Farm Moms for Responsible Antibiotic Use

By: DeEtta Bohling, Communications Specialist

I tend to be somewhat of a health nut. I am in “half marathon training mode” and know that my body needs fresh fruits, veggies, grains, dairy and lean proteins in order to function properly. I can truly feel a difference in my body when I use filling foods as a fuel as opposed to high calorie foods with no nutritional value. (Don’t get me wrong it’s not that I totally avoid those foods, I enjoy them in moderation.)

I worry about the foods that enter my mouth, especially when I don’t know how they were prepared. One thing I don’t have to fear, however, is antibiotics in my meat. An ad from PEW Charitable Trusts was recently distributed at Neodesha school district in southeast Kansas. The heading of the handout (pictured on left) reads “Moms for Antibiotic Awareness” and calls moms and dads to “help end the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in food animal production”.

Like, Teresa in the video below, farmers and ranchers in your community take the judicious use of antibiotics very seriously. Think about it, the food you are putting on your table is the same food that they are putting on theirs. As caretakers, farmers and ranchers are proud to feed your family.

Healthy animals provide healthy food. When your child is ill, you take them to the doctor and if the doctor recommends an antibiotic, you take the prescription and head for the pharmacy. It’s no different when there is a sick animal. For more than 50 years, veterinarians and producers have administered antibiotics to food animals, primarily poultry, swine and cattle, mostly to fight or prevent disease. Antibiotics are given strategically – administered when animals are sick, susceptible or exposed to illness. This reduces the risk of unhealthy animals entering our food supply, according to Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine. Protecting healthy animals helps to protect human health. Many are unaware that we live in a microbial world where bacteria can transfer between animals and people with some causing disease in humans or animals or both.

The meat aisle at my local grocery store.

Should you be worried about antibiotics in the meat you buy for your family?
The FDA does not allow meat to be sold with traces of antibiotics above strict safety limits. The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) performs scheduled, but random, testing of meat nationwide. According to FDA and FSIS regulations, livestock antibiotic use requires specific withdrawal times, or a set number of days that must pass between the last antibiotic treatment and the animal entering the food supply. This ensures the drugs have sufficiently cleared an animal’s system.

Why are antibiotics given to livestock?
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), U.S. farmers and ranchers must maintain good animal care, which includes making sure animals are healthy; comfortable; well nourished; safe; able to express the natural behaviors of their species; and not experiencing pain, fear and distress. According to AVMA, banning or severely restricting the use of antimicrobials in animals would negatively impact a veterinarian’s ability to protect animal health and prevent suffering from disease, which can lead to poor care.

In the following video, family farmer and mom, Heidi Vittetoe invites you to uncover antibiotic use on her pork farm. 

Is human health impacted by eating meat from animals given antibiotics?
“The judicious use of all drugs in animals, particularly food-producing animals, is very important. The use of medicated feeds in food-producing animals is evaluated and regulated to prevent harmful effects on both animal and human health,” said Steven D. Vaughn, D.V.M., director of the Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation in FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

Looking for more information on antibiotics from farmers? Ask your neighboring farms and ranches or visit http://findourcommonground.com/food-facts/antibiotics/.

Additional Informational Sites:
Responsible Antibiotic Use
CommonGround Kansas
Kansas Livestock Association
Kansas Beef Council 
Kansas Pork Producers
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
My Plate

Kansas Joins CommonGround Program

Farmers Greet Guests with Delicious Food and Genuine Conversations at State Launch

The Kansas State University Lady Wildcats may have shot better hoops than the University of Kansas Lady Jayhawks Saturday night, but the real winners were the farm women who started a conversation about food at Allen Fieldhouse prior to the game.  Teresa Brandenburg, Kara James and LaVell Winsor hosted dinner to launch the Kansas arm of the CommonGround program—a national grassroots movement, designed to bridge the gap between the women who grow food and the women who buy it.

The event brought together members of the media, academics and government officials to discuss modern farming. During the dinner, guests were invited to partake in conversation about farming and food while enjoying delicious food and the company of the new Kansas CommonGround volunteer farmers.

