Cow Appreciation Day

National Cow Appreciation Day is today! I know I posted on Facebook about this Friday as some had declared that the day, but I’m hearing again that it’s today. And hey who doesn’t like appreciating cows, so might as well do it again today!!

Honestly where would we be without dairy? I personally, and not just because I am a dairy farmer love dairy products! Where would we be without milk for our cereal, coffee, for baking? Or delicious products like ice cream, yogurt and cheese? I really can’t imagine a world without ice cream, really think about that for a minute! And all that goodness is thanks to the hard working bovine Ladies that call dairy farms their home! These homes where their every need is met and exceeded and every day is Cow Appreciation Day!

Guernseys have been a part of our family for 60 years now!

While we can all appreciate the goodness that all dairy Ladies give us, I wanted to spend today’s post appreciating the special and unique qualities of the brown and white Guernsey Ladies that call our farm home! So here’s my favorites of why I appreciate the Guernsey Cow:

 Guernseys milk is appropriately called Golden Guernsey milk due to an exceptionally high content of beta carotene, which gives it a rich golden yellow color. I need to get a picture of the milk sometime when the milk tank is full, Guernsey milk really does have a beautiful golden hue to it! Beta carotene is also a great source of vitamin A, which has been touted to help reduce the risks of certain cancers.

Guernseys milk is also high in butterfat and protein, putting Guernseys as one of the component breeds. On average our herd’s milk is at about 4.5% fat and 3.3% protein.

To continue with the special and unique qualities of the milk, Guernseys are known to be the highest percentage producers of A2 milk of any breed. A2 refers to the type of beta-casein protein. All cows produce either A1 or A2 (or a combination)  beta-casein protein in their milk. All cows (going way back to domestication) used to only produce A2 beta-casein milk and the newer A1 beta-casein protein is what is believed to be linked to dairy intolerance issues. This is relatively new information to the consumer and dairy farmer, and most hype has followed the release of Keith Woodford’s Devil in the Milk, in 2007. But as a breed Guernseys are almost 90% A2 producers. The A2 discussion is definitely something we are watching for future developments, especially from a marketability standpoint as Australia, New Zealand and the UK are currently selling a2 milk. If this is of interest to you I encourage you to ask questions and explore the topic more!

Combine these three qualities of Guernsey milk and you can see why we enjoy and are proud of being a 100% Guernsey herd!

To really be literal, I appreciate Guernseys being brown and white! I mean come one, who wants to go color blind looking at black and white cows all day when you can enjoy all the shades from fawn and tan to red and mahogany brown. Just look at how pretty they look out there in the green grass!

I also love their beauitful brown eyes and gorgeous eyelashes! Seriously women out there if you want to be jealous of anybodies eyelashes, we should all be jealous of cows!

And their pink noses. Guernseys are known for predominately having pink noses, most other breeds sport black noses. Jellacy here kind of has a combo with some super cute spots!

More then anything I enjoy their disposition. As a whole Guernseys are known for being the most laid back and easily manageable of the cow breeds. Mellow and easy going, I can definitely attest to that, and would even go to say our herd is lazy! Everyone just wants a pet or scratch whenever you go to move them anywhere. Makes the simplest tasks take that much longer to make sure everyone gets their love!

I appreciate Jesusita, because she’s my favorite!!  Don’t tell the others!