Chester Delaware County Farm Bureau salutes local dairies
Summer is not just for baseball games, hot dogs and barbecues but also for enjoying great ice cream, milk shakes and some tasty cheese. Milk and dairy products are an important part of our diet.
We begin drinking milk when we are young but most of us drink much less as we grow older. In fact we are never too old to reap the benefits of drinking milk. It is a great source of calcium, several other minerals, choline and vitamins, including Vitamin D, A, B-6 and B-12.
Milk and dairy products are always available in our local supermarkets. On one or several of our hot summer days, take a trip in to our beautiful countryside and explore some of our local dairy farms that produce milk and dairy products for sale on the premises.
Check the Chester County Local Farm Products Guide at www.CHESCO.ORG/AGDEV for a county map and listing of the dairy farms where you can buy milk products – Baily’s Dairy, Pocopson; Kolb’s Farm Store, Spring City; and Milky Way Farm, Chester Springs.
Try some of the excellent cow, goat and sheep cheeses being produced at our local farms – more details in the Guide and at http://www.chestercountycheese.org/
Food is a very powerful, and perhaps under-appreciated, force in our society. The food we eat and share connects us in moments of joy, and unites us in times of reflection. It’s usually the cornerstone of every social gathering we experience! Holidays wouldn’t be as special without treats and hearty meals. Birthdays just aren’t the same without a cake. And a hot summer day wouldn’t be complete without a cone or bowl of delicious ice cream!
In honor of National Dairy Month, let’s take some time to reflect on the time, talent, and investment of the good people who manage, support, and work in our dairy industry. These men and women dedicate themselves to keeping an industry, which employs over 45,000 Pennsylvanians thriving. They strive to promote the business, economic and educational interests of our members and maintain a leadership role in the agricultural industry and their communities.
Their spirit of compassion, determination, and loyalty aid them as they face the challenges that agriculture continues to face both here in Pennsylvania and across the United States. They face down the challenge of public perception by dedicating time to share their story through media, fairs, and the community programs. They persevere to keep their legislators and stakeholders educated and informed on the goods they provide their community and environment. They are persistent in their goal to improve and grow as a business and family.
National Dairy Month began as “National Milk Month” back in the 1930s, with the goal of stabilizing the demand for milk and milk products. Now it is a time for us to recognize and celebrate the contributions of the dairy industry across the world. Let’s each take this time to appreciate the time, dedication, and sacrifice of our fellow agriculturalists who work so that we may enjoy the bounty of our world.
We have around 280 dairy farms in Chester County and they produce enough milk for all our 510,000 county residents and at least 140,000 in surrounding counties. Most dairy farms sell their milk through co-ops and local bottlers and not directly to the public.