The reason Kansas became a part of the CommonGround movement was clear during dinner as Alton, Kan. CommonGround volunteer, Teresa Brandenburg explained, “many consumers are confronted by a barrage of inaccurate information and rumors about food. All three of us (volunteers) want to share our stories and personal understanding of agriculture and food.” She also noted, “who is better to tell that story than someone like me, a mom, and a farmer?” Throughout the dinner, the volunteers shared anecdotes from their farm and used their agriculture knowledge and expertise to address guest’s concerns about our nation’s food supply.

Many questions were about the locavore movement and organic farming, but LaVell Winsor, a grain farmer from Grantville, Kan. said, “many of the topics we discussed centered around the facts on organics and implications of a shift toward eating locally produced foods.” She enjoyed being able to address misconceptions throughout the evening. “Some of the attendees pulled me into a discussion on the benefits of organics to ask for my thoughts.  I explained that, while farmers in our country do provide a variety of healthy, safe options, there is no evidence that organic production results in a more nutritious, healthier choice. Really, they could rest assured that they were providing their family with the wholesome nourishment they need whether they buy organic or conventionally produced foods. It was great being able to put a face and a name with agriculture so that people knew they can contact a real person about farming and food!”

To close out the evening, guest were encouraged to fill their reusable CommonGround grocery bags with facts about food production and recipes the volunteers shared from their own kitchens. Following the dinner, the entire group was invited to join in the festivities and watch the University of Kansas women’s basketball team take on their rivals from Manhattan.

“As a Kansas CommonGround volunteer, I hope our guests left with a better understanding of how food is grown and that, as farmers, we want to speak with the public about what we do,” said Karra James, CommonGround volunteer from Clay Center, Kan. “When farmers like myself say something about food I think our message comes from a more genuine place because we are connected directly to agriculture.”

The CommonGround program is moving forward in 15 states including Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dokata, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota. The movement will continue to grow and expand nationwide.

Want to join the CommonGround Conversation? Stay tuned for more CommonGround Kansas updates and what you can to help.

Website: www.FindOurCommonGround.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/FindOurCommonGround

Twitter: www.twitter.com/commongroundks

Twitter Hashtag: #CGConvo

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CommonGroundKansas

Blog: http://commongroundkansas.wordpress.com/

About the volunteers:

Teresa Brandenburg from Alton, Kansas

Teresa was the 2006 American Honey Princess, crown and all.  But that hardly serves as her only contribution to agriculture. Starting out, Teresa grew up in a small town in Iowa where her dad drove a truck hauling farm commodities. Teresa started raising livestock with her family when she was 10.  Now, she and her husband, Luke, are the fourth generation on his family’s farm. Their son, Jacob, represents the fifth generation.  She is currently serving on the Kansas Soybean Association Board of Directors, and enjoys working with her husband to raise cattle, corn, milo, soybeans and wheat.

LaVell Winsor from Grantville, Kansas

LaVell has a unique perspective on agriculture, having worked as a farmer with responsibility for merchandising and managing grain sales while keeping financial records, and outside of the farm with other growers as a business consultant specializing in risk-management.  Coupled with her previous experience in succession and estate planning, LaVell understands the vast array of financial issues facing farmers and agriculture as a whole.

Karra James From Clay Center, Kansas

Karra works with her husband Derek on his parent’s farm to grow grain, raise cattle and, more importantly, their elementary school-aged son and daughter.  Having earned a degree in Food Science and worked in the food safety field, Kara understands the science behind many of the questions consumers have about their food. As she increases her involvement on the farm, she also broadens her perspective on the modern technologies and techniques they use every day.

Lori Deyoe From Ulysses, Kansas

Farming is Lori’s heritage from several generations back on both sides of her family, and her work has always reflected that. She is a farmer’s daughter, the wife of a cattleman and mom to two children. Even her education, a degree in agricultural economics with minors in animal science and women’s studies from Kansas State University, is rooted in agriculture. Before Lori and her husband started a family, she worked as the assistant grain manager at an elevator in town. And currently, Lori coordinates logistics for their small beef feed yard; handles the accounting; and writes on their blog about agriculture. No need to say it – this woman is all about farming.

About CommonGround™

CommonGround is a grassroots movement to foster conversation among women – on farms and in cities – about where our food comes from. CommonGround was developed by the United Soybean Board (USB) and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) in an effort to give farm women the opportunity to speak with consumers using a wide range of activities. USB and NCGA provide support and a platform for the volunteers to tell their stories. The opinions and statements made by the volunteers are not necessarily representative of the policies and opinions of USB or NCGA.

