Scholarship criteria include academic achievement, experience in the dairy industry and/or preference to marketing dairy foods as part of the student’s undergraduate work.  The scholarships are valued at $1,500 each.

“We are pleased to offer these scholarships to help support students interested in pursuing dairy-related and/or food science careers that support the dairy industry,” said Tom Croner, chairman of the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program board of directors. “This is a worth-while investment in helping to prepare the dairy and food industry leaders of the future.”

Eligible full-time undergraduate students who will be entering their sophomore through senior year in fall 2012 at Delaware Valley College or Saint Joseph’s University are encouraged to apply. Interested students can download an application from the Dairy Farming section of www.dairyspot.com or by contacting their college’s financial aid department.

Completed applications and all required documentation must be submitted to Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, c/o Francesca Lynch, 325 Chestnut Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, PA 19106, by May 1, 2012. Questions can be directed to Francesca Lynch at 267-322-6917 or at flynch@milk4u.org.   

Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program are the local planning and management organizations funded by dairy farmer checkoff dollars. They work closely with Dairy Management Inc. ™ and are responsible for increasing demand for U.S.-produced dairy products on behalf of Pennsylvania’s dairy farmers. For more information, visit http://www.dairyspot.com/.

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Quite simply put, we’ll have to make enough smoothies to serve almost 650 students! In our “Healthy Recipe” challenge entry last year, the students wrote and performed a skit in which our school mascot, Spike the Dragon, was given a healthy smoothie to help energize him for the day. The students made up a smoothie recipe that included low-fat milk, yogurt and fruit that would turn the smoothie purple, which is one of our school colors.

For the upcoming challenge entry, we plan on re-introducing the purple smoothie; so what better time to plan a school wide “Smoothie Day” than this upcoming month. This is also a way for us to introduce something new and healthy into our school that hopefully we can use in the future. And sometimes it’s good to just shake things up with a fun new idea or contest.

With the help of our student Fuel Up to Play 60 team, as well as the funds from our grant, we’re positive that this will be a success and hope it will encourage our students to add more dairy into their diets every day.

Eligibility Requirements

• Full-time undergraduate students entering their sophomore through senior year as of the Fall 2012 semester
• Students enrolled in the Department of Dairy Science at Delaware College
• Students with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale)
• Completed application form, short statement describing career aspirations and two letters of recommendation.
• Preference shall be given to a student who has experience in the dairy industry, or who shows a preference in marketing dairy foods as part of his or her undergraduate work.

Click here to download a copy of the 2012 Dairy Science Scholarship Application or contact Francesca Lynch at flynch@milk4u.org for more information. Completed applications are due by May 1, 2012.

But LAUSD efforts seem to have backfired.   After the many optimistic stories about the U.S. Agriculture Department’s new school meal nutrition standards were released, Los Angeles Times reporter Teresa Watanbe visited the LAUSD’s lunch lines.  She found trouble with the implementation of school’s new menus. Students did not happily pile more fruits, veggies and whole grains on their plates. Watanbe wrote in December, “Principals report massive waste, with unopened milk cartons and uneaten entrees being thrown away.”

This month the federal government launched a similar, though less sweeping, effort to cleanse lunchrooms of troublesome foods.  Under new nutrition standards announced recently by the USDA, fruit and vegetables will have to be offered with every school cafeteria meal. Additionally, some traditional lunchroom favorites, such as 2% white milk, will be eliminated and pizza will be severely restricted.

But those who care about what students eat need to look closer at this approach. As the LAUSD case made clear, trying to teach students to eat more healthful foods by removing other choices can backfire. When children (or anyone) feels restricted or forced into a decision, they rebel.  As a registered dietitian and mother, I feel it’s important to consider what works – and what doesn’t – in trying to get kids to eat more nutritious food.

Cornell University researchers Brian Wansink and David Just studied what kids eat at two schools in Utah. One school required that all lunches include the vegetable or fruit of the day; the other school served a fruit or vegetable only when it was requested. Children at the first school were served 60 percent more fruit, but they only consumed 1 percent more than those students at the school where it was optional.  Pushing healthful foods on children can create expensive waste.

