I'll be one of the first to admit, sometimes this agvocacy thing is for the birds. Who has the time, or the will to fight all the uninformed and agenda driven anti-ag people out there? And what's to be gained?
When I listened to the newly released Worth the Fight, by The Departed I gave that a little more thought. And here's why I get involved in the "fight".
I'm an old farm kid turned feed salesman.
I have one of the greatest jobs in the world.
Each day I get to work with farmers and ranchers.
They work hard, they play hard. They get to see everyday the wonders of this world in a way that few ever even get a glimpse of. Piglets, calves, crops and weather make up their days.They worry about how they are going to make a living like everyone else, but most of them are in the process of making a life. Not standing on the sidelines wondering, but making their life. They give of themselves in ways that would make most folks envious if they only knew how richly they are rewarded. Not monetarily mind you, but with a satisfaction that they made a difference in someones life.
Are they perfect? Not by a long shot. But they are incredible people. Their way of life deserves to be defended and fought for.
They are "Worth the Fight".
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Does Social Media Have Legs?
When I first got into the feed business, I got so frustrated by what I call, "the good ole boys network." I might have the best product, the best programs, and a great price, but still not get the business. So many of the reasons that people were doing business with each other was due to the relationships they had established. It took a lot of time to get a relationship going with many of these folks. But it came down to relationships.
People are comfortable with those they are most comfortable with. No different than anyone else.
Over the last four years I've been navigating the world of social media. I started on Facebook to stay in touch with some wonderful young people I met on a church service project. To see how this new thing called social media would affect their world. At some point I added Twitter in. And my world got a lot bigger, and a lot smaller. I now have friends in the farming community from all over the US and Canada. Dairymen and women, nut farmers, cowboys, pork producers, college students, ranchers, foodies, equipment dealers, agronomists, and people at BPI are among my friends. Displaced farm kids, wanna-be-farm kids, dairy suppliers, calf ranchers, a dairyman from "across the pond", and a couple of farmers from Australia. Many of them have embraced social media as a way of life. Some have become good friends.
In much of the farming community, social media is viewed primarily as just that, social. It's a part of life that doesn't get to intrude in on the business of business. Conversations about social media and the business community almost always get back to, " how does this help my business". I wish I knew how to make that transition. It's a different way of thinking about doing business.
Does it have any legs? I don't know. But a little while back I got to see what it is capable of accomplishing.
Recently, shareholders for Domino's Pizza voted down a resolution brought forward to eliminate the use of pork produced through the use of gestation stalls. The shareholders voted it down by 80%. A group of farmers decided to thank Domino's for trusting farmers and animal welfare experts to care for animals. First on board was a hog farmer from Missouri named Chris Chinn. She writes a blog thanking Domino's.
So I wrote a blog thanking Domino's for their stand as well, and then we created an event called, Ag Pizza Party in conjunction with a Facebook page called The Truth About Agriculture.
Participants were asked to leave a note thanking Domino's for their support of farmers. In the end, whatever Domino's decides, is their decision to make, but the ag industry was thanking them for going about making that decision the right way.
It went over really well. Pictures were posted from all over the US. Some Domino's stores received stacks of thank yous. The Truth About Agriculture event got thousands of hits. Tens of thousands of hits.
Has that turned into any business? I can't say. I truly don't know. But it bears some watching.
People are comfortable with those they are most comfortable with. No different than anyone else.
Over the last four years I've been navigating the world of social media. I started on Facebook to stay in touch with some wonderful young people I met on a church service project. To see how this new thing called social media would affect their world. At some point I added Twitter in. And my world got a lot bigger, and a lot smaller. I now have friends in the farming community from all over the US and Canada. Dairymen and women, nut farmers, cowboys, pork producers, college students, ranchers, foodies, equipment dealers, agronomists, and people at BPI are among my friends. Displaced farm kids, wanna-be-farm kids, dairy suppliers, calf ranchers, a dairyman from "across the pond", and a couple of farmers from Australia. Many of them have embraced social media as a way of life. Some have become good friends.
In much of the farming community, social media is viewed primarily as just that, social. It's a part of life that doesn't get to intrude in on the business of business. Conversations about social media and the business community almost always get back to, " how does this help my business". I wish I knew how to make that transition. It's a different way of thinking about doing business.
Does it have any legs? I don't know. But a little while back I got to see what it is capable of accomplishing.