Animal Athletes

By: DeEtta Bohling, Communications Specialist

This week Las Vegas has probably seen more cowboy boots, coyboy hats and sparkly belt buckles than usual! The National Finals Rodeo will wrap up on Saturday after ten days of competition and entertainment. I’ve been to more rodeos, roping and bull riding events in the past year than ever in my life thanks to my boyfriend, who may be slightly obsessed.

Last April, I attended my first ever Professional Bull Riders (PBR) event. Not only was I blown away by the entire production (the riders, bulls, clowns, announcers, bullfighters, lights and music) but I was also thoroughly impressed with how the emphasized the safety of the athletes- both the riders and bulls.

PBR: Breneman/Bullstockmedia.com

Like a well-conditioned athlete, an animal can only perform if it is healthy. Any cowboy will tell you he takes home a paycheck only when the animal is in top form. Stock contractors and ranchers, who raise livestock for a living, have a moral and financial interest in keeping their animals healthy.

Stock contractors take great pride in their bucking bulls and take care of them to ensure that they are in top-notch shape to perform. It is no secret that the PBR treats the bulls with as much respect as the humans that ride them. As with any sport, athletes sometimes get hurt. This could be anything from a pulled muscle to a career or life-ending injury.

PBR reports that “one bull will suffer a minor injury such as a muscle pull or scratch every eight events or 786 outs. Bulls that are determined to have an injury are not allowed to compete again until fully recovered, which is generally one to four weeks. One bull will suffer a career-ending injury every 100 events or 9,833 outs. A bucking bull has a .004% chance of sustaining a life-threatening injury at a PBR event.”

Compare these injury statistics to football. An estimated 40,000 concussions are suffered every year among high school football players, alone. From 1991-2006 the average direct fatalities due to participation in organized football (professional, college, high school and sandlot) was 4.3 per year. (Source)

It’s obvious that the stock contractors and the PBR pay very attention to animal welfare. The bucking bulls are treated like training athletes when it comes to diet, exercise and medical treatment. The same story goes for rodeos across the nation.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) turns to the experts when it comes to the treatment and care of rodeo livestock. The experts are the on-site rodeo veterinarians who are required by PRCA rules to attend each rodeo performance.

It is great to know that the livestock in the pasture and the arena are being cared for by farmers, ranchers, cowboys and veterinarians. Furthermore, I feel fortunate to live in the United States, where I can be assured that because animals are well cared for, the food on my table is the best and safest on the market.

Food Day- 365

By: DeEtta Bohling, Communications Specialist

A couple weeks ago I noticed something different about the bananas I picked up at the grocery store. They had a sticker on them advertising some sort of holiday, called “Food Day,” taking place on October 24. Naturally, being an advocate for agriculture, I was instantly curious.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has launched Food Day, a campaign to “change the way Americans eat and think about food.” CSPI says that Food Day is designed to “encourage people to support healthy, affordable food grown in a sustainable, humane way.” Sounds like a slogan for agriculture to me! Farmers want to produce healthy food for their families, their communities and the rest of the world. We all want affordable food. Farmers and ranchers are practicing sustainability and humane animal welfare daily.

On the Food Day website, there are six key points outlined as goals. I’ve got beef with some of these points and would like to go through each of them to share some thoughts.

1) Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods.
Of course! Farmers and ranchers want to provide the world with safe, healthy and affordable food. Remember that these folks feed their families the food they produce.

2) Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness.
Farmers were the first environmentalists. With today’s farming techniques, it’s possible to have great yields, while improving the soil and protecting the environment. By caring for the land and the environment, farmers can continue producing great crops that help provide quality, safe food. Often times, farm land is passed down through generations so growers want to ensure that their land is well cared for. I won’t get into subsidies but Caci, a farm wife from South Carolina, explains farm subsidies further on her blog.

3) Expand access to food and alleviate hunger.
Farmers and ranchers support efforts to alleviate hunger in our own country, as well as across the globe. You will find that these folks donate to food banks and a variety of charitable causes. Here’s just one example. Today, one farmer produces enough food in one year to feed 156 people. If we relied on the food production systems of 1950, as some are suggesting, approximately 150 million people living in the U.S. today would be without food. That’s everyone in the 13 largest U.S. states, hungry! Additionally, placing restrictions of the U.S. food system that limit the ability to produce the food we need will increase the cost of food and limit healthy, affordable food choices for all of us, including those who can least afford it. Today’s food system works to address hunger and food insecurity, and to meet the challenge of feeding a growing global population.

4) Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms.
Wait, what exactly is a factory farm? As Chuck Jolley, a Kansas City freelance writer wrote for The Pork Network, “Those big, bad, evil factory farms? Most of them are run by your neighbor, his wife and kids. Maybe there are even a few grandchildren lending a hand. And they offer employment in areas where there aren’t a lot of other opportunities. They are the leading businesses in rural America, producing billions of dollars worth of goods at a scant few pennies on the dollar. They feed most Americans and a stunning portion of the rest of the world and, hopefully, your neighbor, his wife and kids can go to bed at night, satisfied with a job well-done and a lifestyle they love.”

As Dawn Caldwell, a Nebraska producer writes in her blog. “Regardless, if we have 10 or 10,000 animals, if we don’t treat them well, they won’t treat us well. It takes a special kind of person to own or work on a farm – there aren’t many of us left here in the U.S. We are a few proud folks doing our best to continually improve farming methods and products for a rapidly growing population.”

Today, 98 percent of all farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations. Actually, just two percent of America’s farms and ranches are owned by non-family corporations. Size shouldn’t define a family farm or “factory farm”. If global food production is to more than double by 2050, there’s enough work to be done by both large and small farms.

Like you, farmers and ranchers expect every ounce of their food to be healthy, affordable, and most importantly, safe. That is why they go to great lengths to care for their animals. Not only is the right thing to do, but animals that are threatened or sick simply will not produce as well as healthy animals. With constant temperature monitoring and on-call veterinary care, America’s farmer and ranchers pride themselves on adhering to the strictest quality assurance and certification standards.

5) Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
The farmers I know are supportive of free enterprise. Parents are best equipped to make nutritional decisions for their families. The agricultural community wants to continue an open dialogue with consumers. If you have questions concerning the production of your food, ask a farmer. Here is a list of producers who would be happy to address your questions and concerns.

6) Support fair conditions for food and farm workers.
Agriculture is a vital part of our lives and our economy. U.S. agriculture and related industries account for one in 12 jobs nationwide. We want to provide fair wages and conditions for all workers.

Food Day conversations and activities will be taking place across the nation on October 24 but farmers and ranchers are speaking up about the food they produce every day. Now, more than ever, farmers are noticing the disconnect between agriculture and the consumer and are doing something about it. Join the conversations on Twitter regarding food production by following #FoodD, #FoodDay365 and #CGconvo. Below is a list of resources that may be helpful in answering your questions about food.

Resources:
Registered Dietitian’s Food Day Pledge Takes Aim at What’s Wrong With Most Advice

Shouldn’t Every Day be Food Day?, The Center For Food Integrity

Real Farmers, Real Food

Food Dialogues, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance

CommonGround

Cause Matters, Connecting Gate to Plate

Aunt Velma’s Strong Hands and Warm Heart

By DeEtta Bohling, Communications Specialist

Last week I attended my great-aunt Velma’s funeral. Velma passed away at the age of 87 in my hometown in Southwest Iowa.

After graduating from high school, Velma taught in three one-room country schools, Eureka No. 1, Eureka No. 8 and Jackson No. 6 for six years. She later married a farmer and gave birth to six children.

As I sat through the service last Friday listening to Velma’s children and grandchildren speak, I caught onto something each of them mentioned. Velma was not “just a housewife” but a partner in the family farm. She worked side by side with her husband with all the outside chores and kept records of transactions.

Velma, just like many women in agriculture, was a hard worker on and off the farm. Raising children, cooking meals, cleaning the house, growing crops, caring for animals, keeping records, and tending to the garden were all in a day’s work. When time allowed, she would also squeeze in some of her personal interests such as reading, genealogy, local history and sending cards and letters to family and friends. More often than not, we don’t give credit to the women who represent family farms across the U.S.

If you are not familiar with an initiative called CommonGround, I encourage you to check it out the website. CommonGround is a collaborative effort created by the National Corn Growers Association and the United Soybean Board. It was developed to help develop strong grassroots campaigns that provide farm women with the tools and opportunities to speak directly with the public about farming.

