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According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the average American eats about 23 gallons of ice cream per year, and over a billion gallons of ice cream and related frozen desserts are produced in our country annually. It’s no wonder July is National Ice Cream Month. After all, nothing quite quenches a hot summer day like ice cream.

Of course, we wouldn’t have ice cream without dairy farmers. While not all dairy farms are creameries, according to the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, our state is home to over 1,200 mostly family-owned dairy farms that care for over 400,000 cows. The 11.4 billion pounds of milk produced by our state’s dairy farms each year make Michigan the 6th leading dairy producing state in the country.

I recently had the opportunity to tour one such dairy farm in Berrien County. Shuler Dairy Farms, in Baroda, is a fifth-generation centennial farm, which according to the family, utilizes all the latest high tech equipment, including robotic milking systems and tunnel ventilation to ensure health, happy cows and, of course, delicious milk.

I appreciate Bill Shuler for welcoming me to see first hand how a modern dairy operation works. The good news is that southwest Michigan families can also take advantage of this opportunity and go on a tour, see the cows, and have a treat.

To see video of my recent tour, visit https://www.statesenatorkimlasata.com/video/, and be sure to check out http://www.shulerdairyfarms.com or call 269-326-0366 for more information about setting up your own tour.

And as your family is out and about enjoying the beautiful Michigan summer, be sure to try some Michigan-made ice cream. You can find more about our state’s creameries at https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/get-scoop-best-ice-cream-michigan.