T he Florida Department of Education and the Dairy Council of Florida agree that the basic components in maintaining good health and eliminating health disparities begins with the ability to read, write and comprehend letters and numbers. To reinforce this message they created the Health Literacy in the Classroom Volunteer Reading Project. Throughout Literacy Week, more than 5,000 SunnyBell books were distributed to schools and libraries across the state to help spread a positive dairy message to thousands of students. The volunteer reading project encouraged members of the community to visit pre-K, kin- dergarten and/or first grade classrooms across the state and read “SunnyBell’s Florida Dairy Farm Adventure” to the students. The book teaches kids the importance of drinking milk to provide energy for physical activity and healthy living. Events were held throughout Literacy Week at several schools including Nova Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary in Davie, Goldsboro Elementary in Sanford and Timber Creek High School in Orlando. Students from two of the schools were treated to a visit from a very special guest reader. Florida’s First Lady Ann Scott read to hun- dreds of students at Timber Creek High School while Florida’s State Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong visited Nova Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary and shared an important message with the kids about healthy eating and exercise. First Quarter 2015 The Newsletter of Florida Dairy Farmers floridamilk.com Celebrate Literacy Week gets a dairy touch T V news reporters took their positions in the front row of the auditorium at First Coast High School in Jacksonville recently to watch Florida Dairy Farmers present the state’s most prestigious athletic honor. Putnam County dairy farmer Jim Frazel pre- sented De’Andre Johnson with the 2014 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football Award. After the presentation, Johnson and his team- mates took part in a ceremonial milk toast led by Frazel. The buzz surrounding the presentation carried on throughout the day, as all of Jackson- ville’s major TV affiliates ran news stories that brought FDF and raised glasses of milk to count- less households throughout the market. Johnson, an early enrollee at Florida State University, threw for 11,697 yards, 131 touch- downs and had 23 rushing TDs during his high school career. He also posted an impressive 62 percent completion percentage on 686-of-1,105 pass attempts. The Florida Dairy Farmers High School Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farm- ers’ commitment to the state’s youth, honoring the state’s top athletes and coaches in all 30 FHSAA sanctioned and recognized sports. Since 1992, the program has honored more than 5,000 student athletes and emphasizes to young people the importance of keeping dairy foods a primary part of their diet. Star Jacksonville quarterback named Mr. Football state surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong answers student’s questions after reading “sunnyBell’s Florida Dairy Farm Adventure” to their class. First Lady Ann scott reads to students as part of Celebrate Literacy Week in January. Join us at the 2015 regional meetings T he 2015 regional producer meetings are scheduled for April 16 near Mayo and April 23 in Sebring. The program will be the same at each meeting so you can come to the location that is most con- venient for you. Each meeting will include a reception and dinner. Putnam County dairyman Jim Frazel presents De’Andre Johnson with the 2014 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football Award. H H Save the Dates
Transcript
The Florida Department of Education and the Dairy Council of Florida agree that the basic components in maintaining good health and
eliminating health disparities begins with the ability to read, write and comprehend letters and numbers. To reinforce this message they created the Health Literacy in the Classroom Volunteer Reading Project.
Throughout Literacy Week, more than 5,000 SunnyBell books were distributed to schools and libraries across the state to help spread a positive dairy message to thousands of students.
The volunteer reading project encouraged members of the community to visit pre-K, kin-dergarten and/or first grade classrooms across the state and read “SunnyBell’s Florida Dairy Farm Adventure” to the students. The book teaches kids the importance of drinking milk to provide energy for physical activity and healthy living.
Events were held throughout Literacy Week at several schools including Nova Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary in Davie, Goldsboro Elementary in Sanford and Timber Creek High School in Orlando. Students from two of the schools were treated to a visit from a very special guest reader.
Florida’s First Lady Ann Scott read to hun-dreds of students at Timber Creek High School while Florida’s State Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong visited Nova Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary and shared an important message with the kids about healthy eating and exercise.
First Quarter 2015 The Newsletter of Florida Dairy Farmers
floridamilk.com
Celebrate Literacy Week gets a dairy touch
TV news reporters took their positions in the front row of the auditorium at First Coast High School in Jacksonville recently to watch
Florida Dairy Farmers present the state’s most prestigious athletic honor.
Putnam County dairy farmer Jim Frazel pre-sented De’Andre Johnson with the 2014 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football Award.
After the presentation, Johnson and his team-mates took part in a ceremonial milk toast led by Frazel. The buzz surrounding the presentation carried on throughout the day, as all of Jackson-ville’s major TV affiliates ran news stories that brought FDF and raised glasses of milk to count-less households throughout the market.
