Yes, that’s right.

That liquid, which comes from a cow and has given the majority of us strong bones since we drank it at school, was made the official beverage of the Volunteer State, ranking right up there with the raccoon as the official state wild animal and the tomato as the official fruit. But I wonder just how many of you remember that memorable day back on April 2, 2004.

I’m sure there are those who were surprised and would have thought maybe something made from corn and kept in a fruit jar or another vegetative crop would have received some votes, but the lowly milk cow’s milk was voted the official beverage unanimously by both governmental bodies as the top choice to represent our state seven years ago.

I wonder how many tests, if any, that question has shown up on in schools in the last seven years.

It ought to.

It’s just as important for our students to know about milk as an official beverage of our state as a ladybug or an iris when it comes to state symbols.

Having come from a dairy farm myself and with June being celebrated this year for the 79th year as Dairy Month, it is certainly good to recognize milk as our official beverage here in Tennessee.

To add to this bit of dairy trivia, we should also remember and thank Sen. Charlotte Burks, who is a farmer herself, and former Cookeville state Rep. Henry Fincher.

June is National Dairy Month and has been a major celebration within the Volunteer State for many years.

The dairy industry has generated billions of dollars over the years to our economy and continues to do so.

Last year, more than $127.6 million was put back into Tennessee’s economy by Tennessee’s dairy production.

In mid-May there were 481 dairy farms in Tennessee compared to more than 900 at the same time in 2000.

Numbers and production continue to decrease around the state, but those Tennessee dairy farmers who remain still produce perhaps the safest food product consumed in this country.

From these dairy farms located in Tennessee, consumers receive a nutritious product containing nine essential vitamins and minerals, including protein, calcium and vitamins A and D.

There are eight milk processing plants in this state making the dairy industry very important to our state and we also will soon be the home to the world’s largest ice cream processing plant.

We all live in such a busy world that we often take for granted that every morning when we go to the breakfast table we will find milk and butter waiting on us as it always has in mornings past.

But have you ever wondered how that food gets there and WHERE it comes from?

Did you ever think that behind every glass of milk you drink there is a family farm somewhere working daily providing you a quality product?

Celebrate with us this June and Pour One More glass a day and help us salute the dairy farm families in Tennessee providing milk, cheese and yogurt to you.

As you prepare to celebrate June Dairy Month and honor the farmers who produce milk, pour yourself a glass of Tennessee’s official beverage or at least get an ice cream cone.

It only takes about 50 licks to finish a single ice cream scoop.

That’s not too much to ask is it?