Friday's art related article: USING MILK TO MAKE ART

Need a cool way to experience art with your kids? Check out this video on how to create moving art images with milk and a few ingredients.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: MIDWEST DAIRY ASSOCIATION

*For those new to the Cow Art and More blog, every Monday, gallery jewelry artist and blog writer Kathy Swift shares an agriculture themed website or article with readers.*

Did you know June is Dairy month? June Dairy Month, an annual celebration that began in 1937, is traditionally a time to reflect on dairy foods and the industry that makes it possible. It was created as a promotion to help distribute extra milk when cows started on pasture in the summer months. Today, its rich history continues, with communities, companies and people from all over the country observing June Dairy Month in a variety of ways.

Head over the the Midwest Dairy site to learn more about June Dairy month and dairy farming. You will have the opportunity to meet some dairy farmers, learn more about how they take care of their cows, and learn how to cook with dairy products. Moms can also get nutrition advice and recipes.

The Midwest Dairy Association is a non-profit organization financed and directed by the dairy producers in nine states in the midwest. The association implements programs that help increase sales and demand for dairy products and dairy ingredients and help improve the economic well-being of Midwest dairy producers. The association's education division promotes a healthy diet through nutrition education and the use of dairy products to consumers, health professionals and teachers.

Cow Art and More painter on magazine cover

Cow Art and More watercolor artist Victoria Whorley has her painting, "Heads or Tails" on the cover of the April 15, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The magazine is the official bimonthly publication for the 78,000 veterinary members of the American Veterinary Medical Association and contains current events, case studies, and research articles. The editorial staff of the magazine selects a different original artwork to grace almost every cover of the magazine. Victoria's unique painting of these Holstein cows caught the eyes of the editors, and they found it worthy of a magazine cover. Cow Art and More is proud to represent Victoria and her watercolor paintings of both beef and dairy cattle.

Photo credit: "Heads or Tails"

Click here to learn more about this cattle painting

Monday's agriculture website of interest: INNOVATE WITH DAIRY

In celebrating "June is Dairy Month, Innovate with Dairy is today's agricultural website of interest. The website contains information about dairy products for food manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. The website details new products, technologies, innovations and nutrition information. The website is maintained by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI). Founded in 1995 as a not-for-profit organization funded by dairy farmers, DMI manages the American Dairy Association,^® the National Dairy Council^® and the U.S. Dairy Export Council^®.

DMI assists dairy processors in creating and introducing new and/or improved dairy products, processes and packaging and meeting their innovation challenges. Across the entire food and beverage industry, DMI innovation programs provide nutrition research and market trend information to help with product positioning in the marketplace. These programs serve as a complement to DMI’s consumer education and integrated dairy marketing promotion programs, such as the 3-A-Day™ of Dairy campaign, a nutrition-based marketing and education program.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: WHY MILK?

To help kick of June is dairy month, today's featured website is Why Milk? The site has a plethora of information about the health benefits of milk, recipes, and answers to frequently asked questions. One of the highlights of this site are the photos of celebrities who have posed with a milk mustache for the "got milk?" advertising campaigns. Stop, pour yourself a glass of milk, and see what this website has to offer!

Monday's agriculture website of interest: INTERNATIONAL DAIRY FOODS ASSOCIATION

Monday's agriculture website of interest is from the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). The IDFA represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $110-billion a year industry. Within IDFA, there are three constituent organizations: Milk Industry Foundation, National Cheese Institute, and the International Ice Cream Association. IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.

Marines help Iraqi widows

I know this is the "behind the scenes" for Cow Art and More, but I just loved this story so much I had to share with everyone. Cows are great and I'm glad to see they are helping women halfway around the world. Marines buy cows for Iraqi widows.