Across the country, schools have tried to ban processed foods and demonize chocolate milk. But these efforts are not achieving the goal of guiding children to better eating habits. Choice is important to everyone, including children.  I’ve counseled many people who need/want to change their diet, and have observed that having the ability to choose can have significant positive effects on behavior. For example, the Cornell researchers found that when given the choice of either carrots or celery, 89 percent of children will choose and eat carrots. But if they were given only carrots without a choice, just 69 percent ate them. So instead of taking away choices, let’s guide student’s choices.

In another study students had a choice of eating in the regular cafeteria line or in a “healthy express” line stocked only with wholesome sandwiches, salads, fruits and vegetables. The researchers found that placing chocolate milk in the “express’ line along with the other foods attracted far more kids and increased healthful choices by 18 percent. This happened because chocolate milk was still included and because kids had a choice.

School food service professionals have told me that small, subtle changes can have a big effect on behavior. One reported that moving fruit out of stainless steel bins and into an attractive fruit bowl near the cash register increased sales.

Children will choose their food no matter what is placed in the lunch line.  If the cafeteria changes are too big, students will simply bring their lunch from home or, as in LAUSD, have pizza delivered at the side door!   Or worse, students may skip lunch altogether.  In an environment where choice rules, the more healthful choice needs to be the more attractive choice, but not the only choice.  Stringent measures might be effective at putting nutritious foods on the lunch tray, but it is vital to remember this: It is not nutritious until it is eaten.

Adults often don’t think they “need” milk and fall short of the 3 servings of dairy recommended daily. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Atop Hypertension) diet has been shown to be one of the best and most balanced diet plans and it includes 3 servings of dairy daily.

Did you know that a latte is a great source of dairy calcium? Occasionally, I treat myself to a latte when I’m out and having high cholesterol (it runs in my family), I always order a “latte with non-fat milk.” Sometimes I’ll even ask for a smidge of sweetener (you can request “just one squirt” of syrup – I don’t like it overly sweet).

If you do treat yourself to a coffee, be sure to choose low-fat or non-fat milk, and limit sweeteners and toppings. Coffee itself is calorie-free, but the additions such as whipped cream or extra syrups can rack up calories, so stick with the smallest size. Making a coffee drink at home is an easy way to add more dairy and calcium to your diet without adding too many extra calories. A 12-ounce latte provides you with over 400 milligrams of calcium, offering up about one serving from your dairy group. Check out MDA’s Latte Love page for more yummy ideas!

For more information about heart health, you can check out my latest cookbook: Hypertension Cookbook For Dummies (2012, John Wiley & Sons Publishing), to help you incorporate the DASH guidelines into your cooking and lifestyle. Here’s to your healthy heart!

Just like athletes who tweak their diet and exercise routine to perform better, analyzing each individual cow’s milk enables Bill and me to provide our cows with the means to be top-performing. Every cow is different, so we use the milk test results to help us make decisions on which cow should be bred to a certain bull or which cow might need to be monitored more closely to make sure she keeps producing quality milk.

When we take the samples, we first measure the quantity of milk, in pounds. Our milking equipment is older, so we don’t have the capability of seeing how many pounds of milk each cow produces. We do know how many pounds of milk is picked up each time the milk truck comes, so we always know the average pounds of milk each cow produces per day. Sometimes we might have a close guess on an individual cow. But other times we are happily surprised, like this month. Several of our girls were producing 90 pounds per day (more than 10 gallons of milk). Bill thinks I’m ridiculous, but I like to call these top producing cows “rock star milkers!”

Other than the pounds of milk per cow, the test results also tell us the amount of protein and butterfat in the milk and the level of overall quality. Milk samples are collected from each cow, and within a few days we receive a written report with all of the test results from a certified lab.

Jersey cows are known for having higher butterfat and protein in their milk. Seeing each cow’s amount of butterfat and protein helps us make breeding decisions. For example, if a cow tends to have lower butterfat, we might decide to breed her to a bull known for producing cows with higher butterfat.