Nebraska and Iowa both launched their CommonGround initiatives at Hy-Vee stores in the city, giving consumers an opportunity to speak one-on-one with the CommonGround spokeswomen. Through this direct, open communication, the shoppers learned the true story about agriculture without media filters while the new spokeswomen developed a better understanding of the concerns facing the 98.5 percent of the U.S. population no longer involved in agriculture.

I am certain that Velma’s passion for the land and putting healthy, bountiful food on the table will live on through many. Women like Velma are truly an asset to American agriculture.

Oprah’s Vegan Challenge

By DeEtta Bohling, Communications Specialist

Tuesday afternoon I sat down with my pen and paper to watch Oprah’s Food 201- The Vegan Challenge. For those of you who remember my article “Rejected by Oprah,” you know that I have been an Oprah fan for years, but it had been a while since I had watched her show.

The last time I wrote about Oprah I was fired up about guest, Michael Pollan spreading mis-truths about modern ag production. What made me even more angry was that my comments to Oprah about these assumptions where not only deleted but that I was banned from making any additional comments to her Facebook page.

During Oprah’s Food 201 show, she encouraged her staff to sign up for a week-long vegan challenge. 378 employees signed up for the challenge. Some fell off the bandwagon, some decided to continue to be vegan (or “veganish”) but for all, it was an eye-opener.

There’s a lot that I actually liked about this show. I enjoyed watching as Cargill opened up their plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado to investigative reporter, Lisa Ling and showed that they are committed to treating the animals with dignity and respect. The cattle are harvested carefully and Ling said she was impressed that everything ran like clockwork. Ling says she will continue to enjoy eating meat but that she has a new appreciation for the animals.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again- many consumers are completely disconnected from the food chain. That’s why it’s important for farmers to continue to make the connection of how our food gets from the farm gate to the dinner plate. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and other forms of social media have all proven to be valuable resources for farmers and ranchers to get their message out in this day of age.

I laughed to myself a few weeks ago when reading a friend’s blog who left Iowa for a few months to be Ag Education student teacher in Houston, Texas.

She writes: “My first week here I went with a couple students and Mr. Arkadie to some surrounding elementary students to host livestock petting zoos for students. One group of 2nd graders came out of the building and the principal told the teacher they were to visit the lamb first. The teacher nodded at the principal and said “the lamb? Ok, which one’s that?”….I wish I had this story to tell three months ago when people were asking why on earth I thought I needed to go to Houston to teach agriculture education.”

The disconnect, however, isn’t happening just in the cities. It’s also taking place in our rural communities.

Let’s take this vegan challenge a step further. I enjoyed Mike Haley’s blog post about the challenge in which he stated, “In essence to fulfill Oprah’s challenge I began to make a list of things I would have to sacrifice for the week.  I began with the logical answers of steak, chicken and milk.  Then I started thinking about the definition of a vegan, I would have to give up all animal products, so I broadened my list to include gelatin, lanolin, rennet, whey, casein, beeswax, stearic acid, and broccoli. So I know what you are thinking, “why can’t a vegan eat broccoli?”  Well as I made out my list I noted stearic acid was a byproduct of animals, a byproduct that makes tires.  Tires are used by the farmer that grows the broccoli, by the truck driver that delivers it to the grocer, and would require that I walk to the store in…. I guess bare feet as even rubber shoes have animal products in them.   So in essence I could grow the broccoli in my garden using organic methods and fertilizing it with manure; oh wait that is an animal product as well.”

That, in its self, really puts the importance of animal agriculture into perspective don’t you think?

Also check out:
There Is No Such Thing As a Vegan
Oprah Goes from Godiva to Vegan

Farewell to 193

By Sue Schulte
KCGA/KGSPA Communications Director

If you haven’t heard, 193 is leaving the Pleasant Valley Ranch. If you follow Sharon Springs producer Mark Smith’s Pleasant Valley Ranch Facebook page, this will mean something to you. Mark has a camera, and he knows how to use it. He also has a heart. Mark has been posting pictures of 193, which is a nice looking heifer that was born on the ranch in February of 2010 and has been growing up on the ranch. Today, Mark posted a farewell picture of 193 with the following message:

“It is time to say goodbye to you and all my friends. I now weigh 731 lbs. and it is time to leave this place and move on to be finished to market weight somewhere else! Thanks for being a part of my life and watching me grow up. This is 193 and I’m saying goodbye to Pleasant Valley Ranch, take over Angelo!”