Recently, shareholders for Domino's Pizza voted down a resolution brought forward to eliminate the use of pork produced through the use of gestation stalls. The shareholders voted it down by 80%. A group of farmers decided to thank Domino's for trusting farmers and animal welfare experts to care for animals. First on board was a hog farmer from Missouri named Chris Chinn. She writes a blog thanking Domino's.
So I wrote a blog thanking Domino's for their stand as well, and then we created an event called, Ag Pizza Party in conjunction with a Facebook page called The Truth About Agriculture.
Participants were asked to leave a note thanking Domino's for their support of farmers. In the end, whatever Domino's decides, is their decision to make, but the ag industry was thanking them for going about making that decision the right way.
It went over really well. Pictures were posted from all over the US. Some Domino's stores received stacks of thank yous. The Truth About Agriculture event got thousands of hits. Tens of thousands of hits.
Has that turned into any business? I can't say. I truly don't know. But it bears some watching.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Playing the Blame Game. aka Globe Warning
One subject that is bound to get people crazy is global warming. And it's no wonder. Weather is one of those topics that never seems to get old on the farm, or anywhere else for that matter. Endless hours are spent wondering if we can beat mother nature, or if she is going to beat us.
I sat in on a presentation form a U of M meteorologist this past February on global warming. I don't have his presentation, but here's what I remember. Weather averages are reported on a 30 years average. In 2010, the average dropped off the decade of the 70's, and picked up the decade of the 2000's. When that happened it changed the average rainfall for Brookings, SD from 19.24" to just over 24". The high temps for the area aren't as high, and the lows aren't as low. But the the high of the day to the overnight lows, aren't changing as much. We are also dealing with more humidity. A dew point of +70 degrees feels tropical, and used to be rare in this area. Last summer we had 7 days with a dew point of over 80 degrees. On July 19th, Morris MN had a dew point of 88 degrees. Rain events are changing as well. In the time frame from 1986 to 2004, our area averaged just over one rain event per year that amounted to over 2 inches. Since 2004, Sioux Falls, SD has had 23 such events, with the largest event being 4.85". The presenter was quick to point out that he wasn't a theorist, but just a numbers guy. Does this change things on the farm? Absolutely. If we can't count on overnight cooling, and have to deal with high humidity, shade and cooling become MUCH more important. More fat cattle of the black variety during the summer is a real situation that needs to be addressed.
So why do I bring this all up? Everyone has been spending the last decade blaming everyone for everything. Claiming something isn't our fault and that it isn't happening are two different things entirely. So many are trying to find fault with everything and everyone that it gets hard to deal with possible issues. FTLB has been available for 20 years and ammonia has been used in food preparations for decades, but is now being blamed for killing us? If one takes a stand in support of technology we get accused of poisoning the planet. Life expectancy is higher than ever, and we are feeding more people than ever before, but still it seems to be in vogue to accuse farmers and ranchers of all sorts of evil.
Is global warming real? I don't know. But I know our winters have been incredibly mild in the northern plains. Europe has been cold. They were trying to skate the canals in Holland this year for only the second time since the 1970's. It hasn't been cold enough for the race for decades.
I know that in today's environment everyone is an expert. The Internet has allowed everyone a voice. But leveling the blame is getting in the way of moving forward.
I sat in on a presentation form a U of M meteorologist this past February on global warming. I don't have his presentation, but here's what I remember. Weather averages are reported on a 30 years average. In 2010, the average dropped off the decade of the 70's, and picked up the decade of the 2000's. When that happened it changed the average rainfall for Brookings, SD from 19.24" to just over 24". The high temps for the area aren't as high, and the lows aren't as low. But the the high of the day to the overnight lows, aren't changing as much. We are also dealing with more humidity. A dew point of +70 degrees feels tropical, and used to be rare in this area. Last summer we had 7 days with a dew point of over 80 degrees. On July 19th, Morris MN had a dew point of 88 degrees. Rain events are changing as well. In the time frame from 1986 to 2004, our area averaged just over one rain event per year that amounted to over 2 inches. Since 2004, Sioux Falls, SD has had 23 such events, with the largest event being 4.85". The presenter was quick to point out that he wasn't a theorist, but just a numbers guy. Does this change things on the farm? Absolutely. If we can't count on overnight cooling, and have to deal with high humidity, shade and cooling become MUCH more important. More fat cattle of the black variety during the summer is a real situation that needs to be addressed.
