Saturday, August 18, 2012

ENDED My Michigan Memory: Goma Dairy Farm and a Giveaway!

I'm linking up with Mrs. Weber's Neighborhood for My Michigan Memory.  Head over and enter to win a Potter Park Zoo giveaway. If you are a blogger with a Michigan related blog post to share, link up for extra entries!

Just a couple days before leaving for our road trip (which you can read about here, here, here, and here...with more posts coming soon), I had the opportunity to partake in a totally awesome event for local bloggers. Even though I was completely bogged down with travel preparations, I could not refuse an invitation from the United Dairy Industry of Michigan to visit the Goma Dairy Farm in Marlette, Michigan.

My day on the farm started off by meeting a comfortable, air-conditioned bus at one of three centralized locations. We were offered a variety of breakfast items, including yogurt, bananas, milk, and coffee. Everyone introduced themselves, including our resident experts: Deanne Kelleher, registered dietitian; Dr. Ron Erskine, veterinarian; and Katie Dellar, Facebook's Dairy Mom. We were given a folder full of information, and once everyone was on board, we watched a short video. Before long, we arrived at the farm.

Goma Dairy Farm Cow
Sweet little calf at Goma Dairy Farm
I have visited farms before, with various levels of interaction. But I had never before been treated to such an informative, behind the scenes tour. The owners of the farm, the van den Goor family, personally escorted our group around and told us about each stage of the process of dairy farming. With 2700 cows that produce a whopping 29,000 gallons of milk everyday, Goma  is one of the larger dairy farms in Michigan. The place is huge!

We saw lots of cows. We saw where they live, learned what it takes to keep them comfortable and happy, found out how their diet is carefully moderated, and much more. We saw the cows getting milked, which was much more sterile and industrial than I had imagined. Human hands never touch the milk. It goes in pipes directly from the cow, to the basement to be cooled, and out to the trucks, which deliver it to Yoplait and Kroger.

Goma Dairy Farm Milking
Getting ready for milking, Goma Dairy Farm
I now have a clearer picture of just how time-consuming and grueling the farming life is. The cows get milked every day without consideration of holidays, sick time, or vacations. It is truly a never ending job. Farmers are dedicated people, no doubt about it, and I have a greater appreciation for what they do to get food on our tables.

After our tour, we were lead to the barn (it was a remarkably clean barn, by the way), where tables were set up for lunch. The meal was great, and I was pleased to see vegetarian options. Gertie van den Goor, one of the owners, sat next to me, and I enjoyed interesting conversation with her while eating. The family had cute goodie bags for us to take home to our kids (each contained a piggy bank, magnet, coloring book, and more).

My lasting impression was that Goma Dairy Farm is a well-run farm lead by a great family who truly cares about their animals, the dairy industry, and the people who drink their milk. It was truly a wonderful day, and I'm so glad I took the time out of my busy schedule to participate.

For more information about the dairy industry, please visit the following websites:

I received an incredible "Get Mooooving" dairy gift bag, which included the following items:
  • Magic Bullet 17-piece hi-speed blender/mixer system
  • $50 Mastercard gift card
  • reusable grocery bag
  • got milk? baseball cap
  • dairy themed socks
To be honest, I was feeling pretty spoiled. Well, guess what? Maybe you'll soon be feeling spoiled too, because The United Dairy Industry of Michigan is providing an identical gift bag for one lucky MichiGal reader! Just use the Rafflecopter form to enter! US residents only.

Thank you United Dairy Industry of Michigan and van den Goor family for an amazing experience!

a Rafflecopter giveaway





37 comments:

JLT said...

Simply whole milk

Mami2jcn said...

I love ice cream or frozen yogurt!

akronugurl said...

i love ice cream

freebiel0ve@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

chocolate milk is my favorite

jennifer marie

lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

chocolate milk is my favorite

jennifer marie

lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

Elena said...

My favorite is Kefir

Jessica To said...

Ice cream and cheese are my favorite dairy products.

Karen said...

chocolate milk, ice cream, and cheese!

Michelle Spayde said...

My favorite dairy product is CHEESE!!!!

Robyn P said...

Cheese please....

HiiS GuMMy QueeN said...

milk and extra sharp cheddar cheese

Michele N said...

Love milk and cheddar cheese

shelly sawicki lash neuhouser

mneuhouser at gmail dot com

Jilleen said...

Ice cream!

Seasidebooknook at yahoo

Jilleen said...

Ice cream!

Seasidebooknook at yahoo

Gina M (crave to save) said...

I love yogurt!

Entered the Rafflecopter form as "Crave to Save"

Thanks for the chance to win!
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com

Anonymous said...

yogurt! scg00387 at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

ice cream!

thomas murphy

rounder9834 at yahoo dot com

AubreyLaine said...

milk :)
family74014 at gmail dot com
rafflecopter: alaine

Ashley H said...

Yogurt and Ice Cream!! thanks!

pookiecat123 said...

string cheese
Judy S
pookiecat123 at yahoo dot com

tristatecruisers said...

i like milk, cheese and ice cream :)

marci h
tristatecruisers at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

im addicted to organic chocolate milk

Tammy S said...

I love cheese, any kind of cheese.

Laura Jacobson said...

My favorite dairy product is cottage cheese!
landfjacobson @ charter.net

Unknown said...

Icecream and cottage cheese! I love dairy in general though1

GamerMom said...

Ice cream

dteslevich said...

Ice cream!

Betsy said...

My favorite by far is Ice Cream!!! Yum!

Mrs. Weber said...

Cheese is def my favorite dairy product :)

lisa said...

Milk...and cheese:)

Maggie Smith said...

I can only pick ONE favorite dairy product? OH LORD HELP ME!!!!

Greek Yogurt
No, wait ICE CREAM

Well, then I wouldn't be a true Yooper without saying CHEESE! I love all cheese. Everything about it. Oh this is hard.

Christina said...

Jilberts ice cream!!

Christina said...

I can't leave the link to my tweet, but I did in fact do it!

Anash said...

i love milk most of all, chocolate or vanilla! Thanks for a super giveaway!
My email: anashct1 [at] yahoo [dot] com

Erica best said...

milk

Niki Collis Photography said...

Even though I am lactose intolerant, I LOVE cheese :)

Athena said...

I love all dairy products!I love cheeses,ice cream,whipped cream,milk,yogurt,cream cheese....etc

agaphmou at netzero dot net