Angelo is #247. He was nicknamed Angelo because of the angel wing markings on his face. Angelo was born in a corn stalk field during the Thanksgiving 2010 and was chosen by some of Mark’s Facebook followers as the calf to follow this year.

Now, this isn’t necessarily an advertisement for Mark’s Facebook page, although it certainly is worthy. The Pleasant Valley Ranch Facebook page simply does a great job showing ranch life in west central Kansas and also Mark’s love for his cattle and his land. Another good Kansas ranch Facebook page is Debbie Blythe-Lyons’ Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch page.

Big money special interest groups like HSUS and PETA are spending millions to convince the public that farmers and ranchers abuse their animals and their land. Facebook pages like Mark’s and Debbie’s show the real story of farmers and ranchers, people with compassion and pride in their animals and the crops they raise.

With more and more people turning to social media for information, these kinds of pages are extremely valuable to help people, especially our city cousins, understand where their food comes from and what kind of people are producing that food.

Kudos to Mark, Debbie and all the farmers and ranchers who are using social media to share information about their operations.

Interested in Social Media? It’s not too late to join in a series of social media webinars being offered by the National Corn Growers Association. The first webinar of the National Corn Growers Association 2011 Social Media Training Program was held this week. The program is sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, and is the first of 12 free hour-long online learning sessions that will be held monthly through 2011.

Follow-up webinars are planned for February 17, March 17, April 28, May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18, September 15, October 20, November 17 and December 15. Times for these will be announced prior to the webinars.

Click here to register or get more information.

From Farm Gate to Dinner Plate

By: DeEtta Bohling, Communications Specialist

Social media allows me to read and skim numerous headlines and articles relating to a variety of topics throughout the day. One article in particular, caught my attention yesterday- Teen saves pet chicken from slaughter at school.

Whitney Hillman, a student at Concordia, Kan., High School, was enrolled in an animal science and food production class. She was given a chicken to raise as a part of the class and on slaughter day she grabbed the chicken and headed to a getaway vehicle driven by her stepfather.

Hillman said “I got two days in-school suspension, but I don’t care”. “They made him my pet and then wanted me to kill him. I couldn’t do that.”

Hillman says she didn’t know that raising and slaughtering a chicken would be a part of the class until it was too late to drop the course. However, I’m curious what she expected from the animal science and food production class.

In a written statement, Concordia Principal Greg Errebo said, “We come from an agricultural part of the nation, and our students need to understand that food doesn’t magically appear on our plates at home or in a restaurant. Animals are used to feed us, and there is a process in the raising of those animals from birth to consumption.”

I agree with Errebo that it is extremely important for youth and adults alike to understand food production and where our food comes from, however its important wherever you live. After all, we eat.

Animal agriculture teaches young people pride, perseverance, work ethic and leadership. The way I see it, the teacher was trying to communicate the same lesson that 4-Hers and FFA youth learn the first time they enter the sale ring with the animal that they have fed, cared for and prepared to show. It’s hard for youth to say good bye to a friend, someone they have spent a great deal of time with. It’s also vital that they realize however, that their animal will go to feed a family who needs the nutrients the animal offers.

In order for us to survive, organisms must perish- be it a tomato, the grasshopper hit by a combine during harvest, or a chicken. Today, this lesson isn’t easy to learn, let alone to teach. Chicken didn’t just appear at KFC and that steak you had last night wasn’t a miracle. Farmers and ranchers care for their animals and produce a safe and nutritious food supply for us all.

If you haven’t checked out Michele Payn-Knoper’s Gate to Plate Blog , I encourage you to do so. Those of you who are in agriculture- continue to share your story. For ideas on how to do so, check out our “Agvocate” post.

Additional reading:
New Way to Help Chickens Cross to the Other Side

 

Factory Farms Exposed

By DeEtta Bohling, Communications Specialist

Who doesn’t love choices? I believe it is important to have choices and that informed decisions are vital, especially when it comes to choosing your food.

We all have friends or family that chose to be a vegetarian or vegan. I am always curious to hear why they made that decision. The answer I dread— “because of factory farming”.

I often hear folks throw around the term “factory farming” without any knowledge of modern animal agriculture practices. Animal rights activists continue to spread an astonishing number of half-truths and errors when it comes to animal ag.