So why do I bring this all up? Everyone has been spending the last decade blaming everyone for everything. Claiming something isn't our fault and that it isn't happening are two different things entirely. So many are trying to find fault with everything and everyone that it gets hard to deal with possible issues. FTLB has been available for 20 years and ammonia has been used in food preparations for decades, but is now being blamed for killing us? If one takes a stand in support of technology we get accused of poisoning the planet. Life expectancy is higher than ever, and we are feeding more people than ever before, but still it seems to be in vogue to accuse farmers and ranchers of all sorts of evil.
Is global warming real? I don't know. But I know our winters have been incredibly mild in the northern plains. Europe has been cold. They were trying to skate the canals in Holland this year for only the second time since the 1970's. It hasn't been cold enough for the race for decades.
I know that in today's environment everyone is an expert. The Internet has allowed everyone a voice. But leveling the blame is getting in the way of moving forward.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Too Much Technology?
Growing up, I was fascinated by my dads hands. They were huge. A game we played as kids involved dropping a quarter through his wedding ring. I think dad wore a size 15 ring. Hands formed by milking cows by hand. Sometime in the 60's they switched to a vacuum pump and bucket milkers. The time spent with each animal went down as the technology increased.
A recent run of events brought this topic to mind for me. But the topic, is one that we seem to running into headfirst.
If we make use of technology in caring for animals, does this diminish their quality of life?
The most recent catalyst for this discussion was a post that highlighted the Lely robotic milkers. Someone I respect a great deal, suggested that this would remove the basic tenets of animal husbandry. This also seems to be the charge leveled against any of today's large farms.
Can any farm with hundreds to thousands of animals really take care of them?
What constitutes care?
This same friend offered that animals make our lives richer, and that we enrich their lives. I can't argue that point, but does an animal need daily interaction with me to be fulfilled?
Is there a different level of interaction that each species would require? And lastly who gets to decide what that level is?
If some of the basic jobs can be done by others/machines, does that diminish what happens on the farm?
When I was growing up, one of the jobs I got, was cleaning the calf barn. With a pitchfork. You know, the manually operated kind. It took a couple of hours each week. Character building kind of work. Within two months of my taking an off the farm job, that barn was being cleaned with a skid loader. They replaced labor with capital. The trend continues today.
Today's farmers are faced with the same issues that people everywhere face.Pay the mortgage, raise a family, and try to improve their quality of life. Growing up on a 40 cow dairy, we rarely took vacations. A week away from the farm was almost unheard of. If an opportunity came up for a day away, it could work, as long as it fit between morning and evening chores. Relief milkers were difficult to come by at best, and impossible to find at worst. The expansion of the dairy allowed for more hired help, more available labor, and more flexibility in time off.
But has animal care gone down? I'd argue that it has gotten better. The barn of yesteryear were dark dank old caves that lacked much of what we now know contributes greatly to animal welfare. People see animals in barns when on their summer vacations and wish they were out running in the pastures and meadows, but when they get out of their cars they head for the air-conditioned comfort of the motel. Today's barns offer shade, and a great deal of animal comfort. Are they perfect? No, but producers are always on the lookout for cost effective ways to take better care of their animals.
Do farms today look like an updated version of Olde McDonald's Farm? Nope, and most likely never will again. Does that automatically make us evil? Nope, it doesn't
A recent run of events brought this topic to mind for me. But the topic, is one that we seem to running into headfirst.
If we make use of technology in caring for animals, does this diminish their quality of life?
The most recent catalyst for this discussion was a post that highlighted the Lely robotic milkers. Someone I respect a great deal, suggested that this would remove the basic tenets of animal husbandry. This also seems to be the charge leveled against any of today's large farms.
Can any farm with hundreds to thousands of animals really take care of them?
What constitutes care?
This same friend offered that animals make our lives richer, and that we enrich their lives. I can't argue that point, but does an animal need daily interaction with me to be fulfilled?
Is there a different level of interaction that each species would require? And lastly who gets to decide what that level is?
If some of the basic jobs can be done by others/machines, does that diminish what happens on the farm?
When I was growing up, one of the jobs I got, was cleaning the calf barn. With a pitchfork. You know, the manually operated kind. It took a couple of hours each week. Character building kind of work. Within two months of my taking an off the farm job, that barn was being cleaned with a skid loader. They replaced labor with capital. The trend continues today.
Today's farmers are faced with the same issues that people everywhere face.Pay the mortgage, raise a family, and try to improve their quality of life. Growing up on a 40 cow dairy, we rarely took vacations. A week away from the farm was almost unheard of. If an opportunity came up for a day away, it could work, as long as it fit between morning and evening chores. Relief milkers were difficult to come by at best, and impossible to find at worst. The expansion of the dairy allowed for more hired help, more available labor, and more flexibility in time off.
