Piggy Predicament

While some may refer to our swine operation as a factory farm we do not have factory hours. While most people either enjoy a half day of work or no work at all on Saturdays, it's just another day to a farmer. What began as a day of laying irrigation pipe and doing pig chores became a frantic relay race with the clock ticking.

First, three pieces of irrigation pipe had been damaged. Of course, the guys don't find this out until they do a test run and discover some leaks. So, they have to take practically the whole thing apart, fetch new pipes, and put the whole thing back together again. This isn't a garden hose either, folks. We are talking about six-inch aluminum piping that literally runs over the hill and through the buck-brush all the way across the field. It's some serious chizz to take this thing apart and put it back together. So, what started as a be-done-by-two job ended up lasting until after four o'clock.

Here's where I come in:

There I was, minding my own business, preparing supper. Frozen burger paddies in one hand and a bag of charcoal in the other when my husband, Aaron, bursts through the door. He was in such a hurry that I don't even thing he put the truck in park before he leaped out. It was a tuck and roll situation.

Aaron:
What're you doing? What do you have going on?
Me:
It's after five, Aaron. I'm getting ready to fix supper.
Aaron:
What? Supper? No, we don't have time for that. Throw some snacks at the kids and lets go.
Me:
Huh?
Aaron:
I gotta pig emergency and I need help. Let's go. Have they ate?
Me:
The patties are still frozen in my hand. So, no. No one has ate.
Aaron:
Right. Throw some snacks at the kids and lets go.
Me:
I got that part. Calm down.

You can imagine how well the conversation went after that. So, instead of munching down some tasty grill burgars with asperagus and potatoes, the children had cold-cut sandwiches and I went without. The charcoal returned to the basement, feeling abandoned, and the frozen patties in my hand returned to their home in the freezer, feeling cold. Away we flew to the land beyond with shining white tin and lush flowing fields green (and brown, we really need some rain). Into the pigs we go.

At this point I still have no idea what the emergency is or even what I am supposed to be doing. I just slip into my fancy rubber boots and slide on my fashionable blue coveralls and hope for the best. Turns out that a feed auger in the barn needed to be repaired. So our job was to first manuver pigs around to get as many as we could out of the pin that the feed motor was in. Armed with pretty plastic sort boards we begin the hearding process. I have a huge bruise on my knee as a result of a 200 pound pig that decided he did not want to go the same direction as everyone else. Oh, well. No worse for wear. The second job requires Aaron to teader on a plastic bucket while he fights with some bolts and a heavy motor. My job during this is to make sure the remaining pigs in the pin do not chew on Aaron or his tools. Have I mentioned we are on slatted floors? That means anything you happen to drop is forever lost...like Aaron's pliers and his previous pliers and several bolts. I think there might be a cell phone down there too. Well, after everthing is replaced (luckily his brother showed up just in time to help hold the motor and what-nots) the pigs had feed again and Aaron could finally calm down.

All-in-all it was a good time...well, sort of but not really. The point is the pigs come first and we gave up our supper time to ensure the pigs got their supper time.

Farmers care about their livestock and that's the truth!

Prop B & "Your Vote Counts" Campaign

Here we go again! Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS is at it again with another smear campaign to manipulate Missouri voters. As you'll recall, in 2010, HSUS and other animal rights groups like ASPCA spent more than $5 million on the Prop B campaign. However, the bulk of that funding came from outside Missouri. Similarly, HSUS has thus far spent nearly $165,000 on the "Your Vote Counts" campaign of which only $150 came from Missouri supporters. This is a classic case of "bought laws" and "bought legislature."

What does this mean to Missourians? It means that HSUS is buying Missouri legislature and in turn trying to buy you. I'm not for sale and I hope you aren't either. By giving in to these people you are not only helping aide in their efferts to irradicate animal agriculture and sport hunting but you are also allowing them the power to control your civil rights.

Image from HumaneWatch.org

Prop B in its original form was unconstiutional, unreasonable, and unrealistic--just like their new campaign. Prop B was never just thrown out! It was only amended to make it workable and realistic. However, Wayne Pacelle and HSUS supporters will have you think that your vote didn't matter and the law was thrown out, which is UNTRUE! Prop B stands, however, common sense was added by our Missouri elected officials.

