This article that I wrote was written initially for the Michigan Agriculture Council’s Farm Fresh Food Blog. It was posted the last week in July, but I loved it and wanted to share it so much with you. Enjoy and make sure you check out the Farm Fresh Food Blog!
I don’t think anyone has missed the fact that it’s been a hot July. When I said that there isn’t anyone that missed the heat, I am talking about cows too. Believe me, they haven’t missed the heat and humidity either. Sadly, I can’t give all my cows air conditioning even though I wish I could. Even though we can’t air condition the barn, we work very hard to keep our cows as cool and comfortable as possible.
Keeping a 101.5 degree cow cool isn’t an easy feat, but we try very hard to cool them as much as possible. On my family’s farm our most important tool to cool down cows are our fans. I’m not talking the oscillating fan in your house. Our fans are 3 feet by 3 feet in size and these beasts make a breeze. By moving the air over the cows we are pulling the heat away from their body and are evaporating any sweat they have.
Giant fans help our cows beat the heat
Another thing my farm does is make sure the cows have access to clean, cool water. Just like us, cows get dehydrated in the extreme cold and heat. On my family’s farm we have tried to put water in every possible place we can, that even means making some extra water troughs that we could put throughout the barn.
These cows enjoy a cool drink at one of the extra water troughs we add to the barn in hot weather.
Although the hot weather is hard on all of us, making sure our cows are as cool and comfortable as possible is our number one priority. In honor of this hot weather I thought I’d share a cool treat for you to enjoy on these hot days. I said in one of my first posts that I love smoothies and I love them even more on hot sticky days! This is a delicious, cool and easy treat that the whole family will love.
Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie (from the Food Network)
Blend 2 cups strawberries, 1 cup crumbled pound cake, 1 1/2 cups each milk and ice, and sugar to taste. Top with whipped cream and more strawberries.
