Basic ethics were not heeded

Commentary. Had basic ethics of journalism been heeded, the fiasco/debacle/extraordinary mess stemming from the release of a video clip from a speech by Georgia USDA official Shirley Sherrod would never have occurred.

It all started last Monday when Andrew Breitbart of the website Big Government.com posted a video clip from a speech that Sherrod made at an NAACP event in March where she talked about wanting to discriminate against a white farmer in danger of losing his farm. In no time at all – what I’m sure to Shirley Sherrod and her family felt like the entire country – had heard and/or seen the clip.

Shortly thereafter, Sherrod was very publicly condemned by the NAACP and on Tuesday she was very abruptly and publicly dismissed from her job at USDA. Later that day, it was made clear the video clip by which NAACP, the White House, USDA, some in national media, many so-called “citizen journalists” with blogs, Twitter and FaceBook accounts had used to judge Sherrod was only a small part of her speech and had indeed been taken out of context as she had claimed.

It became apparent that the video was only part of her speech, during which she revealed that this situation changed her attitude towards racism. As a matter of fact, the farm couple from Iron City, Ga. she mentioned in the clip quickly came to her defense and credits her for helping save their farm.

“We probably wouldn’t have our farm today if it hadn’t been for her leading us in the right direction,” said Eloise Spooner.

 

The official apology from the White House came Wednesday and later that day, an obviously regretful Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack offered his apology. During a press conference, the former Iowa governor said time and again that he “deeply regretted” the decision made in haste to ask Sherrod to resign.

“As a result, a good woman has gone through a very difficult period and I’m going to have to live with that for a long, long time,” he said.

The ag chief took full responsibility for his knee-jerk reaction to the accusation that one of his staffers had made racist comments.

As the RTNDA Code of Ethics states, “Professional electronic journalists should pursue truth aggressively and present the news accurately, in context and as completely as possible. . .Professional electronic journalists should present the news with integrity and decency, avoiding real or perceived conflicts of interest and respect the dignity and intelligence of the audience as well as the subjects of news. . .Professional electronic journalists are accountable for their actions to the public, the profession and to themselves.”

Manipulating video or audio or photos or the written word for self-serving purposes is irresponsible. It is also irresponsible for us to accept as fact every politically-motivated mud-spattered claim made against a party, an issue or a candidate.

It is important for us, as individual consumers of information, to differentiate between sources of “news” and sources of “views.”

Just because you read it on a blog doesn’t make it so.

The church newsletter

Commentary.

Every day, readers and listeners share with me stories of how their schools or communities have been targeted by anti-agriculture groups. Most of the time, the attacks are subtle. Groups like Humane Society of the United States, Waterkeepers or PETA do not always make their presence known in such a way that would seem threatening to a community. The soldier in the army against modern agriculture is quite often a person living and working in your community. A neighbor, a friend, a fellow church member who buys into the misinformation that is being peddled by those who do not eat meat and do not believe that you and I have the right to eat meat, and is compelled to preach these untruths to others.

In recent days, someone shared with me a church newsletter with not one, but two articles bashing animal agriculture in this country. I will give the person submitting these articles the benefit of the doubt and assume that he or she believed that the information contained would provide fellow church members with “action steps” that individuals could take to help bring an end to world hunger.

Who does not believe bringing an end to world hunger is a good thing? Certainly no good Christian could see fault in feeding the hungry masses!

The first submission was an editorial quoting an activist group that abuses and politicizes science. This group promotes a vegetarian lifestyle yet supports and lobbies for abortion rights. I’m pretty sure the person submitting the editorial did not research the piece or do any “fact-checking” before turning it in to be printed and mailed to the church membership.

The second article was rife with misinformation from a European group known for promoting a meat-free society. The article suggested that a predominantly vegetarian diet uses less water than a diet including meat, and as our population grows, so does the demand for water. The church member submitting the piece suggested that as Christians, fellow church members “should be willing to reduce their consumption of meat and animal products.”

