At the Farm GateEggs Aren’t Dairy and Other Farm Terms to Know
The veterinarian suggested her patient avoid dairy. The owners read through food and treat labels, making plans to eliminate eggs from their dog’s diet.
Milk, cheese, butter ... eggs. The grocery store’s layout had taught these consumers that cold case means dairy. Re-categorizing eggs as dairy wasn’t a commonplace farm mix-up I had heard of or even considered before, but I personally have witnessed a dairy cow give milk and a hen lay an egg. The reality is fewer than 1% of us likely have according to the Census, so here’s a quick guide to avoid the “not-from-around-here” vibe – something I need when visiting Chicago.
Hay and straw are not interchangeable. Animals eat one and sleep on the other. Hay is made from grasses or legumes that are cut, dried and stored to feed animals. Straw is the leftover stalk from grains like wheat or oats. It’s great for bedding, insulation or fall décor, but if you offer it as dinner to our cows, they’ll stare you down. Literally. Cows are honest like that.
Silo is the catchier term, but most cylindrical farm structures in Illinois are actually bins. A grain bin is round, wide and made of corrugated shiny steel. It stores dried grains like corn, soybeans and wheat. Silos are skinny, tall and narrow structures often made of brown-gray concrete or blue smooth steel. They hold moist animal feeds like silage. Both store farm products but avoid misspeaking in conversation with a farmer.
Not every piece of equipment with big tires is a tractor. Some are. Some are combines. Some are sprayers. Some pull things. Some do things. I get it. I still can’t name all the tillage tools correctly. Likewise, not every cow is a cow unless you know it’s a momma. But to avoid studying anatomy and adding bull, steer and heifer to the vocabulary, “cattle” safely sums up the herd in the plural.
Please know that not every egg can produce a chick. Field corn and sweet corn look similar until you eat them. Generally, barns hold animals and sheds store equipment and tools. The exception is barndominiums, the new hybrid. And avoid saying dirt, especially in front of our FFA soils coach.
About the author: Joanie Stiers farms with her parents and brother in Knox County, where they grow corn, soybeans and hay, raise beef cattle and operate side businesses related to the family operation.