Johnson, an early enrollee at Florida State University, threw for 11,697 yards, 131 touch-downs and had 23 rushing TDs during his high school career. He also posted an impressive 62 percent completion percentage on 686-of-1,105 pass attempts.
The Florida Dairy Farmers High School Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farm-ers’ commitment to the state’s youth, honoring the state’s top athletes and coaches in all 30 FHSAA sanctioned and recognized sports. Since 1992, the program has honored more than 5,000 student athletes and emphasizes to young people the importance of keeping dairy foods a primary part of their diet.
Star Jacksonville quarterback named Mr. Football
state surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong answers student’s questions after reading “sunnyBell’s Florida Dairy Farm Adventure” to their class.
First Lady Ann scott reads to students as part of Celebrate Literacy Week in January.
Join us at the 2015 regional meetings
The 2015 regional producer meetings are scheduled for April 16 near Mayo and April 23 in Sebring. The program
will be the same at each meeting so you can come to the location that is most con-venient for you. Each meeting will include a reception and dinner.
Putnam County dairyman Jim Frazel presents De’Andre Johnson
with the 2014 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football Award.
If you’ve ever taken a drive down Interstate 10 in North Florida, you might have noticed a dairy almost exactly halfway between Jack-
sonville and Tallahassee. The sprawl of lush green land on both sides of the highway near the U.S. Route 90 exit in Suwannee County is just a small glimpse of a dairy that’s owned and operated by the Henderson family.
The Hendersons have been dairy farming for five generations and their current operation is the beautiful and expansive Shenandoah Dairy in Live Oak. But this large and ultra-efficient farm comes from deep farming roots and humble beginnings in the Midwest.
In the 1950s, James and Carol Henderson worked small dairies in Ohio before relocat-Michele Cooper, CEO
Vanessa Hodak, Vice President of Dairy Health and Wellness
Tracey Lager, Vice President of Finance and Administration
Noel Perkins, Vice President of Communications
Shenandoah Dairy: Five generations of family farming
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Ed Henderson
For the second straight year, Florida Dairy Farmers sponsored and participated in the Food Blog Forum in Orlando. The conference brought together more
than 125 of the nation’s most respected food bloggers and showcased some of the area’s top restaurants, chefs and cuisine.
FDF used the conference as an opportunity to teach the highly influential bloggers about Florida’s thriving dairy industry and discuss ways to work together to pro-mote a positive dairy message. Throughout the weekend, FDF received national exposure on social media and was recognized alongside brands like Kitchen Aid and OXO.
Food bloggers converge on Florida and talk dairy
Bloggers were treated to numerous dairy-filled treats throughout the conference.
Amidst the excitement around the new head football coach at the University of Florida, Florida Dairy Farmers gave some young fans the ultimate all-access experience during the 2015 Jr. Gator Breakfast with Coach Jim McElwain.
Six-year-old Kru Casey won the Jr. Gator Fan of the Game contest by receiving the most online votes for his photo taken at last season’s UF football game against LSU.
Casey and several friends made their way to Gainesville to visit with Coach McElwain over a delicious, dairy-filled breakfast. After the meal, the enthusiastic Jr. Gators took a tour of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the UF athletic facilities.
The breakfast was a huge hit on social media, as tweets about the event from Coach McElwain, UF and FDF reached more than 270,000 Twitter users. The contest preceding the breakfast also boosted FDF’s web traffic, generating 1,900 page views on FloridaMilk.com.
ing to Bradenton, Fla. in 1960. They lived and worked there for 27 years while raising seven children before moving to the family’s current location in Live Oak in 1987.
The farming operation that moved from Bradenton to Live Oak didn’t look anything like today’s farm except for one key facet: It was, and still is, run by family members. The current group of family members overseeing the dairy consists of James and Carol, sons Ed, Ted and Fred, daughter Carolee and son-in-law Gerald. The next crop of farm leaders includes Ed’s sons James and Dominic, Ted’s daughters Tori, Taylor, Terrah and Tania and Fred’s son Luke.
If it seems like a large ensemble, that’s because it takes an entire family to manage the day-to-day operation of a farm of Shenandaoh’s size. What began with 100 cows on 160 acres in 1987 has grown to more than 3,700 cows on 2,750 acres today. Growth and continued suc-cess has allowed for the addition of more staff and more specialized areas of responsibility.
“We try to encourage family members and staff alike to help us make a place for the future and continue to grow the farm,” says Ed Henderson.
Today Shenandoah employs nearly 90 workers
on three shifts, every day of the week and they account for some pretty amazing productivity. Milking 3,200 cows three times a day is only one function of the operation because Shenandoah also grows an abundance of crops that supply much of the feed for their cattle. They produce around 65,000 tons of crops per year.