But has animal care gone down? I'd argue that it has gotten better. The barn of yesteryear were dark dank old caves that lacked much of what we now know contributes greatly to animal welfare. People see animals in barns when on their summer vacations and wish they were out running in the pastures and meadows, but when they get out of their cars they head for the air-conditioned comfort of the motel. Today's barns offer shade, and a great deal of animal comfort. Are they perfect? No, but producers are always on the lookout for cost effective ways to take better care of their animals.
Do farms today look like an updated version of Olde McDonald's Farm? Nope, and most likely never will again. Does that automatically make us evil? Nope, it doesn't
Friday, March 23, 2012
Taking Everything Too Seriously....
So passions a great thing right? Absolutely!!
Maybe not.
Recent events made me wonder why we as humans almost always go over board. What in our DNA causes us to take a passion and turn it into an obsession? We've all met those folks. They look normal, but ask the wrong/right question, and it's off to the races in the woods just outside of Obsessiveville. We can get so caught up in the cause that we lose focus and why the cause is important.
A recent post on the Truth About Agriculture page on Face book really got to me. The poster was asking a farmers thoughts and perspective on the dangers and use of GMO wheat and Monsanto.........
An important detail, there are no GMO varieties of wheat available. None.... The fact that there were different varieties was a surprise as well. But I don't think there was any question that that this person was anything less than earnest in their question. But was the passion was misguided?
What happens when we let ourselves get swept away on the wave of concern? I'm not exactly sure, but there are a few things I know. People and their passions will always be a challenge for every walk of life. Wars are fought because of passions, Religions go to war and kill each other because they feel passionate. We tend to take all of our human walk to extremes.
So sometimes it good to get a good handle on our place in the universe. We are but a speck, on a tiny planet, in a medium sized solar system, in a medium sized galaxy, surrounded by billions of other galaxies. In the big picture of the universe, we are incredibly insignificant. Doesn't that mean we are entirely insignificant?
Not by any means. We should strive each day to make life better for everyone and everything around us.
I was reminded of that this past week at youth group when the "Why are we here?" question was asked. A wise young lady answered,"we are here to glorify God".
Are we using whatever passion we possess to do that? Farming/agvocacy or whatever our calling is.
If we let the passion of any of our causes get too important, then maybe we are taking it too serious.
Passion is awesome, but temper it with knowledge, understanding, and ultimately a caring heart. The world will be a better place.
Maybe not.
Recent events made me wonder why we as humans almost always go over board. What in our DNA causes us to take a passion and turn it into an obsession? We've all met those folks. They look normal, but ask the wrong/right question, and it's off to the races in the woods just outside of Obsessiveville. We can get so caught up in the cause that we lose focus and why the cause is important.
A recent post on the Truth About Agriculture page on Face book really got to me. The poster was asking a farmers thoughts and perspective on the dangers and use of GMO wheat and Monsanto.........
An important detail, there are no GMO varieties of wheat available. None.... The fact that there were different varieties was a surprise as well. But I don't think there was any question that that this person was anything less than earnest in their question. But was the passion was misguided?
What happens when we let ourselves get swept away on the wave of concern? I'm not exactly sure, but there are a few things I know. People and their passions will always be a challenge for every walk of life. Wars are fought because of passions, Religions go to war and kill each other because they feel passionate. We tend to take all of our human walk to extremes.
So sometimes it good to get a good handle on our place in the universe. We are but a speck, on a tiny planet, in a medium sized solar system, in a medium sized galaxy, surrounded by billions of other galaxies. In the big picture of the universe, we are incredibly insignificant. Doesn't that mean we are entirely insignificant?
Not by any means. We should strive each day to make life better for everyone and everything around us.
I was reminded of that this past week at youth group when the "Why are we here?" question was asked. A wise young lady answered,"we are here to glorify God".
Are we using whatever passion we possess to do that? Farming/agvocacy or whatever our calling is.
If we let the passion of any of our causes get too important, then maybe we are taking it too serious.
Passion is awesome, but temper it with knowledge, understanding, and ultimately a caring heart. The world will be a better place.
Friday, March 16, 2012
An Opportunity To Tell Our Story?
I'm a big fan of farm tours. BIG fan. With so many so removed from from what it takes to produce food, tours give us a great opportunity to show folks what we do. But what if they won't show up? Time to get creative.