The "Your Vote Counts" campaign is an attempt to make a constitutional amendment in Missouri to change the required vote to amend a law from 2/3 to 3/4. This means that out of 197 officials it would take only 9 to overturn any proposed amendments, which is a near impossible voting standard. This proposed amendment also gives groups like HSUS more power to buy laws and piece by piece chip away your constitutional rights in the name of their extremist ideas.

Please keep in mind that HSUS is a propaganda machine and only gives 1 percent of that $19 a month that they beg for with their simpathetic ads. Their millions do not go toward shelters, they line the pockets of people like Wayne Pacelle and buy radical laws. If you really want to support animals then support your local shelter NOT HSUS! Put that $19 a month toward the shelter in your county, give a few bags of dog food every month to the shelter in your town, or volunteer to help every month. HSUS is not about helping animals, they are about propaganda and animal rights, which is NOT the same as animal welfare. Farmers, breeders, veteranarians, and pet owners are the real animal welfare advocates NOT HSUS supporters.

Vote for common sense not extremists' propaganda. Please do NOT sign any patition relating to the "Your Vote Counts" campaign and if it makes it to the ballot please VOTE NO!

Antibiotics & Factory Farming--A bitter rant

Image from http://www.antibioticsandalcohol.org/

Antibiotics are a funny thing and recently I had an opportunity to get up-close and personal with them. You see, in the last few weeks my household has suffered from strep throat, a sinus infection, flu-like symptoms, and the good ol' common cold--this is summer right? Wait, let me check.....yep, 90 degrees and a thunderstorm brewing....it's summer......but I digress.

While each of us suffered in our own special way we met with our local family physician on more than one occasion. The funny part is how quick and easy antibiotics are prescribed and no one so much as bats an eye. We walked in, the doc took one look at my daughter's throat (the instigator of all this or was it my husband? Who cares! I feel like crap.) and said, "Oh yeah, I'll get you fixed up with some antibiotics for that throat. Be back in just a few minutes." That was that. A nurse swabbed my daughter's throat for verification and Presto! antibiotics in hand and we are out the door. Same scenario for each of us. We walk in feeling like we came out the back side of a bean burrito eating fool and we walk out with a hand full of antibiotics and no one seems to care.

Moral of the story is: 'Tis better to treat our symptoms to minimize suffering but let the sick little piggies die a miserable unnecessary death.

Does anyone else have a problem with this moral? Because I feel like I'm all alone in questioning this one.



Image from donlonpharmacy.com

 Why is it okay to treat ourselves with antibiotics when we are sick and suffering but it is a fowl misguided act to provide proper medical care to our livestock? I have seen so many fingers pointed at the pork industry because we use antibiotics on the pigs. Here is the kicker folks. We also raise ABF pigs--that is Antibiotic-Free pigs for all you laymen out there--and it is a sad, sad thing to see.

I remember this one group of pigs that came in and they were doing well until a few of them got sick. Nothing we could do so we segregated the sick ones to the sick pin and hoped for the best. But they are like kids in a daycare; when one gets sick, they all get sick. It was such a simple sickness, too. I believe they had nothing more than a cough but it has been some time and I have the memory of an Alzheimer's patient. It could have been easily cured, they could have been better in a matter of a few days. Instead, because they were ABF pigs our hands were tied.

We had to watch them slowly die of a curable illness. Let me tell you, nothing is more irritating, nauseating, and down right upsetting than watching a creature slowly and miserably die when you hold the cure in your hand but some group of people which have never farmed nor seen beyond city limits says it is more humane to refuse them antibiotics. Yeah, right!