Shenandoah Dairy is a model of efficiency because of its mix of high-tech methods and traditional techniques. By utilizing GPS guid-ance on their tractors they maintain precise records of crop planting and harvesting while computerized feed tracking allows for a com-prehensive look at exactly how those crops are being consumed. In the parlor, individual cow identification and automated prepping streamlines the milking process and keeps track of each cow’s performance and health.
Even with all of the responsibilities involved with managing a thriving dairy, the Hender-sons still manage to participate in several com-munity organizations and have deep roots in the surrounding Live Oak area. They stay active in the church, Future Farmers of America, the Suwannee County Fair and the Farm Bureau.
The family has taken a special interest in Live Oak’s annual Christmas on the Square event which has grown exponentially in the past few
years. The family’s involvement, spearheaded by Carolee, has grown as well and it’s a great av-enue for the family to promote a positive image of dairy farming to consumers.
Through the hard work of staff as well as countless family members over the years, Shenandoah Dairy has been able to thrive and remain productive, sustainable and commu-nity oriented.
Dairy Matters recently talked with Ed about his life as a dairy farmer.
Dairy Matters: What do you see as a future opportunity for growth in the dairy industry?
Ed Henderson: In my opinion, we need more product innovations and better prod-uct presentation. As competitors continue to emerge, the dairy case is growing and not always with dairy products.
DM: What do you wish the non-agricultural public better understood about dairy farming?
EH: We love our cows and we are environ-mentalists in the truest sense of the word. We host tours and bring people to our farm as often as possible because it’s hard to convey that message without people being able to actually see it. We as an industry need to do a better job of showing consumers where their milk comes from.
DM: How would you describe working so closely with so many family members?
EH: It’s a pleasure getting to work with my family on a daily basis and we especially look forward to the involvement of the next genera-tion. Everyone’s got a role that is specifically tai-lored to their skillset and we make a good team.
Ed Henderson inspects a group of heifers at shenandoah Dairy.
‘We try to encourage family members and staff alike to help us make a place for the future and continue to grow the farm.’
–Ed Henderson
Jr. Gator breakfast makes a splash on social media
Gators Football Coach Jim McElwain welcomes Jr. Gator Kru Casey and Merry Moo.
Farmers meet students for National School Breakfast Week
To celebrate National School Breakfast Week in March, the Dairy Council of Florida and regional dairy farmers
visited a pair of Central Florida schools and surprised them with breakfast and learning activities.
Children at Tangelo Park Elementary
and Dr. Phillips Elementary in Orlando were treated to a healthy dairy-filled break-fast before learning Mooga (cow themed yoga) and meeting mascots SunnyBell and Merry Moo.
Sumter County dairy farmer Johan Heijkoop was on hand at Dr. Phillips Elementary to talk to the kids about life on a dairy
farm and T.G. Lee brought their 20-foot tall mobile cow for the kids to take
pictures with.Citrus County dairymen Dale
and Leon McClellan met with the students at Tangelo Park Elementary the following day to share a positive message with the kids and teach them about the importance of a healthy diet.
Citrus County dairymen Leon (top left) and Dale McClellan talk to the kids at Tangelo Park Elementary.
FDF’s Diahann Smith honored for Hispanic outreach
Long-time Florida Dairy Farmers employee and marketing director Diahann Smith was recently selected as one of the most influential Hispanic professionals by the Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando (HCCMO). The chamber presented the 2015 Vision Magazine’s 25 Influential Hispanics in Central Florida in March. Honorees were chosen for their positive impact in the Hispanic business community and a variety of other criteria.
Smith has been the catalyst for increasing FDF’s Hispanic outreach and has been instrumental in developing programs designed to increase dairy awareness in Florida’s growing Hispanic community.
Diahann smith (second from left) accepts her award as one of Central Florida’s most influential Hispanics.
As a part of Lactose Intolerance Awareness month in February, Florida Dairy Farmers actively sought to change public percep-tion about lactose intolerance (LI) through engagement in several
key Florida markets. Lactose intolerance is often misunderstood by the general public, leading some to believe that total avoidance of dairy products is the only option for them.
FDF’s senior manager of nutrition affairs and registered dietitian Alyssa Greenstein talked to media outlets across the state and spread the word about the benefits of dairy while dispelling some of the myths commonly associated with LI. She also shared recipes that al-low people with lactose sensitivity to continue to enjoy all the good-ness of their favorite dairy products.
FDF talks lactose intolerance awareness with consumers
Registered dietitian Alyssa Greenstein (right) discusses dairy products for lactose sensitive consumers during a live segment on WJXT in Jacksonville.
Kids at Dr. Phillips Elementary school join sumter County dairy farmer Johan Heijkoop in front of the T.G. Lee cow.
T hrough its partnership with the Florida Gators, Florida Dairy Farmers sponsored the men’s basket-ball game against Ole Miss on Feb. 12.
