Girls Day Out???

As almost any girl will tell you, one of the most popular outings on a "girls day out" is a quick trip to the local nail salon for a group mani-pedi! I personally don't like getting my nails painted just because my hands are constantly getting dirt and I my toes are always hiding in boots, but the massage and nail care is a luxury that is not lost on me! It is actually very good for your hands and feet to get that special treatment every now and then as it promotes good nail health and foot hygiene--I'm looking at you, boys. Something I bet you didn't know about mani-pedis though, is that diary cows get them too!

The above picture shows a cow getting her hooves trimmed! Some dairy farmers to it semi-annually, but on our farm we have hoof trimmers come in once a year to get our girls' feet into tip-top shape! The machine you see in the picture may look horrible and scary, but it is actually very safe and keeps the cow and trimmers from getting hurt while the girls are being pampered. The cow walks into the shoot, she is secured in place by two very strong straps placed under her belly, and then the shoot tilts onto its side. The trippers then secure the cow's feet to keep her from kicking, which can potentially hurt the trimmers and the cow. It takes them about 3-4 minutes to trim up the cow's hooves into a healthy, clean state then back to the ground for Bessie and off she goes back to her feed bunk for a snack! The whole herd gets this treatment and it takes a whole day to get everyone done!

Hoof trimming is something that farmers invest in because it helps keep the cows from having foot issues that can cause them to become lame. Hooves are like nails in that they are constantly growing and if they go completely unchecked, they can get over grown and cause the cow discomfort when walking. Also, just like people, they can get cracks in their hooves that are very painful if the hooves aren't taken care of properly. In the industry today, most milking cows live in barns with concrete floors so foot health is very important to maintain because anything that could be wrong would only be made worse by the hard flooring. Many farms will call out trimmers for spot jobs when they have a cow with a bad hoof crack or anything that might be causing her discomfort when moving around.

Most farmers also use foot baths that the girls walk through on their way into or out of the milking parlor that are meant to dry out their hooves and keep them from getting cracks/sores from being overly moist. This is a very effective way to promote good hoof health in general in your herd, and the girls don't really even seem to notice the foot baths. The concrete barns are completely cleaned of any urine or waste material 2-3 times a day, but their hooves do still get dirty--just as they would in pasture--so the foot baths are very important to minimizing any hoof related problems. Dairy cows use a lot of energy to make milk thus they eat a lot. If their hooves are uncomfortable they get up to eat less. If they get up to eat less they produce less milk. For this reason, as well as all other production practices used, dairy farmers like to keep hooves healthy because it keeps their girls happy and happy cows make more milk! Herd health and comfort is always a top priority on dairy farms and thus, our girls get pampered like the dairy queens that they are!

So the next time you go out with all your girl friends to get that much needed mani-pedi, just remember that you aren't the only one that enjoys such luxuries! So do dairy cows!!

What is Hunger?

Did you know that September was National Hunger Awareness month? If you did, then you one upped me because I sure didn't. As a matter of fact, the only reason I even found out about it is because the scholarship program that I am participating in did a challenge revolving around National Hunger Awareness month this past week. Personally, I have always found the issue of hunger to be one that I have a hard time really connecting to. It may sound bad, but I feel like it is an issue that many people are desensitized to because they don't actually see it happening. We occasionally see the commercial about the hungry children in Africa, but it is so easy to see that and dismiss it because it isn't happening Here. It isn't happening in Our town or Our city or Our county. Well this week I realized that we are wrong. I am wrong. Hunger is something that is happening all over the United States and affecting millions of people a year. Did you know that 45% of SNAP (food stamp) participants are under the age of 18? Another 9% are 60 years of age or older.

Granted, those are just numbers and we once again are falling into the realm of desensitization. Anyone can read numbers. Numbers aren't what pull at your heart strings. Numbers and facts aren't what make most people realize the importance of most issues. It is being placed into the reality of the issue; that is what sways people's hearts and minds. This week I was placed in just such a situation with the issue of hunger. Tyson Foods sponsored the weekly challenge for the College Aggies Online scholarship program this past week. They challenged us to participate in the SNAP Benefit Challenge, which requires participants to commit to eating all of their meals from a limited food budget comparable to that of a SNAP participant - $1.50 per meal - for at least TWO days.

Take just a minute and let that sink in because if you are anything like me then your reaction to that price limit was something along the lines of, "WHAT!? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?! IT CAN'T BE POSSIBLE!!!" But the fact of the matter is that it is possible. Most SNAP participants are on a food budget of about $4.50/ person per day. When you think about how much you spend on one meal at most restaurants, the idea of eating for a whole day on only four dollars and fifty cents is a little staggering. However, I decided to participate in this challenge just to see if it was really as bad or as hard as it sounded like it would be. As per requirements of the challenge, I needed to have a receipt for all of the food I ate during the two days, so off to Kroger I went.

Being the unexperienced college grocery shopper that I am, it took me a good bit of thinking before I figured out how to work each mean to fit under my budget. It also greatly narrowed the variety of food that I normally eat. I am a very active and busy person, so I prefer frozen foods that I can quickly throw in the oven when I get home and require very little prep time. Well, there was still very little prep time with the foods I bought, but frozen foods definitely didn't fit into my budget. For two days in a row I lived on yogurt and granola for breakfast, a PB&J and milk for lunch, and spaghetti and water for dinner; all at their recommended portion sizes as listed on the nutrition labels. 

Coming from a girl that is used to regularly snacking, loves her produce, and rarely stops for a break during the day, having to go two whole days on very plain, small, and not overly nutritional meals was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. I have not ever been truly hungry before in my life. Not really. Sure I get hungry in-between meal, but that isn't Real hunger. That isn't the kind of hunger that would be satisfied by anything, anything at all as long as you could eat it. I didn't even experience real hunger over the two days of this challenge. For the first time ever though, I ate and wasn't satisfied. I left each meal still hungry and wishing there was more to eat. I very easily could have cheated--I have four roommates so my house is full of food--but once I realized that this challenge wasn't going to be as easy as I had originally thought, I was determined to see it through.

I live in Athens-Clark County, Georgia. Thirty-five percent of the county lives below the poverty line.  Hunger is here. It is here in this city that I have grown to love so much over my time here as a student at UGA. However, after this challenge, after realizing what it is like to struggle to focus because my stomach is growling, after realizing that even as a young adult I am not immune to my body's need for adequate amounts of nutritious foods; I can no longer pretend that my love for this city stops at the edge of campus. My love can no longer only encompass the students who can afford $2,000 a semester for unlimited amounts of gourmet food in buffet lines.

I encourage you to look around yourself and see if you actually know what hunger is. Hunger could be the man you pass every day on the way to work. Hunger could be the old woman that smiles and waves every time you walk into the grocery store. Hunger could be the little boy that sits next to your son or daughter on the bus every afternoon on the way home from school. Hunger is real and it is something that affects people all around you, every single day. Do not be fooled into thinking that your life and the people you encounter are immune to this. I am not trying to talk you into joining the peace corps or trying to single handedly end world hunger, I am simply asking you to be aware and to CARE about the people around you. Donate to food pantries, volunteer in a soup kitchen, buy a meal for the man holding that cardboard sign.

I now know what hunger is, and it has truly changed the way I see the world around me. Look up and let it transform your perspective too! We can make a difference one helping hand at a time!