People who use the term “factory farming” seem to think family farms are a thing of the past. Perhaps they believe this because family farmers have a certain number of animals or purchased more land to become more profitable. Today 98 percent of all farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations. Actually, just two percent of America’s farms and ranches are owned by non-family corporations.

Farmers and ranchers, just like you, expect every ounce of their food to be healthy, affordable and most importantly, safe. That is why they go to great lengths to care for their animals. Not only is it the right thing to do, but animals that are threatened or sick simply will not produce as well as healthy animals. It simply does not make economic sense to mistreat animals on a farm, just as it doesn’t make sense for a crop farmer to mistreat the land he farms. With constant temperature monitoring and on-call veterinary care, America’s farmers and ranchers pride themselves on adhering to the strictest quality assurance and certification standards. This way, you can be assured that your American raised product is the best and safest on the market.

Often times, factory farms are thought of to be where animals are confined and crowded. The truth is, animals are kept in barns to protect the health and welfare of the animal. Housing protects animals from predators, disease, and extreme climate. Housing also reduces the stress of breeding and birth, protects the young animals, and makes it easier for farmers to care for their animals. Today, housing is well ventilated, climate controlled, clean and scientifically designed to meet the needs of the animals.

Chickens are always a hot topic when it comes to farming practices. Broilers (young meat chickens) are not raised in cages. They are raised in large open structures known as grow houses. Again, housing is vital to provide comfortable and safe living conditions for the animal. The broiler chicken today is larger and sturdier than in years past, thanks to continuous advancements in the science of poultry nutrition and selective breeding. There is no genetic modification or genetic engineering in the broiler industry.

Can we ensure pig welfare using current production methods? Today, there are multiple facility options for hog producers and each has advantages and disadvantages. The term “confinement” is commonly used to describe indoor systems. However, all pigs raised for food in the U.S. are confined, including those that are confined by fences or semi- permanent housing systems. Modern indoor confinement systems provide a safe living environment for the hogs and also provide a cleaner and healthier environment for the animals since the floor and surface can be adequately cleaned.

Studies prove that pigs raised in outdoor systems and particularly, antibiotic free pigs, may harbor parasites (such as Trichinella and Toxoplasma) that are simply not found in pigs raised in indoor systems. Salmonella infection is also more common in pigs raised outdoors. Farmers and ranchers choose the housing system that they feel works best for their animal and their operation. Housing systems are so varied that pork producers may even adopt different systems for different stages of production.

How can we be sure that livestock are treated humanely in meat packing plants? Animal handling in meat plants has never been better. For more than four decades, the industry has been subject to the federal Humane Slaughter Act of 1958. Federal inspectors are present in meat plants at all times and are fully empowered to take action against a plant for Humane Slaughter Act violations. No other sector of animal agriculture is regulated and inspected for animal handling practices as thoroughly as meat packing plants.

In the last two decades, the industry initiated a number of voluntary initiatives that include enhanced animal handling training, implementation of voluntary guidelines and the use of self-audits to assess welfare and maintain continuous improvement.

So, if the farms you are calling “factory farms” are family owned and the animals are comfortable and being cared for, the only characteristic left to make it a factory farm in your book must be the size.

Marlys Miller said it best in an article on The Cattle Network:

“At what point is a farm too big to be a family farm? I would argue that size doesn’t matter.

The 20-cow dairy involving a husband, wife and three kids is a family farm. But so is the dairy owned by two adult brothers who milk 3,000 cows, which involves their families and 15 employees.

Size should not be part of the family farm equation and agriculture needs to support each other more broadly and speak more uniformly. There have always been big farms and ranches and small farms and ranches, one is not right and the other wrong. Both can survive and both can fail. As with any business, the key is to find a niche and fill it, just don’t drag others down in the effort. If global food production is to more than double by 2050, there’s enough work to be done by everyone.”

As Chuck Jolley, a Kansas City free lance writer says on The Pork Network,

“Those big, bad, evil factory farms? Most of them are run by your neighbor, his wife and kids. Maybe there are even a few grandchildren lending a hand. And they offer employment in areas where there aren’t a lot of other opportunities. They are the leading businesses in rural America, producing billions of dollars worth of goods at a scant few pennies on the dollar. They feed most Americans and a stunning portion of the rest of the world and, hopefully, your neighbor, his wife and kids can go to bed at night, satisfied with a job well-done and a lifestyle they love.”