Image from blogs.seattleweekly.com

To all the animal rights groups and their supporters my point is this, next time you are feeling sick and miserable, remember, it is more humane to go without antibiotics. Next time you are feeling like a puddle of sweaty flesh and want to slip into the A/C, remember, it is more humane to suffer in the heat. Next time you are feeling like Jack Frost literally nipped your nose blum off your face, remember, it is more humane to freeze to death than to have heating. Finally, remember, it is more humane to go without proper vaccinations so when your child dies of measles, you did the right thing by not treating them. After all, we must treat people and animals equally so it was better your little one died because that is what happens to our pigs when we are forced to raise them antibiotic-free.

**Insert bitter sarcasm here**

Thanks Mercy For Animals. Thanks Humane Society of the United States. Thanks People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Thanks all you misguided fools that support these groups and the like. You have really helped bring awareness to the abuse of livestock. We farmers and ranchers should know better than to give our livestock heating in the winter, cool air in the summer, and proper medical treatment. What were we thinking!? Thank you. You have all helped a heap. When animals have friends like you, who needs natural predators in the wild?

I've had a rough few weeks....does it show?

CAFO Ethics Exposed

There are a ton of websites, blogs, and articles "explaining" what a CAFO is and how they operate. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these "explanations" are not by farmers or even rural inhabitants, they are by activists, radicals, and the misinformed John Q. Public. Instead of witnessing the majority, many folks are exploiting the minority. Every bushell has a few bad apples but that doesn't mean you can't still make apple butter. Guess what, we are the apples that made it into the steamy batch of cinnamony goodness and we are far from alone...the pork industry is full of good apples, we just don't get that much publicity.

This video is an explanation of modern pork production from the view point of actual pork producers. It shows how we care about what we are doing and we are just as responsible as the hog farmers in the days of yore. Sure, you could say we are biased, you could argue that we are only sugar coating the truth, you could even spit on your computer and pretend you didn't witness responsible farming and CAFO farming coming together in harmony but in the end I hope you will all simply see that pork producers are family farmers too--we're just doing it a little different.

Learn more about modern pork production by visiting the PorkCheckoff's site and watching the Checkoff's YouTube channel. You can also learn more about our farm by watching the BaconCam channel.

More on Advocating Agriculture

Recently, an article in Pork Network's newsletter was brought to my attention regarding how important it is for farmers and ranchers to "open up" to the public. Too often we forget how fortunate we are to be part of this amazing process called farming. However, we must keep in mind that 98 percent of this nation are not connected to agriculture other than what they see, read, or hear in the media or on the Internet. In this day and age of animal rights activists attacking animal ag and consumers' increasing concerns for the environment we need to put ourselves out there in order to help educate the public. They will not understand what we do or how we do it if someone does not take the initiative to educate them.

On that note, here is an agvocating recap:

In a previous post, Agvocating is Essential  and in a Suite101 article, Agvocating: Harvesting Social Media I highlight some of the basic ways to advocate agriculture but I would like you to keep in mind, you do not have to be a full time farmer or farm hundreds of acres to agvocate. You could blog about your neighbors' farm (with their permission, of course). This is not only a great way to learn about farming for yourself but also to get to know your neighbors better. You could blog about your gardening and the local farmer's market. You could keep up on Ag news and post your own commentary about recent headlines. You could even blog about your own questions, concerns, and curiosities about agriculture and then follow up with what you have found out. The blogging possibilities are endless, just use your imagination and start typing.


Videos are an amazing way to agvocate. They can be serious and show specific aspects of farming or...



They can be a bit goofy (maybe even dorky) while still making a point.


Videos are a huge part of agvocating because YouTube gets so many hits and you don't need to be an award winning director to produce a great YouTube video. In fact, it has been my experience that people prefer the rough-around-the-edges approach. Think of how huge reality shows have become and it makes sense, people want real life. You don't have to be doing anything exiting either. Keep in mind the daily chores you find mundane are actually fascinating to the masses because it is all totally new to them. Just film your cows grazing, someone throwing feed to pigs, or milking a cow, just about anything will work. If you don't have a YouTube account they are really easy to start and your information is kept secure, only the info that you allow will be available to others. If you've never uploaded a video and don't know how I'll bet your kids, grand kids, or the neighbor's kid could help you out. You can also leave me a message in the comments and I can try to answer any questions you may have or at least direct you to someone who can answer your questions.

