Friday, August 17, 2012

Farm Families Feeding Families

By Sarah the Intern

Indiana’s Family of Farmers has set a goal to donate over 3,000 pounds of food to Feeding Indiana’s Hungry this year, and we can’t do it without your help!  We will donate one pound for every person who completes the Recipe Trail at the State Fair.  This is how it works:  Eight recipes (including one for Layered Turtle Cheesecake that looks amazing) are spread around the fairgrounds- 3 in the DuPont Food Pavilion,
1 in the Farm Bureau Building,

1 at the Pathway to Water Quality,

1 at the Habitat for Humanity build site,

1 at BeanGo Land,

 and 1 at the Normandy Barn.

After you have collected all eight, bring them back to the Indiana Family of Farmers booth.

There we will give you a heat-resistant silicone basting brush AND you get to keep the recipes!  The recipe cards are recipes from real Indiana farmers and include wine pairings!  You also have the opportunity to sign up to win free cheese or a new freezer at the booth.  We hope to see you soon with a stack of recipe cards in your hand!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

New Name and New Direction

By Sarah the Intern
Professional chefs, farmers, and fairgoers are all flocking to the DuPont Food Pavilion this year.  Formerly the Pioneer Our Land Pavilion, the building traded out the cockroach races and neuter demonstrations for a kitchen stage perfect for professional cooking demonstrations and a market featuring Indiana Grown and Indiana Artisan products this year.
Every day from nine to nine the building is open for business and open for sampling.  The creators of the products included in the market (including Just Pop In gourmet popcorn, brandy infused maple syrup, flavored marshmallows, and many more!) as well as the Indiana Family of Farmers offer samples throughout the day.  The Family of Farmers booth is staffed by a different group each day and changes all the time. 

Purdue Extension is also having a ton of fun with To My Plate and Beyond- a totally free interactive exhibit that teaches nutrition lessons to all ages, and the cheese sculpture at the dairy booth is looking good so far!

The renovated pavilion offers food, fun, and a lot of information about our food from farm gate to plate.  Be sure to try the great food and visit us in the newest addition to the state fair!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Family Fun at the Fair

By Sarah the Intern


The Indiana State Fair is fun for all ages!  The following are events, exhibits, and other excitement that you will not want to miss with your children at the fair.
The Wonder Trail.  Kids can earn prizes as they learn about agriculture on their Wonder Trail journey around the fair.  Visitors can pick up the information and the map in the Indiana Farm Bureau building to begin the adventure!
Book Readings with Buttercup.  Buttercup the cow has an exciting story to share every day at 6:00 in front of the Dairy Bar.  She will even be giving away and signing books!
Little Hands on the Farm.  Kids up to age twelve are welcome to try their hand at farming as they make their way through this exhibit in the Family Fun Park.

FREE Baby Bottle Fill-Ups!  Yep, you read that correctly!  The Dairy Bar fills up baby bottles with milk absolutely free of charge.
Cowtown USA.  This exhibit in the Family Fun Park lets visitors milk cows and participate in every step from cow to tasting of cheese, butter, and milk.  It’s open from 9-8 every day!
BeanGo.  Stop by BeanGo Land to learn about some of Indiana’s most important crops and to win great prizes (including free ice cream)!

Fuel Up to Play 60.  Let them burn some energy in this tent as they learn the importance of exercise.  They can take away some giveaways along with their new knowledge!
The Pioneer Village.  Watch demonstrations of pioneer life that vary from music to quilting to dairy farming, and maybe pick up some penny candy on your way out!

The state fair facilitates learning and a whole lot of fun!  From our Family to yours, have a great day at the fair!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Table Talk: Cool Treats and Grilled Meats

Summer is sizzling on. The temperatures are high and the days are long. We are all looking for ways to keep cool. What are two ways to beat the heat in the kitchen? The grill and frosty treats!

The Indiana Table Talk Contributors have been freezing and grilling up a storm and are kind enough to share all the recipes with you!

Michelle at Gotchya Baby gives us the 5 step recipe for Tin Foil Potatoes that she uses while her kitchen is closed for the summer.


Krista over at Everyday Mom's Meals includes her son on the fun of making homemade popsicles that are sure to be a treat for everyone in the family!



Angie at Just Like The Number shares with us the magic meal appeal of summer in her Grilled Marinated Flank Steaks.


Sarah at Redefining Perfect is enticing all her neighbors over to her backyard with her Quick Pop Bar.



Beth at In Good Cents lets us in on the recipes for her Garlic Butter Vegetable Rub and Ragin Cajun Rub . Be careful how much Cayenne Pepper goes into the Cajun Rub, or you might be playing the same game as Beth's family!


Beth also shares with us her adventures with her Zoku as she makes her Chocolate Chip Malted Milk Ice Pops.


Heather at Inexpensively continues to celebrate National Dairy Month all summer long as she teaches her teen life skills and whips up quick and easy pizzas on the grill.

Whether it is meat, veggies or pizzas on the grill or a tasty frozen treat for dessert, our Table Talk Contributors prove that enjoying summer time foods is fun!

Monday, August 6, 2012

State Fairgoers: Feed The Hungry and Your Family


Indiana’s Family of Farmers Recipe Trail offers daily giveaways and a chance to give back. 
If you follow the Indiana’s Family of Farmers (IFOF) Recipe Trail at the State Fair this year you will help feed the hungry and win a prize.

