Dairy Day comes to the Farmers Market Friday
Friday is Dairy Day at the Brookhaven Farmers Market.
The special event, scheduled with the market from 8 a.m. to noon at Railroad Park, will feature free milk and ice cream for children and adults.
Those attending the market will have an opportunity to meet and talk with local dairy farmers from Lincoln County and southern Mississippi and help them celebrate the 77th annual June Dairy Month.
Visitors to the market will be able to learn about cows and the dairy industry by seeing live calves, trying out a “milkable” wooden cow and participating in several other children’s activities.
The event also will include other exhibits and information for anyone who wants to know more about milk and related dairy products.
This year’s theme for June Dairy Month is “Dairy Packs Power,” which focuses on the unique package of vitamins, minerals and nutrients found in dairy and how they’re an essential part of a healthy diet and are crucial to strengthening bones.
Mississippi dairy farmers and their cows produced more than 21 million gallons of milk in 2013, with sales of almost $40 million, according to a press release from the Mississippi Extension Service.
The state has approximately 14,000 milk cows and the average herd size is 127 cows, the release said. In 2013, the average dairy cow in Mississippi produced about five gallons of milk per day. Lincoln County was the state’s third leading producer of milk last year at 16.4 million pounds.