Take a look at the BaconCam Channel for some more video ideas. What do you do to agvocate? What videos would you like to see about farming? Do you have an Ag blog you would like to share? Leave the link in the comments.

"Pet" Redefined in Prop B--Why?

We're pets!? Since when?

According to dictionary.com pet is defined as followed:

pet--noun, adjective, verb, pet·ted, pet·ting.
–noun
1. any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately.

Note: "...kept as a companion and cared for affectionately."

According to Prop B:
(9) ”Pet” means any domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the household of the owner thereof.

Why would HSUS and ASPCA (the two major groups pushing this onto the ballot) feel the need to alter the definition of the word "Pet"? Note too, why would they omit the section of the definition they claim to care most about? Why would they omit the "companion" and "cared for affectionately" part? Why would they change the meaning of "Pet" to such a vague definition?

Why? I'll tell you why, lines 3 and 4.

3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person having custody or ownership of more than ten female covered dogs for the purpose of breeding those animals and selling any offspring for use as a pet shall provide each covered dog:
 
(1) Sufficient food and clean water; The way this proposition defines clean water means that we would be in violation because the water and the feed get mixed in the bottom of the feeder pan and farmers that use a lake, pond, or stream to water their cows would be in violation too. 


(2) Necessary veterinary care; Again we would be in violation. Prop B states that a licenced vet must administer meds, treat the sick, and euthanize the lame; however, we work with licenced vets but we, the farmers, administer the meds, treat the sick, and euthanize the lame. We are trained to do these things by licenced vets and certified but certification is not a medical licence. Imagine how much it would cost for a vet or team of vets to come and do these things daily. We'd go out of business and so would every other farmer, not to mention there aren't enough vets to go around. 

(3) Sufficient housing, including protection from the elements; Some cows have barns, some don't. Therefore, those farmers, whether they have a barn or not, are in violation because of the temperature limitations and many barns are open at one end which would violate the "protection from the elements." According to this definition a roof is not enough. The temperature limitations would also kill our piglets because they must be kept warmer than 85 degrees. Furthermore, waste must be removed daily. We have a deep pit for hog waste--which isn't waste at all, it is a priceless commodity called manure--and it would have to be cleaned daily while the hogs are outside. Not possible. 

(4) Sufficient space to turn and stretch freely, lie down, and fully extend his or her limbs; This would increase the amount of space every farm animal across the board would need; forcing farmers to buy more land or use valuable crop land as pasture ground. 

(5) Regular exercise; and This would require farmers to have an outside area twice as large as the inside area!? Not realistic.

(6) Adequate rest between breeding cycles. Again, Prop B's standards are unrealistic. Farmers could only breed their livestock twice in an 18 month period. That alone would kill animal ag and destroy the nation's economy. 

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person may have custody of more than fifty covered dogs for the purpose of breeding those animals and selling any offspring for use as a pet. Here's a doozy. Farmers would only be allowed to breed 50 sows, 50 cows, only 50 chickens could lay eggs, etc. Again, this would mean death to animal ag. But, then again, isn't that what HSUS wants.
 
I know, I know. Before you go typing hate mail and claiming I'm an idiot because Prop B is clearly meant for dogs only and has nothing to do with farm animals, consider this. If, according to Prop B, a pet is in fact a "domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the household of the owner" that would mean that cows grazing in a pasture a few yards from their owners' house are "pets," the pigs that live behind my in-law's house only yards away are "pets," sheep, goats, chickens that live in a pasture on the same property which the owner resides are all "pets."
 
By redefining "pet" and creating an incredibly vague description, which in a court of law can be interpreted in the manner I have just described, it creates what is called in the legal profession a "loophole." By creating this "loophole" HSUS has also created an "in." All they would need to do if Prop B passes is file an amendment to change the breed of animal and good bye animal ag, good bye farmers, good bye meat, and hello imported expensive food and the socialist way of life, where big government rules and the little man drools (because he's so hungry).
 

Vote NO on Prop B.

Because this is not a pet.