I know for a fact that almost every member of that church has roots in agriculture. The community where this church is located relies on farming and related industry to maintain schools and roads and support most of the families living in the county.

This could be your church. What will you do when such anti-agriculture propaganda shows up in your church newsletter? Will you sit back and hope someone else takes a stand? Will you ignore it, believing that others receiving the newsletter will know as you do that these submissions have not been filtered for factual information? Will you pull your fellow church member aside and ask him to do some research the next time? Will you contact the pastor and talk with church board members and others who have the power to put a stop to it?

I’m not suggesting you turn against a member because he or she chooses not to eat meat, but distributing anti-agriculture propaganda should not, in my opinion, be the role of a church in a farming community!

Will the Sunday school fund-raiser, a meatloaf supper, be a meat-free supper in 2, 3 or 5 years?

That, my friends, is up to you.

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Birkenstocks and ankle bells?

Commentary.

“Think globally; act locally” is a sort of environmental call to action that originated in the late 60’s or early 70’s. In most cases the phrase encourages people to act at the grassroots level – at home and in their own communities –to effect change in the world.

You don’t have to wear Birkenstock sandals and tie dyed t-shirts, smoke American Spirit cigarettes, and listen to Bob Marley to think globally and act locally. Effecting change for the good of our environment is something most of us do daily, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time or cost a fortune to effect change.

So many of the environmentally friendly actions most of us take on a daily basis are second nature. We don’t give them a second thought.

We crush our aluminum cans at home and donate them to a church missions program. Under my desk at work, there is a garbage can as well as a paper recycling container. I have a stack of “eco-friendly” re-usable bags in the trunk of my car that I use when grocery shopping. I do not litter. When possible, I purchase milk in glass. (I wish they still bottled Pepsi. I think it tasted better that way, but that’s another subject entirely!)

As stewards of the land, air and water, farmers effect change daily. Many farmers practice crop rotation which can reduce pesticide use by breaking the natural cycle of insects, weeds and diseases. Many install grass waterways to prevent gullies from forming in fields. These grass strips also trap some sediment washed from cropland, absorb some chemicals and nutrients in the runoff water, and provide cover for small birds and animals. Farmers are committed to careful management of all aspects of soil fertility not only to meet the needs of the crops grown, but to minimize any impact on water quality.

Thinking globally and acting locally means developing an effective nutrient management plan and keeping animal welfare at the top of your mind when handling your cattle and hogs, poultry and sheep. Manure storage and treatment plans, dust and odor control and building and maintaining habitat for wildlife are local actions taken by farmers in our rural communities every day.

Although you don’t think about it on a daily basis, the list of environmentally-friendly practices on your farm and on other farms in your local community is long.

There is some disagreement over who actually coined the phrase “Think globally; act locally” but the idea in itself is not unique. As a human being on this planet, we learn from a young age that what we do has an impact on others. We know that our contributions to missions at church as well as the feed and food we raise in the Midwest is transported to other nations around our globe.

You don’t have to wear ankle bells and beads and let your hair grow long and shaggy to participate in the “Think globally; act locally” movement. Farmers have been doing it for years.

Youth and showmanship

Commentary.

My friend Samantha Walker spent last week with me. After high school graduation next Spring, she plans to pursue a degree in agricultural communications and we thought it might be fun for her to spend some time “behind the scenes” at Brownfield Ag News. With county fair season and Brownfield’s recognition of ag youth for – among other things – their showmanship skills, I thought “who better than the President of the Illinois Junior Simmental Association and a skilled showman to write a piece about showmanship from a junior’s perspective?”

Miss Samantha knocked my socks off. We need future journalists like her to tell the story of agriculture. This is just too good to keep to myself.

Youth and Showmanship

By Samantha Walker

Danvers, Illinois

For many, showmanship provides a chance for the Youth of Agriculture to showcase their skills and capabilities as showmen. On the surface, it undoubtedly is. Showmanship places a focus on its participants’ presentation of themselves. It is a focus which breeds confidence, superiority, dedication, and an insatiable hunger to simply raise the bar.

