Farm to Training Table

Protein—it’s what’s for lunch, dinner, breakfast and every snack a football player eats. Players constantly repair, build or maintain muscle tissue despite intense practice, competition and weight room schedules. Sports nutritionists have long recommend dairy to players for protein, but few have first-hand knowledge of what it takes to get dairy protein from the farm to the training table.

Joey Blake, director of football nutrition for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and Everette Brown, defensive end for the Washington Redskins, were treated to a VIP dairy farm tour by Scott Mayer, a third-generation dairy farmer who heads up farm operations.

“There are so many parallels between what Scott does on the farm, taking care of his team, the animals, so they can produce, and what I do in fueling the Gamecocks for maximum performance on the field,” said Blake. “I’m blown away by everything it takes to bring the teams favorite beverage, chocolate milk, to the training table. ”

In sharing his impression of the farm, Brown said, “It’s a non-stop operation that does things with the utmost respect for the consumers and they take care of their products and provide the best milk possible.” The registered dietitians and farm foodies at the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association wish Everette and Joey the very best this season as they keep fueling up with milk.

If you can’t make it out to a farm yourself, you can check out the video of the visit here. Curious for the truth about how America’s dairy farms are run? Check out The Udder Truth series here.

As always, we love to hear from you! Let us know about your farm experiences or questions in the comments.

Mickela Mitchell, MS, RDN, LDN