Ag United of South Dakota sponsors a Breakfast On The Farm in multiple locations every summer. Crowds from 400 to 1000 show up for the free feed. Tour guides set up at different locations answer questions, and it's a great experience.I've talked antibiotic use, cull cows, and ionophores at these events.
But how about WAY out of the box?
In a week or so, the Central Plains Dairy Expo comes to Sioux Falls. The kickoff event is a concert by Sawyer Brown. The floor area of the arena is going to be occupied by dairy producers and dairy industry people. The seating in the rest of the place? For a $10 dollar donation to Feeding South Dakota, the general public gets to come to the concert. They get to interact with people from the dairy industry, and meet "real" producers.
Now, granted, Sioux Falls isn't a huge metropolis, as removed from the ag community as some areas, but it is still a great way to let folks see our industry,
Every year we see a lot of people, mainly kids, coming through the trade show to get a glimpse of what the dairy industry looks like. We need to take advantage of these opportunities. They are coming to us!
So if at a trade show, you see someone wandering around, slightly lost, a little bewildered, or just confused, step up. It might be your moment to AGVOCATE.
Ag United of South Dakota sponsors a Breakfast On The Farm in multiple locations every summer. Crowds from 400 to 1000 show up for the free feed. Tour guides set up at different locations answer questions, and it's a great experience.I've talked antibiotic use, cull cows, and ionophores at these events.
But how about WAY out of the box?
In a week or so, the Central Plains Dairy Expo comes to Sioux Falls. The kickoff event is a concert by Sawyer Brown. The floor area of the arena is going to be occupied by dairy producers and dairy industry people. The seating in the rest of the place? For a $10 dollar donation to Feeding South Dakota, the general public gets to come to the concert. They get to interact with people from the dairy industry, and meet "real" producers.
Now, granted, Sioux Falls isn't a huge metropolis, as removed from the ag community as some areas, but it is still a great way to let folks see our industry,
Every year we see a lot of people, mainly kids, coming through the trade show to get a glimpse of what the dairy industry looks like. We need to take advantage of these opportunities. They are coming to us!
So if at a trade show, you see someone wandering around, slightly lost, a little bewildered, or just confused, step up. It might be your moment to AGVOCATE.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Agvocate or Farm Broadcaster?
When I first started this blog, it was because of a conversation with a young lady named Megan. We talked about what happens on the farm, and did it in a fashion that hopefully was interesting to Megan. I tried to follow Megan's lead, and address what she thought was important. To Megan's credit, she was a very intelligent young lady with good questions and comprehension. It made for a really cool conversation. Since that time, I've watched as this part of agvocacy has exploded. That's what I'm using social media for, not exclusively mind you, but for the outreach part of the message. So are others. Folks are trying to reach out. It's a really good thing.
But what is the message?
A recent blog I wrote reminded the ag community that some of the audience is in the lurkers. But are we putting a message out there that they would appreciate? Several of the folks a follow on twitter are notorious for the amount of tweets that they turn out about all things ag. Huge amounts of tweets. Many of the tweets, only understandable to someone steeped in ag.
But what if 90% of them mean nothing to someone outside of ag? Is that a problem? We can step into our "farm speak" so easily that it makes it impossible for a non-ag person to follow. Think of some of the terms that we use regularly. Triple stack, ADG, genomics, and multiple links make the messages hard to follow for the non-ag folks in the audience. Not that we shouldn't use those terms, but be aware.
Think about the lurkers when you have an interaction. Are they going to get engaged with you in what you are discussing. Not every conversation needs to be for them, but neither can we afford to forget them.
But what is the message?
A recent blog I wrote reminded the ag community that some of the audience is in the lurkers. But are we putting a message out there that they would appreciate? Several of the folks a follow on twitter are notorious for the amount of tweets that they turn out about all things ag. Huge amounts of tweets. Many of the tweets, only understandable to someone steeped in ag.
But what if 90% of them mean nothing to someone outside of ag? Is that a problem? We can step into our "farm speak" so easily that it makes it impossible for a non-ag person to follow. Think of some of the terms that we use regularly. Triple stack, ADG, genomics, and multiple links make the messages hard to follow for the non-ag folks in the audience. Not that we shouldn't use those terms, but be aware.
Think about the lurkers when you have an interaction. Are they going to get engaged with you in what you are discussing. Not every conversation needs to be for them, but neither can we afford to forget them.
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