The attentive care that the Agriculture industry extends towards the upbringing of its youth differentiates it from other industries and truly makes it stand apart. Countless hours are dedicated to the education, the skill development, and the enrichment of moral conduct of Agriculture’s youth through commendable organizations such as 4-H, FFA, and the individual junior associations found within specific species and breeds of livestock.

This environment nurtures the seeds of ambition found in every youth which, when paired with a love for agriculture and the country lifestyle, paves the way for improvement and growth within the Agriculture industry.

These seeds are planted at a young age in the hearts of Little Big Dogs. These children, too young to compete in the arena on show day like their older siblings and friends, know no fear of sharp teeth and heavy hooves. With determined attitudes seemingly too big for their little bodies, they set out to do anything and everything they can with a fierce loyalty and dedication found only in Little Big Dogs. Because if mommy and daddy can handle the cows, pigs, goats, etc. then so can they. Showmanship is their chance to prove that. It’s their chance to learn and improve upon their natural talents through experience.

But of course showmanship isn’t only for the Little Big Dogs, though arguably we are all Little Big Dogs at heart. The older participants need a chance to show off their skills too.

On a deeper level than showcasing skills and abilities is the understanding that showmanship, along with showing, brings about an apprehension of what competition truly is. It brings about the reality that sometimes it just isn’t enough to be perfect at what you are supposed to do. More often than not, not making mistakes and doing everything perfectly just doesn’t cut it. Being the best takes more than merely following the rules and standards that are set for you. It simply takes more than that.

Let an understanding of political and social dogmas inside and outside the show arena take root.

Participants who perceive that every moment spent in the public’s eye is a moment spent on display and who understand the implications of that are the ones who become the best. They understand the need to put an image of not only themselves, but of their farm and their associations out into the world. More importantly they realize that they are the ones expelling the image of the Agriculture industry’s future.

The strength it takes to hold a stubborn animal, the flexibility attained in dealing with each animal’s unique quirks, the poise kept under the scrutiny of judges’ eyes, and the endurance needed to do all this for as long as it takes all translates into real world skills needed to survive in any industry.

Through the nurturing of these skills showmanship showcases not only skill and capability. It showcases the future of the American Agriculture Industry. It’s a future strong enough to survive hardships and flexible enough to make changes when needed for as long as is needed with poise and virtue.

Egg business

In an effort to increase our chore load (I’m kidding) my husband and I added 34 Rhode Island Red chicks to our agricultural enterprise a few weeks ago. We placed the order and picked up our week-old pullets at the local farm store. If all goes as planned, there should be egg-laying before summer’s end.

Not so many years ago, most farms had a few chickens and most farmers and farm family members possessed some basic knowledge about the birds. This is not the first time Jim and I have had chickens, but it seems to me that in that span of a decade or so, the misconceptions about chickens and eggs have spread like wild fire.

There are many terms used to define eggs today, but few consumers and even some producers do not have a clear understanding of the meaning of those terms. For instance, some consumers will only eat “hormone-free” eggs. Guess what? Egg-laying hens are not typically given hormones. What would be the point?

Our chickens are free-range and cage-free according to industry specifications. Free-range chickens live outdoors or have access to the outdoors. Modifications for seasonal weather extremes are acceptable. Cage-free chickens are not housed in cages. The nutrient content of eggs from free-range and cage-free hens is the same as for those from hens housed in production facilities with cages.

I cannot tell you how many people have asked me if we have a rooster and are surprised when I tell them we do not have one and will not be getting one and yes, our hens will lay eggs in the absence of a male of the species.

The question people most frequently ask about our chickens is, “Will the eggs be brown or white?” Many consumers prefer brown eggs and most of them believe a brown egg is not only a healthier choice, but also tastes better. Brown eggs are brown because of a pigment that comes from the hemoglobin of some chicken breeds. The color of an egg is determined exclusively by the breed of chicken from which it comes.

