Large or Small, We Need Them All!!!

I want to start this post by saying that my intention with this blog is to educate, empower, motivate and provide personal insight into faith, country life, agriculture and the beef industry. I personally believe writing a blog without a defined purpose and goal doesn't make much sense. With that said, what I'm about to write is more of a personal stance and perspective if you will. I guess you could even consider it an opinion post. However, at the same time I truly hope that you will learn something, gain a perspective and understanding and maybe even an appreciation for what I have to say.

It seems that as of late, there is more and more scrutiny, opinions, ideas, criticisms, and debates over agriculture as a whole and the way our food is raised and produced. In recent years consumers have been encouraged and motivated to examine the origins and makeup of their food.  As a result, more and more people have become innately in tune to learning and voicing opinions of how they think their food should be raised, produced and provided to them. I'll stop right here and say I am very glad consumers are making a connection with what they eat and that they desire to know the facts about it's origin, and I believe it is healthy for society to desire the best food possible.

Even though they are in a confined area, these cattle receive
excellent care and treatment and are ensured to provide healthy
food to consumers.
Courtesy www.allamericancoop.com

Now, with that said, let me continue on a different path. What has seemed to come along with this movement is many misconceptions, a lot of misunderstanding, and even more ignorance in some areas. Just like every other societal push of thinking and new idea, there is a driving force behind the cause, belief, or motive. Unfortunately, and in some cases detrimentally, in agriculture's case the driving force has been those who feel the current food system is unsafe, unhealthy, and inhumane. The force has been people who believe that anything large when it comes to producing food is bad, that commercial and agriculture don't go together, and progress - well how dare that ever happen!! Instead, these people have promoted and encouraged consumers to pursue organic, all-natural, local, cage-free, crate-free, grass-finished, "sustainable" products ONLY. They have stated that modern production agriculture in essence is too big to care for the animal OR the consumer, only strives to make money, and provides unhealthy food.

It's time for me to get honest. I am so sick and tired of hearing people make accusations against modern and, yes it's ok to call it this, commercial agriculture saying it doesn't care for animal welfare, only cares about the dollar, and is "corporate". I am enraged, disgusted, and fed up with the belief that even though a farm is run entirely by family members, because they operate a 2,500 head feedlot, farm over 4,000 acres of crops and hay, and gross several hundred thousands dollars a year, could never care for all their livestock, raise all their crops the right way and be allowed to make a decent living by running their farm like a business!!!!!!!

Farming, not matter how big, is a tradition and business that
supports entire families who care about what they do!
Courtesy www.thegatewaypundit.com

We live in an age where technology, progress, and environmental stewardship is highly promoted and encouraged. Yet the very industry that combines all these components together the best is accused of using technology too much, having too much progress and not being environmentally caring.
It just so happens that the technology available to farmers today allows them to produce 60% more beef with 30% fewer cattle and using 30% less land, 14% less water, and 9% less energy than 30 years ago. Furthermore, in the same amount of time Nebraska corn producers have been able to raise an average of 50 bushels more per acre while using 37% less energy. Additionally, last year pork producers raised more pigs PER LITTER than PER SOW in 1978, and have done so while decreasing carbon footprint by 35%, water usage by 41% and land demand by 78% for every 1,000 pounds of pork produced. Now tell me that technology doesn't allow for healthy progress and strong environmental stewardship??!! And the best part of this all is not once has the industry been forced to put into jeopardy the welfare and well being of animals or put profits ahead of it!

Modern hog facilities are designed to provide the optimum
comfort level for animals, while keeping the environment
sanitary and reducing waste pollution.
Courtesy www.agweb.org

Now let me go back and address one thing. To avoid creating misconception and misunderstanding myself, I do not oppose any of the above mentioned practices. I believe they all have benefits and their place in the niche marketing realm. Where I draw the line of tolerance is when people claim these methods are SUPERIOR to modern production agriculture and blame the current practices for being cruel, inhumane, unethical and greedy.

I know I can never address all the issues within this discussion and I realize people may not fully agree with me on everything I say or all my opinions. So if you take nothing else away from this blog, please ponder this. All facts and statistics aside, the world's population is continually and rapidly growing. Countries all across the global are demanding better food and more proteins. The land available to produce beef, pork, corn, bean, and wheat is quickly diminishing and the need to be more efficient with production is ever increasing. While many things in the industry have changed, from production methods, to farm size, to marketing channels, and especially the way we perceive production agriculture, one thing has remained the same and will continue to last through the ages. Families and producers have and always will put the care and well being of their animals as first and foremost priority. No matter what the size, operation method, or marketing channel, the people of agriculture are loyal to their customer, their animal, and their industry. Ask any producer and they will tell you the cattle get dinner before the family, there are no days off, and the greatest satisfaction is seeing a healthy and happy animal providing food for the world.

So next time you hear a accusatory claim against modern agriculture or a statement of a superior practice, if you aren't sure of the information and facts, ask someone who you know is. If you know the truth, share it. And please remember that no matter what method or practice we choose, we're all in the glorious industry of agriculture and we're all a big family!!!

