham for a couple of hours that evening and would love to chit-chat with you for a little while. You don't want to pass up this golden opportunity, so go ahead and mark your calendar to come see me at the Regal Trussville Stadium 16 movie theater next Thursday night!

Georgia chicken farmer Leighton Cooley
with documentary crew (courtesy of farmlandfilm.com)

All kidding aside, I will be there in support of something I know you will enjoy. The main event is the public screening of award-winning director James Moll's new documentary Farmland, and the stars of the show are the six young farmers and ranchers who share their passion for agriculture and the challenges they face trying to make a living doing what they love. The film's subjects represent a wide-spectrum of American agriculture, from livestock and poultry to commodity crops to organic produce to community supported agriculture (CSA). I had the good fortune to see Farmland last month, and from a farmer's perspective I thought it was incredible! But even though this film is about people like me, it isn't really "for" people like me. This documentary was made to provide the non-farming public with an intimate glimpse at how our nation's food is raised on a daily basis.

I encourage all of my friends in and around Birmingham to buy a ticket for the "one night only" public screening at 7pm on May 1st. Based on past conversations I've had with many of you about my dairy farm and food production in general, I have no doubt that you would really find this film interesting. The Alabama Farmers Federation will have a table at the theater from 6:00-8:30pm, so come a little bit early. I and perhaps a few other local farmers will be on hand and would love to talk with you about how we grow and raise the food you and your family enjoy.

I look forward to meeting you, and I know you will genuinely enjoy Farmland. See you next Thursday night!