Privilege to vote

I’ve heard many people say “I don’t trust any of ‘em” referring to candidates for political offices at every level of government- from County Sheriff to State Governor to President of the United States of America.

So, you ask “Why vote?”  I believe that that attitude and level of complacency is at the heart of most of the problems we have in this country.

Not everyone has the privilege to participate in the government process the way we in the United States of America do.  I vote because it is an honor and a privilege and my right as a citizen of this great country

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Weathering weather extremes

As we gathered with family and close friends just before Christmas, the rain was relentless. The branch that runs in front of our house and into Howards Creek rushed with such intensity that we had to blow up air mattresses so everyone that could not leave due to what looked and sounded like the Mississippi River roaring through our front yard, had a place to sleep.

(Okay, maybe the branch was not THAT big, but no one dared try to cross the unyielding current!)

Once the rains stopped, the temperature began to drop, the puddles turned to ice, and it began to snow. The temperatures hovered in the teens and twenties for several days before plummeting. A powdery snow accompanied by strong winds created drifts that made some of our county roads and state highways impassable. The danger of frostbite became a reality as the wind howled throughout the days and nights. With real temperatures from -6 to 6 above zero for several days, we experienced wind chills that reached down into the minus 30’s.

When the air temperatures finally began to rise, the fog set in. Dense fog early in the morning and at night made driving the winding and steep roads in my “neck of the woods” very dangerous. And again, the rains came.

As I write this column, I’m looking out my office window at what our meteorologist calls a “dank” day. It’s a gloomy afternoon as my part of the world gets a 12-hour break between rains.

Weather in the Midwest is fickle. It is as though Mother Nature just can’t seem to make up her mind!

2009 was a year whose weather we’ll not soon forget. As we shake the newness off of 2010, let’s pray for more farmer-friendly weather days this year. For those of us with livestock, 2010 hasn’t exactly been what we’d call stellar, but we’re hopeful the weather extremes will even out a bit, with spring just weeks away.

I’ve dedicated quite a bit of space and a whole lot of words painting a picture about the weather extremes I’ve seen in the past 4 weeks or so. The bottom line is that there is a not a darned thing any of can do to change the weather we’re going to get, unless of course we want to move to another part of the world.

Instead of spending too much time fretting about it, let’s look back at some of the lessons we learned and those successes – however negligible they seemed at the time – we enjoyed. Granted, we have to spend at least SOME time fretting because we are human and because the weather is a variable those of us involved in agriculture must consider and deal with.

For me, there are few sights more breathtaking than 2-week old calves running and jumping and romping and playing with one another in fresh snow. As cotton ball flakes float from the sky like confetti on New Year’s Eve, a cow heavy with milk voices her concern in the long, low sound that lets her offspring know she’s not fooling around.

As I crossed the no-longer-overflowing branch this morning, despite the specs of mud on my windshield and the fog that encased my car, I could see the bird as it broke free from a limb on the huge old Sycamore tree. As it glided through the sky, just a few feet above my car, I knew before I saw the white head and tail that it was a bald eagle. I see her a few times a week, often accompanied by a juvenile bald eagle. The weather extremes do not seem to faze her.

Weather is key to making us, and to breaking us, but it doesn’t have to break our spirit unless we give it the power to do so.

The apron story

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is – that is how the email my cousin  sent to me began.  Tad was one of MANY cousins on my mom’s side of the family. When we all got together at Grandma and Grandpa’s for a holiday, there was a yard full of farm kids.

This is a story I have told before, and some requested I tell it again.  It’s about Grandma’s apron.

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Know where your donation is going

The outpouring of love and support shown to the people of Haiti is proof to me that there is much good in this world.  There are also those who will take advantage of a tragedy.

HSUS is raising money, claiming the money will go to help the animals of Haiti.

Don’t let history repeat itself. Give generously, but know where your donation is going.

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Focus on all consumers, not just those in cities

The USDA ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative emphasizes the need for a fundamental and critical reconnection between producers and consumers. I believe that reconnection is critical to the future of agriculture in the United States of America. USDA’s initiative focuses on local and regional food systems – which I believe to be limiting, considering the size and scope of modern agriculture and the sheer numbers of people to be fed – but it is a good start.

There is an underlying assumption that the consumers with whom farmers should be reconnected live in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and other cities across America. It is my belief that farmers need to cover home base first. You must reconnect with neighbors in those towns and communities outside of metropolitan areas. Many people in agricultural areas have a misperception about what is being done on farms in their own communities.

I recently penned a column suggesting that it is unacceptable for an animal rights organization (specifically Humane Society of the United States) to propose standards for the care of animals when the organization does not own or operate a single animal shelter or pet adoption facility. I suggested that it is a violation of our Constitution to interfere in a person’s right to run a business, specifically forbidding an American citizen ownership of a set amount of legal property. I was referring to dogs, which apparently did not set well with a whole lot of people. I expected that. I didn’t expect to hear from so many women raised on farms, married to farmers, with children and grandchildren farming, to voice – quite angrily in some cases – such disagreement with me.

One woman wrote, “There needs to be a group that monitors and helps these animals. I applaud their efforts. Yes, there are some small groups that are radical, but I bet if you took the time and made an effort to learn about all the good things they accomplish, your negative views might change”

This woman lives on a farm where livestock is raised, yet she is telling me that she believes HSUS accomplishes good things. She also thought my column should not have been approved for placement in this paper.