Our chickens will lay brown eggs. The White Leghorn hens we had a decade ago laid white eggs.

Why did we choose Rhode Island Reds? I could tell you that it is because they are bigger and prettier and territorial and that I like brown eggs, but that would only be half the truth. The whole truth is that when we offer up for sale those cage-free, hormone-free, free-range, antibiotic-free, brown farm-fresh eggs, some consumers will be willing to pay a premium for them.

Consumer tells us what they want. It’s simple economics. Supply and demand. Commerce. The American way.

Let the consumer decide, and maybe – just maybe – in about twenty years, we’ll have sold enough of those brown golden eggs to recoup the cost of retrofitting an old horse stall and building a “varmit-proof” pen for our flock.

Community

Commentary

This is the first official week of summer. County fairs and summer festivals are underway across the heartland of America. Our families, friends, fellow farmers, congregations, organizations, local businesses – all who make up our local communities – come together in support of youth, education, agriculture and to enjoy some good old fashioned summertime entertainment.

We volunteer. We participate. We donate. We congregate.

We take time away from work to “babysit” craft exhibits in a Morton building with a box fan blowing hot air on our legs. We organize and tag entries in the floriculture, pantry stores and culinary departments in the school gymnasium on a hot summer morning.

We stir burgoo soup from midnight to 3am, we pick up someone else’s trash left behind after what must have been some night in the beer tent, and we line-up exhibitors for the champion drive at the cattle show.

We flip burgers in the food stand, take tickets at the grandstand and work together to prepare the track for the horse show, tractor pull, 4-wheeler races and mud-run.

We are teachers and farmers, pharmacists and receptionists. We are bankers and sheriff’s deputies, mechanics and truck drivers.

We are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and children. We are not all the same color. We represent every generation. We are toddlers on Daddy’s shoulders and great-grandmas who are driven as close to the show ring as possible so we can see our granddaughter show her first pig or bottle calf.

Although we represent different religious denominations and political views, we set aside our differences to focus instead on the task at hand. We are these people and we do these things without payment for our time and services because of our intrinsic belief and need for “community.”

We believe that it is our duty – our responsibility – to “step up” and give of ourselves to improve the quality of life for those here today and for the next generation in this community.

It is my hope that during this time of celebration, you will make the time to reach out to those within your community who harbor some misconceptions about modern agriculture. If each of us would share a single truth with one other person, the impact would be phenomenal.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all who are so committed to doing what we can to secure the future of our local, rural communities would rise up in support of the larger community of agriculture in America? Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could embrace those qualities and beliefs that we share and put our differences aside to accomplish that which could secure a bright future for the industry we love?

It shouldn’t matter if you grow corn or soybeans, cotton or canola, rice or wheat. The number of animals you raise or acres you farm or the color of your tractor should not matter. If you are involved in growing food or feed, you are a part of the community of agriculture in America and you can make a difference in how our industry is perceived by consumers.

Political partisanship great cost to agriculture

Commentary. I don’t care if you are a member of the Tea Party, the Republican Party or the Green Party. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Libertarian or a Martian. If you represent me in Washington, D.C. you need to pay attention to my needs and the needs of my community and state. You need to listen to me, the voter who put you in that position of power. If you go to Washington to vote party lines, I hope you enjoy your time there because come next election, I’m going to do everything within my power to make sure you never hold elected office again!

So what is stuck in my craw? In a nutshell, I don’t think it is okay for EPA to wield the power it “claimed” to both make and implement rules where greenhouse gas emissions are concerned. In addition, I am appalled that party line voting by the U.S. Senate last week gave EPA the blessing to do so!

The Senate Republican resolution to stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act failed 47 to 53. This resolution would have stopped the agency from moving forward with writing the regulation associated with its “endangerment finding” that, according to EPA, states greenhouse gas emissions pose an imminent threat to the health of man and animals.

It would have invoked congressional authority to stop an agency’s rulemaking if it is clear said rulemaking was badly drawn or have a disproportionate negative impact on a regulated industry with no appreciable benefit.