FDF distributed orange “Strengthen Your Chomp With Fresh, Florida Milk” towels to thousands of fans as they entered the arena to cheer on their team. Merry Moo was on hand to officially present the game ball before tipoff as well as referee a children’s game during halftime. These lucky kids received got milk? tee shirts and the opportunity to play a game on the Gators’ home court in front of thousands of fans.
Gator basketball fans cheer for Florida milk
F lorida Dairy Farmers and the Dairy Council of Florida made sure dairy was top of mind for the
more than 10,000 visitors to this year’s South Beach Food & Wine Festival. As a sponsor of the event’s Fun & Fit Fam-ily Festival, the team was able to teach parents and kids the basics of a healthy lifestyle with the help of Food Network celebrity chefs and local personalities.
FDF hosted its own celebrity chef demonstrations featuring renowned chefs Norman Van Aken, Timon Baloo and the Orlando Sentinel’s food editor Heather McPherson. Past participants of the Gridiron Breakfast Challenge for kids got the opportunity to assist ce-lebrity chef Robert Irvine in one of the main stage cooking demos. In addition, Cabot provided cheese samples, Merry Moo did Mooga (cow themed yoga) with the crowd and SunnyBell hosted book readings for the kids.
Dairy showcased at food and wine festival
The FDF celebrity stage featured cooking demos by several chefs with the help of Fuel Up to Play 60 student ambassadors.
These lucky kids got to join celebrity chef Robert Irvine in one of the cooking demonstrations in front of hundreds of spectators.
Excited children share an ice cold milk with Buccaneers mascot Captain Fear to celebrate their new Grab and Go cooler.
Got milk?-clad kids play basketball as FDF mascot Merry Moo referees during halftime of the Gators game.
Representatives of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dairy Council of Florida recently paid a special visit to Egypt Lake Elementary School in Tampa with a treat for kids and staff alike. Egypt Lake Elementary is
one of 15 Hillsborough County schools that received a grant for food service equipment through the Fuel Up to Play 60 program due to their hard work and healthy eating habits.
Buccaneers mascot Captain Fear and Dairy Council mascot Merry Moo were on hand to help unveil the equipment which included a FUTP 60 and Buc-caneers themed Grab and Go milk cooler. Fuel Up to Play 60 is a nationwide in-school program that encourages physical activity and a healthy diet which emphasizes dairy.
Dairy Council and the Buccaneers promote healthy eating in schools
T his fair season has been another success-ful one for Florida Dairy Farmers with increased visibility and more opportuni-
ties than ever to communicate with the pub-lic. FDF sponsored several key fairs across the Sunshine State and provided materials and information to hundreds of thousands of consumers.
Volusia County Fair: FDF sponsored the kid focused Ag Venture area which featured a milkable cow, two calves provided by Volusia County dairyman Gerald Fieser and an FDF booth with handouts and educational infor-mation. This was also the first year that FDF teamed up with the Pennysaver to produce a colorful dairy-themed calendar to distribute to guests.
South Florida Fair: FDF had an increased presence this year with an informational booth, a milkable cow and milking parlor demonstrations and sponsorship of the moo-ternity tent where fairgoers could watch the birth of calves. Cows for the moo-ternity tent were managed by McArthur Dairy in Okeechobee.
Florida State Fair: Dairy farmers were well represented at this year’s state fair as FDF hosted an exhibit inside the Agricultural Hall of Fame, an interactive kid’s booth and spon-sored the moo-ternity ward which featured cows from Aprile Farms in Tampa.
Okeechobee County Fair: FDF was on hand to distribute promotional and educa-tional materials at its booth throughout the week-long event.
Strawberry Festival: Strawberry milk, donated by T.G. Lee was a big hit at this two-week festival. FDF was the title sponsor of the “SunnyBell Kiddie Korral” and was on hand to distribute milk and dairy materials to thousands of consumers.
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ADDREss sERvICE REqUEsTED
Fair season offers big promotional opportunities
Local elementary school kids stop by the FDF booth at the strawberry Festival for an ice cold strawberry milk.
More than 6,000 runners participated in the Publix Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon in February, and Florida Dairy Farmers was there to promote chocolate milk as their refuel beverage. The FDF team
educated athletes about the benefits of refueling with chocolate milk and Publix donated thousands of single serve bottles which were distributed to runners after the race. Runners also received a “BUILD it with choco-late milk” towel as they crossed the finish line.
Runners refuel with chocolate milk at A1A Marathon
Race finishers enthusiastically display the “BUILD it with chocolate milk” towels, compliments of FDF.
Hillsborough County dairy farmer and FDF board member Ron Aprile, right, presents the supreme Champion award in the open dairy show at the Florida state Fair.