I received another letter this week in response to a radio commentary program. This woman wrote:

“While I am not a farmer or rancher, nor do I work in agriculture, I am a consumer. I have to disagree with the thought that livestock producers know best about raising and taking care of animals.”

She referenced video she had seen of animal abuse on both dairy and poultry farms and told me that she no longer eats eggs or chicken and that her daughters and grandchildren are following in her footsteps.

This woman does not live in a big city, she lives in a town in central Illinois in a county well-known for corn and soybean production and processing.

I am grateful to both of these women and the numerous others who email me everyday, voicing concern and asking questions. By writing to me, they open the door for dialogue. I have the opportunity to present facts to them and explain that although there are bad actors in agriculture, most of us are pretty good stewards of the land, air, water and livestock under our care.

Friends, I’m asking you to step up the plate and reconnect with a consumer in your local community. Strike up a conversation when you are in the waiting room at the dentist’s office, waiting in line for a prescription at the drug store or dropping off mail at the post office. Talk to your friends and ask them to do the same. And if you are one of those bad actors, you need to change your ways or get out of the industry.

The future of agriculture in this country is in your hands.

Teachable moments from hate mail

I love getting feedback from the articles I write. Whether or not you agree with what I have written is beside the point. If we were all in agreement on everything, it would certainly be a boring world. I can’t think of a single person with whom I agree one hundred percent of the time, and I think that is a good thing.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send an email or a letter to let me know what you think about the opinion presented in this weekly column.

If you respond to what I have written, I assume that I have touched on a subject for which you have great passion. And so, I expect the feedback I receive from you to be fueled by that passion. I do not, however, expect grown men (older than my father) to send emails rife with personal attacks against me.

Disagree with me. I respect that. But behave like a 10-year-old bully who needs his mouth washed out with soap and I will disregard your words – as would any intelligent being.

Finally, if you do disagree with something I have written, perhaps you should read the entire column before hastily sending an email berating me for writing something that you have taken out of context.

I share the above paragraphs with you because I believe this is one of those “teachable moments” for those of us who are trying to “tell our story” to those generations removed from the farm. Groups and individuals whose aim it is to bring an end to production agriculture in this country will not be derailed if we resort to childish bullying and name calling.

The majority of the people in this country who would side against America’s farmers are intelligent but simply misinformed individuals. Activist groups are well-funded, passionate, committed and smart. Many people – even in our rural communities – have an unrealistic perception of agriculture.

People are afraid of what they do not know. Trying to break through the wall of misinformation these people have been fed can be frustrating. Be patient. Be transparent. Be clear. And, above all, although there are times when you want to throw up your hands and question their intelligence, be respectful.

When the name-calling begins, my ears quit working. Most grown-ups are the same way. Those who would resort to childish behavior to get their point across will only distance themselves from an intelligent society.

Be respectful.

I love getting feedback on my commentaries. Whether or not you agree with me is beside the point. If we were all in agreement on everything, it would certainly be a boring world.

The majority of the people in this country who would side against America’s farmers are intelligent but simply misinformed individuals.

People are afraid of what they do not know. Trying to break through the wall of misinformation these people have been fed can be frustrating. Be patient. Be transparent. Be clear. And, above all, although there are times when you want to throw up your hands and question their intelligence, be respectful.

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Majority of Americans eat meat

An online poll commissioned by The Vegetarian Resource Group, shows three percent of U.S. adults identify themselves as vegetarian.  The Vegetarian Resource Group says those numbers make a strong statement for companies and restaurants to develop more meatless products for those consumers.

Our listeners and web viewers wrote that these poll numbers make a strong statement that the vast MAJORITY of Americans eat meat.

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HSUS and ASPCA working together in Missouri

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) ballot initiative placing numerous restrictions on dog breeders in Missouri has been approved for circulation by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. The proposal, among other restrictions, would limit operators to 50 or fewer female breeding dogs and set specific area and air temperature requirements for indoor housing and constant unfettered access to an outdoor exercise area that meets certain specifications.

Just under 100,000 certified signatures are needed by May 2, 2010 on the so-called “Puppy Mill Cruelty Protection Act” proposal to get it on the ballot for Missouri voters next November. A group called Missouri for the Protection of Dogs – supported by HSUS and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is collecting signatures.

There are so many things wrong with this situation that I don’t know where to begin and I certainly do not have the time or space in this column to include all of the questions I have, so here are a few:

Isn’t it a violation of the constitution to interfere in a person’s right to run a business, specifically forbidding an American citizen ownership of a set amount of legal property? Would you tell a shoe store owner that he can only own 50 pairs of shoes in his store at a time?

What happens to the economy of Missouri when the $2 billion the pet industry brings into the state disappears?

Why is it acceptable for an animal rights organization to propose standards for the care of animals when this organization does not own or operate a single animal shelter or pet adoption facility? How practical is that?

What will you do when an HSUS proposal becomes law in your state and the government comes for your 51st cow, pig or goat?

Get back to me on that, will you?

Hone your communications skills

We all need to work on our communications skills and the best way to do that is to become better listeners. Ask questions. Learn.

As the need to tell the story of agriculture to an audience that continues to grow and become even more diversified, we must hone those communications skills so we are telling the story in a language understood by those with whom we endeavor to communicate.

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