Week 12-The Last One

This week I have just been piecing together all the information I have gathered this summer and calling producers I wasn't able to meet with this summer. I'm going to miss traveling to farms and meeting different people and learning about different production set-ups. When I look back, I have learned so much this summer about the importance of Michigan Milk Producers in the dairy industry, the set-up and operation of a dairy production, and the role I want to play in it someday as a large animal veterinarian. I have been honored to have had the opportunity to work with MMPA and be chosen as their Summer Food Systems Fellowship and am looking forward to sharing my experience with others in the vet school.
Thank you to everyone who has made this opportunity such a success and I look forward to seeing what else is accomplished with this program in the future!

Week 11-Wrapping Up

This week was my last week to finish traveling to all the farms. It's hard to believe that this summer is already almost over and the Summer Food Systems Fellowship is almost completed. I spent a lot of time in the car this week because most of the farms I had left to go to were farther away. In the beginning of the week I traveled up to the Cadillac area and went to a farm that I was saving until the end of the summer. They recently just finished a new parlor and installed new equipment that they've been trying to get set up properly. After tracking the owner down in a hay field, I was able to learn more about their production and how MMPA has been essential in their expansion and development of their new set-up.
I got a kick out of their barn sign:

Later in the week I traveled up around the coast from Spruce, Alpena, Cheboygan, Petoskey, and ended in Traverse City. It was interesting to learn up there how much they rely on MMPA to analyze their milking equipment. There are very few dealers up there who will evaluate equipment like MMPA and when they do, they often charge a ridiculous amount and are dishonest. I heard from several people that they will get charged a dollar a minute to just call a dealer or go into the store and talk to someone! It was good to talk to these producers and learn how much they appreciate and rely on this service MMPA provides.

It was neat while I was in Traverse City I stopped at Leelaneau Cheese Company. I had heard about it from a field rep I worked with earlier this summer. They are famous for their Raclette cheese which comes from cow's milk from the Garvin farm west of Cedar, Michigan. I thought it was neat to see their milk truck parked outside!