For each person who collects all nine recipe cards along the trail, IFOF will work with Feeding Indiana’s Hungry (FIsH) to donate one pound of food to food banks across Indiana. A total of 2,000 pounds of food was donated last year. This year’s goal is 3,000 pounds.
“The members of Indiana’s Family of Farmers are invaluable partners in the mission of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry and its 11 regional food banks to feed those in need,” said Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry.  “At a time when one is six Hoosiers is at risk of hunger, and the number of Indiana children is as high as one in four, the assistance of the agricultural community is crucial in getting food from the farm to the tables of those in our community most in need of assistance.”
To help, participants just need to collect recipe cards from 8 locations around the Fairgrounds and bring them to the Family of Farmers booth at the DuPont Food Pavilion. There, they will collect their 9th card and win a special prize for completing the trail and have a chance to register for the daily dairy giveaway and the grand prize of a Frigidaire® chest freezer.
Recipe card locations
  • Pathways to Water Quality
  • Indiana Farm Bureau Building
  • Soybean Statue Garden in BeanGoLand
  • Habitat Ag Home
  • Normandy Barn
  • DuPont Food Pavilion (3 locations; Indiana Wine and Grape Council, Indiana Dairy booth, Purdue)
  • Final Stop: Indiana Family of Farmers Booth at the DuPont Food Pavilion
(Maps available on the IFoF website and on the Fairgrounds)

Rules
  • Start at any location and travel to the nine destinations to collect recipe cards.
  • Redeem your recipes and sign up for prizes at the IFOF booth in the DuPont Food Pavilion.
  • Winners of the daily giveaway are selected by a random drawing at the close of each day of the Fair.
  • One winner of the Frigidaire® chest freezer will be selected by a random drawing on the last day of the fair.
  • Winners will be notified by email or phone.
The IFOF’s recipe cards will feature recipes from real Hoosier farmers and highlight Indiana food products such as pork, beef, poultry, soybeans, corn, lamb, fish and dairy.  Each recipe includes an Indiana wine pairing. On the flip side of the cards, State Fairgoers will meet the farmer and read a personal food story from his or her family.
More information about the 2012 Recipe Trail is on the IFOF’s website. Indiana farmers grow the grains, produce and meat you eat every day. We believe that quality farming means quality food that is good for you, your family and the environment. Food for your family, from our family.

Friday, August 3, 2012

It’s the Year of Dairy …Cow can you miss it?!?

Yummy grilled cheese sandwiches and creamy milkshakes at the Dairy Bar are always one of the Indiana State fairgoers must stops! This year, the Indiana State Fair celebrates the value of the dairy industry to Hoosiers with the “Year of Dairy Cows.” Each year, since 2007, the Indiana State Fair has highlighted a certain commodity group, like corn, tomatoes and soybeans. This year the feature is dairy cows. Of course this brings many opportunities of cow puns and décor with cow spots.  

For example:
This year’s State Fair will be Moovelous! ... Or how about…You have to try our new milkshake, the lemon chiller, it is Udderly delicious!
But what people might not be aware of is that dairy brings a great economic benefit to Indiana. There are more than 1,500 dairy farms in Indiana housing 176,000 cows.  These dairy farms produce about 3.5 billion pounds of milk, accounting for nearly $500 million in milk production each year. Hoosiers with a sweet tooth will be proud that Indiana ranks second nationally in ice cream production.
It’s Indiana dairy farmers’ time to shine and talk about their nutritious, wholesome product they work so hard to produce – milk. They are dedicated to and passionate about taking care of their animals and the land. 
This year’s fair will be one of the most “action packed” fairs in the event’s 156 year history with more to see and do around the grounds than ever before.  You can go to the fair's website to check out the list of daily events.
Also make sure you take a peek at this State Fair map that shows all the places dairy will be throughout the fairgrounds. The Fair runs from August 3-19 – you Butter not miss it!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

What Dairy Farmers Want You to Know About Dairy Farming




 “Few other occupations require the passion and commitment that dairy farming does.  Time management and dedicated best management practices are essential for a sound and efficient operation. Managing an operation with enough scale to allow for individual time away for family members is critical for personal family involvement. However, a dairy quickly becomes a family venture as it allows for family members of all ages to be involved at a level that their age and development provides. It's easy to see why dairy farms are nearly all family farms because of the close ties they bring to families.” –Dave Forgey, Logansport, Indiana
“Dairy farmers work hard to make sure the animals are well taken care of and as a result produce nutritious dairy products for consumers.  We also strive to send a safe product to the consumer.  We love our animals!  Without them we would not be where we are today.  They give us a reason to get up every day and make sure they are healthy, fed right, and properly managed, so we can keep being a part of such a wonderful industry!” –Abbie Herr, Kendallville, Indiana

“I want the general public to realize the commitment we as dairy farmers have made to produce a safe, quality product in a responsible manner.” –Kerry Estes, Fountaintown, Indiana

“I want people to think about how hard the farmers work to make milk - and to remember that what your family drinks is the same yummy product that I am feeding to my children. I want them to come and visit to see how the cows have it better than me most days!” –Susan Troyer, Goshen, Indiana

“Nearly every activity that we do on the dairy is centered around one common goal:  To make the cows lives a little more comfortable.  We help to achieve this level of comfort in many ways, by providing:  a fresh balanced diet of hay, corn, vitamins and minerals every single day, fresh clean water to drink, a meticulously groomed bed of sand to sleep on, big fans to keep air fresh and cool, and a water sprinkler shower on hot days.” –Nathan Kuehnert, Fort Wayne, Indiana