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Do you ever find yourself mindlessly scrolling through television channels trying to find something worthwhile to watch? Or maybe you have your go-to shows to watch but are looking to find something a little bit different. Perhaps you are trying to find something to expand your own knowledge, or possibly even an educational program for your children.

If so, I invite you to tune in to RFD-TV at 8 p.m. Monday to watch “Holstein America.”

For those unable to stream it that evening, the segment will be posted later and can be viewed on www.holsteinusa.com.

“Holstein America” — wow, what a different title, you may think. Let me give you some background information on my recommendation, as well as some of my own personal insight on the topic.

Every day, many of us start our day with coffee. Maybe we add creamer or maybe whole milk. At lunch time, it is not uncommon to have a salad with shredded cheese or a sandwich with sliced cheese. Then, say we end the evening with a big bowl of ice cream.

Do you see anything in common between all of these foods throughout the day? They all contain dairy. Many times, throughout the day we consume dairy products. Not only are these products delicious, in addition they are wholesome, nutrient-dense items that fuel our bodies.

Do you ever wonder where these dairy products and many other foods come from? They all come from farms that are operated by individuals just like you.

Many farms these days are still family-run operations. Farmers work hard day in and day out to create safe, delicious products for consumers to enjoy. With the pandemic still lingering, it may be challenging to get out and do much for entertainment these days.

Over the past several months, many seminars and events have been able to go virtual, which is wonderful so that many people are able to experience new things. With that, as I mentioned above, I invite you to watch “Holstein America.”

This is a segment produced by Holstein Association USA that tours many different registered Holsteins herds throughout the United States and gives one a look into how the everyday farming operations work. Subsequently, it gives the families behind the farms a way to introduce themselves to the public so that consumers are able to make a connection to the faces behind their food.

The Holstein Association is a one of seven dairy breed associations. Holsteins are the most popular dairy breed. This association has been putting out this production for a few years now, and I myself as a producer still find it to be very educational and a wonderful way to see behind the scenes of a farm without having to leave my own home.

In case you are unfamiliar with dairy farming, I will set a little background information for you, so that if you do decide to partake in watching this segment, you will have some general knowledge of how the industry works.

To begin, farms come in all shapes and sizes. Some cattle herds have black-and-white cows (Holsteins), as you will see on the show, but others mat have red-and-white or brown cows. No matter that the color, dairy cattle still produce the same white milk product. 

Some other variations that you may see from farm to farm are whether the cows are milked two, or three times a day. In addition, some cows are fed a TMR (total mixed ration) in which their feed is all blended together much like a cow casserole, while other cows are component-fed and their hay and grain are separate.

All in all, no matter what breed of cow, what their name is or how they are fed, dairy cattle are producing nature’s most nearly perfect food — milk.

I hope that you will consider taking an hour out of your day to tune into this program. I feel that it will be very beneficial to get a look into the family farm and to see just how your food is made from the bottom up.

Finally, it will be very interesting to see the advances that are being made on individual farms, as well as an entire industry to keep up with the ever-changing times and technology to still produce a top-notch product for a reasonable rate to a rapidly growing population, all while still making the most careful choices for the animal’s well-being and doing what’s best for the environment.

Submitted by Julie Holler, a member of the Trumbull County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees.

OFBF Mission:  Working together for Ohio farmers to advance agriculture and strengthen our communities.