To wrap up, I want to share this video produced by the US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. I believe it puts into perspective what this industry is really all about!

Until next time, you can find me off the beaten path and ridin' for the brand!!!

Stand Up and Speak Out!!

She wore jeans and boots to school everyday and was made fun of. She worked hard at home on the farm and was criticized for it. She stood up for her beliefs, passions, and dreams-and was completely disregarded. She came home one day to find her car, home, and concrete cow yard ornament vandalized. And she still wants to do the right thing.


I was angered, saddened and shocked to hear this story and sympathized with this fellow young cattle producer who was treated harshly and ridiculed for her love and lifestyle. But it was a resounding reminder that not only are there people among us who don't understand what farm families do to provide for this nation, but they can even be abusive and violent because they disagree with what we do.

This past weekend I had the distinct honor and privilege of leading a group of young cattlemen and women at the MJCA Show-Me Beef Leadership Conference. The focus of the conference was being an Agvocate and defending and promoting agriculture to friends and consumers. Participants were given tips on how to use social media, face-to-face opportunities and the internet to share the story of agriculture as well as how to interact and connect with consumers. It was stressed over and over the importance of being proactive and taking the initiative to reach out and educate the public about what we do and how we care for our livestock. It was rewarding and exciting to hear and 8th grader say he wanted to continue to learn more about how to reach out to his friends. And the young lady who was ridiculed through high school-she still wants to reach out to her classmates and help them see the truth!

www.king-ranch.com
Feeding Santa Gertrudis steers

The issue of uneducated consumers and the topic of being an advocate for agriculture has been pretty heavy the last couple years, however as producers, we have still become very lax in our approach to being the ones to tell the story instead of constantly defending what we do. The battle in which we find ourselves with not only animal rights activists and organizations, but simply uneducated consumers, is one that will not end soon-if ever. And it is getting more intense as time goes on.


The quote "If not me, who. If not now, when?" struck a chord with me this weekend. We can't continue relying on others to tell our story and just do our job without connecting with consumers. Agriculturalists have to take action NOW and be the ones to tell the story-our story.

So please join me in becoming active in educating. Whether it's creating a video for youtube showing you caring for your animals everyday, keeping a blog that shows the emotion and dedication to give to ensure safe and healthy food is produced, writing letters to the editor and politicians or just talking to a customer in the grocery story about how meat, milk and eggs are produced, we can all take part, and we NEED to take part in telling the story and revealing the truth!!!

Now, I will turn this around...

Consumers-we are at fault for not keeping open lines of communication about farming and how we raise livestock and crops. We want to tell you how and why we do it, we want you to understand, and we want you to feel safe about what you eat. So, in order to help us educate and give you a peace of mind, please comment by telling us what you want to know and how we can help you made quality decisions about your food. What questions do you have about beef production? What do you want to know about how corn and tomatoes are raised? What would you like explained about raising pork and poultry?

If you ask, we'll answer!!!!!

Until next time, you can find me off the beaten path and ridin for the brand!!

The Golden Grain

I watched it change color and grow day by day, transitioning from a pale green-tan mixture to a creamy yellow to a golden bronze. The heads waved in the wind like a sea and gave blackbirds a place to rest. As the time for harvest approached and dust filled the air, combines crawled across the fields of wheat-the golden grain.

Wheat is averaging 60-70 b/acre for this
West Central Mo farmer

Upon visiting with a neighboring farmer, I was reminded of the importance and the delicate nature of this small grain. Their one farm alone harvested 200 acres this year. Although this is quite a small area in comparison to 1,000 acre wheat farms in the West, my neighbor was stating they were averaging 60-70 bushels/acre. Added up, this comprises approximately 784,000 pounds of wheat harvested!! He continued to share that the weather had affected their harvest in both good and bad ways. Due to the early and mild warm weather they experienced, the wheat had seen amazing growth. But the dry conditions experienced in the recent weeks made the wheat mature almost too fast-as the grain in their last field was quite hard. More moisture would have increased yields slightly, but nevertheless the season had gone amazingly well. They had to evaluate the dryness or moisture of the crop, combined with market prices they could attain, and analyze which fields were most ready each day to determine how to collect the best harvest and make the most profit.

Wheat will be used to make flour for food

When I think about how important is was to these farmers to monitor and manage the condition of their crop and their resources, carefully planning when to plant, and when to harvest, I am reminded of how God strategically and methodically does the same with His children. Those that are not saved are shown witnesses to plant seeds and nurture growth at just the right time. Like some fields, some people are too dry for planting at times. But once seed for the right person is planted at the right time, the seed begins to grow. Then, after days, or months, or maybe even years, the seed is finally mature, the person is ready and the harvest for God is made-salvation occurs. In perfect timing, the greatest reward is made.

As you go throughout your week, keep your eyes and ears open for the chance to plant a seed in a prepared field and watch it grow. In the same way, remember the thousands of farmers across the nation who are watching their own seed, waiting for the perfect time to harvest. And next time you eat a slice of bread, put crackers in your soup or bake a cake, thank those same people who made that possible!

Until next time, you can find me off the beaten path and ridin for the brand!