Another test result we receive is the somatic cell count, which measures quality. This is one indicator of how healthy a cow is; the lower the cell count, the healthier the cow. Knowing these cell counts can help us predict which cow might be prone to becoming sick. This helps us be proactive when it comes to keeping our cows healthy. A cow with a high count will be closely monitored to make sure she doesn’t become sick.

Milk sampling is another voluntary tool used by many dairy farmers across the country. While I don’t know that other farmers refer to their cows as “rock star milkers” like I do, I’m sure they are just as proud as I am in knowing their cows produce healthy, wholesome milk.

These photos are from last Easter. For Valentine’s Day, use the red, white and pink M&Ms.) They are so easy to make, and are a great activity for kids. All you need are a few ingredients:

• Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
• Milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses
• M&M’s candy in your preferred variety. Milk chocolate with peanuts are a favorite combination.

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 175° F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss.
2. Bake for 5 minutes, until the chocolates are soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M’s candy into the center of each Kiss.
3. Allow the treats to cool thoroughly before storing.

Protein is an essential nutrient that is necessary for building and repairing all body tissue. Bone is made up primarily of protein (about 50 percent of bone tissue is protein) and calcium. Protein foods (dairy, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, legumes and nuts) contain amino acids that are the building blocks for bone repair and maintenance. Many studies have shown that a diet low in protein can adversely affect bone. And animal protein sources do contribute to body acidity to a greater extent than plant proteins.

When protein intake is very high, this causes an excess of acid production in the body; an excess protein intake is considered “acid-forming.” Body chemistry is very sensitive to what is called pH, or the acid/base relationship. The body’s chemistry cannot work well unless the pH balance is maintained within very strict limits. What this means is that if what you eat is acidic or generates acidity, then your body has to neutralize the blood to keep the pH balance where it needs to be.

Calcium is used to neutralize the extra acid that is formed in the body, and this calcium is coming out of your bones. When blood is too acidic, calcium inside the bones is released into circulation to neutralize the excess acidity and to maintain a healthy pH level. When calcium intake is not adequate, a high-acid diet can lead to bone loss over time.

The basis of a statement that “drinking milk can cause osteoporosis” is derived from the logic that if animal proteins contribute to body acidity, then surely milk, which contains animal protein, must cause calcium to be leached from the bones. Animal rights individuals/groups claim that Americans who consume dairy products are at greater risk of osteoporosis than people who live in countries where dairy products are not a large part of the diet. What is not taken into account is that most Americans are not meeting the calcium intake requirements recommended by the current U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) and that many people are not consuming enough dairy products!  Thus the occurrence of osteoporosis in the U.S. is not caused by drinking milk and there are no studies in which drinking milk has been linked to bone loss.

Osteoporosis is a “multifactorial disease.” Protein, calcium and vitamin D are not the only factors that contribute to protection against bone loss and osteoporosis. Other causes include genetics, physical activity and other dietary factors that may influence the absorption and retention of calcium in the body. The “acid load” of a diet may influence how much calcium is retained in the body versus how much is lost in the urine. But if a diet is deficient in calcium, having a diet with a low “acid load” can’t make up for that – we cannot synthesize calcium and need to obtain it from our diet.

Not all calcium in food is absorbed equally.  Dairy products are a good source of calcium that is readily bioavailable, meaning it is present in a form that can be well absorbed and used in the body.  An 8-ounce glass of milk – whole, 2%, 1%, nonfat or chocolate – will provide about 300 mg of calcium. Milk is also fortified with vitamin D, as are some yogurts. A glass of milk provides about 100 IU of vitamin D, which can increase the absorption of calcium 30 percent or more. Meta-analyses, in which the results of all available studies are considered in their entirety, have demonstrated that calcium and vitamin D have an important effect on reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

For more information about how the foods you eat affect your bones:

 http://www.nof.org/aboutosteoporosis/prevention/foodandbones