Celebrating June Dairy Month

By Marlene Kouba

June Dairy Month started out as a way to distribute extra milk during the warm months of summer. The commemoration was established in 1937 by grocer organizations sponsoring “National Milk Month.” By 1939, June became the official “dairy month” and is still celebrated today.

Whether it’s in coffee, cereal, or smoothies, adding one more serving of milk to your family’s day can help ensure they get the nutrients they need to build strong bones and teeth. Trusted for decades, dairy farm families pride themselves on producing wholesome dairy foods that help their families grow up strong and healthy.

By 1939, June became the official ‘dairy month’ and is still celebrated today.

A few interesting facts about dairy foods and farming are below.

• America’s favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla; chocolate is second.
• The scientific term for “brain freeze” is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. But you can keep calling it brain freeze (or frozen headache) when you eat ice cream.
• Farmers measure milk in pounds, not gallons - 8.6 pounds per gallon is the standard.
• It takes about 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese and just over 21 pounds to make a pound of butter.
• Wisconsin is the only state where Limburger cheese is produced.
• Dairy cows eat about 100 pounds of food every day and drink 25-50 gallons of water.

Chew on these historical tidbits about milk and dairy…how many did you know?

• Home delivery of milk started in 1942 as a war conservation measure.
• Early cheese-makers shaped Edam into balls to roll down the gang planks of ships for export.
• Little Miss Muffet’s curds and whey (from the nursery rhyme) were an early version of cottage cheese.
• Presenting newlyweds with a pot of butter, symbolic of wealth and fertility, was once common in England.

Marlene Kouba is a farmer and Farm Bureau member in North Dakota. She is a former elementary school teacher and taught Ag in the Classroom curriculum for 21 years.