We all make choices. Only you can make the best decision for yourself. Be informed and ask questions. Ask a local farmer for a tour of their farm or visit one on the web. There are more than 300,000,000 people living in the U.S. Only 2,000,000 farm so the rest of us can eat. Each and everyday farmers with operations of all sizes wake up and make a decision to provide you with safe, nutritious and affordable food, caring for their animals and giving back to their communities.

Recommended sites:

A look at the meaning of “factory farm”
Temple Grandin Addresses Animal Welfare
Choose to Choose
USDA Animal Welfare
Cattle Network: What Defines a Family Farm?
Farmers Feed US
HumaneWatch: Animal Agriculture
Life on a KS Cattle Ranch
The Truth About Modern Pork Production
Why I Choose to Eat Meat
Don’t be misled

Farmers and Ranchers Care for Animals in Order to Produce Safe and Abundant Food Supply

By: Kiley Stinson, Intern

I recently had the opportunity to take in some of the most fascinating and historical landmarks of our country when visiting our Nation’s Capital in Washington, D.C.  It was truly a remarkable experience, and puts our American History in a whole different perspective once you’ve been. If you’ve never been, I encourage you to go.

After braving the heat for several hours, in an attempt to cool off we checked out the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Coincidentally, across the street sits the United States Department of Agriculture building. While trying to weave in-and-out of a cluster of people, I noticed the young woman walking in front of me stopped and picked up a pretty colorful magazine. To my surprise in bold lettering the heading read “Go Vegetarian, Go Vegan.” So who were the culprits with their logo clearly printed on the front cover? PETA. All it took was one flip of a page to see the lies and misinterpretation of information attacking animal agriculture. Animal rights activist groups such as PETA and also the HSUS quite frequently use facts and information out of context in order to frame farm animal production in a negative manner. These groups effectively get the attention of young hearts by using emotion through words, photos and videos that show animals being abused and neglected and often include so called “testimonies” by celebrities and professional athletes.

So what did the articles have to say this time? In highlighted text, phrases such as “many pigs go insane from extremely crowded conditions in factory farms, and compulsively chew on the bars of their pens.” A lot of folks might not realize this, but pigs chew on everything! Especially young pigs, I know this from raising pigs on my farm. It’s not uncommon to see a pig chewing on a panel, your shoes, a stick or even a marshmallow! This just goes to show that just because a picture shows a pig chewing on the panel of a pen, doesn’t mean that animal is in danger. You can’t believe everything you see. It’s common practice by farmers and livestock producers to keep their animals in a pen to protect them harmful predators. Whether that potential predator is a coyote, a cat, or actions taken as a preventative biosecurity measure to ensure that their farm stays clean and free of disease. It’s all done to provide a safe and healthy food supply for consumers. If animal rights activists are so appalled to the idea of young animals being kept in a pen, were they not one of the millions of kids whose parents used playpens when they were growing up? Play pens protect children from wandering off away from their parents, and provides a safe place to nap, play or snack.. Hmm… sounds similar to how farmers keep their animals safe and happy.

The challenge? Many will believe almost anything on television or in a magazine, even if the message isn’t even close to being accurate. Many families are no where near as self sufficient as their ancestors once were. Many men and women don’t know how that corn, lettuce or hamburger got to their table. This isn’t just an issue in urban cities either. It’s happening in your community. Families are several generations removed from their family farm.

How can you help? Talk. It doesn’t matter if you’re a farmer, livestock producer or the consumer. Tell your story, talk about how much you care, how far you go out of your way to see that what you are producing or eating is safe and wholesome. Write a letter to the editor. Let your neighbors and coworkers know about how good those sirloin steaks and corn on the cob was last night for supper. Talk to your child’s school board about the importance of ag education. Join a social network. Call a farmer or rancher and ask if you can have a tour. I almost guarantee they would be just as excited as you, if not more to talk to you about their livelihood, and the lifestyle that they are oh, so proud of!

Temple Grandin addresses animal welfare
Factory Farms EXPOSED
Don’t be misled
Assault on Agriculture
Become an Advocate for Agriculture
The Animal Rights Agenda
What is the Humane Society of the United States?