Farm Life
2023 Green Pastures Award Winner – Green Valle Farm
The Maine Green Pastures Program committee visited two dairy farms in July 2023, and they selected Green Valle Farm for the 2023 Maine Dairy Farm and Family of the Year (Green Pasture Award). The Green Valle Farm began when the Miller’s settled in Newburg, ME, in the mid-1850s. Linwood and Myron Miller, Heath’s grandfather and … Continued
2022 Green Pastures Award Winner – Paine Farm
The Maine Green Pastures committee visited two Maine dairy farms on Friday, July 1, 2022, and selected Paine Farm as the recipient of the 2022 Maine Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year. The Paine’s will represent Maine dairy farmers over the next year. Dean and Juanita Paine are the current owners of this outstanding dairy … Continued
10 THINGS I LEARNED FROM DAIRY FARMERS IN MAINE
By Amelia Sullivan, BS, Maine Dairy and Nutrition Council Dietetic Intern As a Dietetic Intern, you learn several unique things – like how to write a nutrition support prescription or how many FTEs you may need if you’re a manager. Each day in the internship is a new day full of the potential to … Continued
Dairy Resources for Fair Organizations
Feel free to use these materials and resources for your dairy displays for fairs – or any other occasion where you want to highlight dairy! Nutrition Resources highlighting the nutritional benefits of dairy. 13 Nutrients in Milk Infographic Dairy Foods Close Nutrient Gaps Recipe Cards Recipes that have the ability to be printed out as … Continued
Cow Comfort in Cold Weather
Hopefully you’ve been able to weather this arctic blast inside with your feet warming by the fire. If you’re a dairy cow in Maine, well, you probably stayed warmer than the farmers taking care of you. Chase’s Organic Dairy Farm I checked in with Laura Chase of Chase’s Organic Dairy Farm up north in Mapleton … Continued
2021 Green Pasture Award Winner – Harris Farm
Dairy farming isn’t just milking cows, scooping poop, and taking care of cows and calves. Much of a farmer’s year is spent in the fields, prepping the ground, planting and harvesting feed for cattle. When you rely on yourself and the land to grow the majority of feed for your animals, it can be difficult … Continued
What People Have to Say
Maine Dairy and Nutrition Council works with schools across the state, offering grants each year for needed school nutrition equipment.
Tina Fabian, RSU 3
The milk barrels were a fun and engaging marketing tool to showcase milk. Displaying them at the end of our serving line had a noticeable impact, encouraging more students to choose milk with their meals. We sincerely appreciate the support of the Maine Dairy Council in helping make this possible!
Denise Tapley, RSU 89
The coolers were extremely useful to our program, besides use in the regular summer program. The kids thought they were super cool and awesome looking! We appreciate your organization so much and love our coolers.
Wendy McDonald, Orrington and Dedham
The students love seeing the milk in the milk barrels and picking it up themselves. They like that the milk is so cold- that has really surprised them how cold the barrels keep the milk.
Ellen Dore, RSU 16
As always, the Maine Dairy Council goes above and beyond to help Maine children receive the nutrition they need. RSU 16 has benefited from their help and guidance for many years. From smoothie blenders to milk barrels and of course my personal favorite the red summer feeding cooler bags!! Our kiddos always recognize the round cow barrels mean grab a milk to start your meal!
Cyndi Kimball, Easton
This piece of equipment is the coolest—both figuratively and literally. The students truly enjoy having access to the yogurt bar, especially with the fresh fruit mix-ins. Honestly, we didn’t realize just how much yogurt we were going through until we saw the distributor’s numbers. It's clearly a big hit!
Tammy Conners, RSU 74
We have been fortunate to be able to receive coolers when needed for many years. The coolers are a must to serve meals off site and away from our cafeterias (summer meals, field trips or simply spring picnics outside.) The size is much safer for staff to carry than a large chest cooler and we do pack reasonably even though the coolers can hold a full crate of milk. Your support is very much appreciated!