Supporting or not supporting the regulation of greenhouse gases is not the most significant issue here. I believe Congress, not unelected government bureaucrats at EPA, should be making the decisions on greenhouse gas regulations. How can these party line politicians fail to understand that by dismissing this resolution, they are actually sacrificing more of their power as lawmakers to make laws?

All Republicans and six Democrats including Evan Bayh of Indiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, John Rockefeller of West Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas voted in favor of S. J. Res. 26. We should send every one of them a thank-you letter.

Sen. Ag Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) said “According to a recent 25 x 25 / University of Tennessee economic analysis, EPA regulation will result in billions of dollars in losses in net returns for agriculture from 2010 to 2015. . . These figures are frightening for agriculture. . . particularly during a time of recession.”

She said that more than 100 agriculture groups have expressed their concerns with EPA regulation of carbon, and expressed their support of this resolution (known as the Murkowski Resolution, named after the Alaska Republican who proposed it.)

“These groups include national associations for wheat, dairy, corn, cotton, rice, chicken, beef, pork, and eggs.” She said. “The groups also include many specialty crop growers as well.”

The visual that comes to mind when I think about this preposterous political partisanship is a frantic group of adults moving en masse to the edge of a cliff.

If Jimmy jumped off a cliff, would you jump off the cliff, too?

Apparently so.

Remember the heroes

Not unlike school kids anxious to be released into the “wilds” of summertime, I find myself either fidgety or staring out the window on this last day in the office before a week away from all things Brownfield Ag News. It’s been a very wet and cool Spring in my neck of the woods so I’m hopeful for a reprieve as the final days of the month of May are upon us. Although the peas and onions, garlic and sweet corn have great color and are growing despite the lack of sunshine, the peppers and tomatoes and even my zinnias in the garden are sick and tired of standing in water every few days with a gray and gloomy sky overhead.

Bring on the sunshine! Memorial Day week-end is upon us and there is much to do before the picnics and parties.

It is sad to think that there are many people who have little to no comprehension of the significance of Memorial Day. Although “Decoration Day” began as a day to remember so many who died for our freedom, for most of us today it is a time to visit the gravesites of all family members and friends – whether they served in the military or not – and to decorate them with flowers and flags.

Sadly, like many other significant holidays, the true meaning of Memorial Day has taken a backseat to our good time. Memorial Day has become more about a day off from work, an excuse to drink too much beer and eat too many hot wings and hamburgers. It is for many, the official beginning of summer. School is out. Memorial Day week-end means the first sunburn of the season, the first time to take the boat out on the lake this year and the first picnic. Recreation takes precedence over honoring the boys and girls, men and women who fought and died for these freedoms we enjoy.

At a time when this country that we love so much is engaged in a 2-front war, I hope you will take a moment to remember the terrible price of all wars and the ultimate sacrifice made by so many some one’s beloved spouse, child, sibling, parent or friend.

Before you pitch your first horse shoe, pop your first top or settle in to watch the Indy 500 this Memorial Day Week-end, please remember our fallen war heroes. If you do nothing else to honor those who fought for our freedom, please take a few minutes to pause and reflect upon the meaning – the purpose – of the day. And most importantly, be sure that those who represent the next generation of Americans have a clear understanding of the true meaning of Memorial Day.

“…gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime….let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude,–the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.” –General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868

Peripheral vision

Commentary.

About a million years ago when I was teenager attending State 4-H Conference, one of the presenters encouraged my peers and me to use our peripheral vision. She told us that we should not be like the horse with blinders whose perspective is so narrowed because of those blinders that he can only see what lies directly before him.

Living with blinders – without peripheral vision – gives us all a very narrow perspective. It does me no good to close my eyes, ears or mind to those whose perspective opposes mine. I am certainly not suggesting that listening to the charismatic leader of an animal rights activist group is something I enjoy or look forward to, but I do believe that knowledge is power. If I am reactionary and accusatory without listening to the total message then I am doing myself and my industry a disservice.

It amazes me that there are still people in the agriculture industry who find fault with news organizations for seeking out interviews with the leadership of groups like Humane Society of the United States (HSUS.) Some believe that those of us who make an effort to keep readers/listeners/viewers abreast of the various campaigns being waged against animal owners in these United States of America and beyond are “playing into the hands” of groups like HSUS.

The coaches of sports teams often spend hours reviewing video of opposing teams’ games. Candidates for political office invest an enormous amount of time and energy studying their opponent’s political philosophy.

I not only encourage the reporters who work for me to be fair-minded and to cover every angle of a story; I insist upon it. If that means interviewing Paul Shapiro, Senior Director, Factory Farming Campaign, The Humane Society of the United States, so be it. I am a firm believer that a good journalist covers the entire story, allowing the consumer of that news to reach their own conclusions based on the information presented to them. Without that balance, you are not a credible news source.

If I take a hard look at this agriculture industry that I love in this country that I love, I see a lot of things I don’t love so much. It would be naïve and quite frankly insincere for American agriculture to claim it is entirely without fault. There are bad actors among us whose practices we should not defend.

Over the years, scientific and technological advancements have given us better tools and opportunities to improve upon systems used for livestock housing, health, nutrition, and handling. Why should we stop learning and improving? Do I think HSUS has the answers? Certainly not; but not everyone who questions our practices or doesn’t eat meat is stupid.

Let’s work together to be more proactive and not so reactive and do the right thing on our farms every day.

(By the way, this is not a balanced news story. This column is 100% my opinion.)

Great idea with poor implementation

Commentary

The launch of USDA’s “Know Your Farmers, Know Your Food” initiative last September seemed like a great idea to me. How could helping consumers eat healthier while educating them about production agriculture – or more specifically “knowing where your food comes from and how it gets to your plate” – be anything but good for all of America’s farmers? Unfortunately, it seems to me that the program has effectively supported and reaffirms the misperception that organic/hobby/urban farming holds some moral/ethical superiority over conventional/contemporary farming.

I am a big fan of niche markets. I believe there are important outlets for farm products. Natural pork. Eggs from cage-free hens. Non-GMO soybeans. Grass-fed beef. These products represent market opportunities for growers who want to spend the extra time, effort and money to grow an agricultural product for which they should be paid a premium. But farmers using modern technology and tools to grow feed grains and/or food are no less important in putting food on the tables of consumers.

In some areas, the program could well have been titled “Know Your Farmers, Know Your Organic Food.” Take Missouri, for example. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has $1.2 million to help Missouri farmers produce organic products, and another $150,000 for a pilot project to introduce all growers to high tunnel structures that extend the growing season for crops. In my home county, there were 3 applicants. The 2 growers starting up an organic operation got funding while the non-organic grower did not.

I’m not the only one concerned that this program could be so much more to so many more farmers. Last week, Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), along with Sens. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking some questions.

The letter, dated April 27, 2010 stated that “While the concept of educating consumers about production agriculture is a worthwhile endeavor, we have serious misgivings about the direction of the Know Your Farmers program.”

The letter added that, “Unfortunately, this spending doesn’t appear geared toward conventional farmers who produce the vast majority of our nation’s food supply, but is instead aimed at small, hobbyist and organic producers whose customers generally consist of affluent patrons at urban farmers markets.”

“American families and rural farmers are hurting in today’s economy, and it’s unclear to us how propping up the urban locavore markets addresses their needs. Given our nation’s crippling budgetary crisis, we also believe the federal government cannot afford to spend precious Rural Development funds on feel-good measures which are completely detached from the realities of production agriculture. The Department’s stated desire to play match-maker between a small segment of specialty crop producers and urban consumers is questionable use of Rural Development programs authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill.”

One size fits all does not work for American agriculture. Instead of focusing on what is wrong with the production methods being used by your neighbors, why don’t you focus on what you are doing right? Be proactive. Tell your story. The USDA does have one thing right: consumers are interested in the origin of their food and the farmers who produce it.

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