Winter Farming

Even in the winter months with the ground frozen and nothing growing farmers are still farming. There is a surprising consensuses that farmers get the winter months off but oh the contrary is true. No, we aren't in the fields but there is much, much more to farming than just cruising in the tractors. There is plenty to do on the farm to keep farmers and ranchers busy year round and then some.

Today in Missouri (and the entire mid-west) we are under a winter weather advisory. In fact, the radio just announced a state of emergency because the sky is layering the ground with an inch of snow every hour and the wind she is a blowing causing whiteout conditions.

 

Luckily, Aaron crammed the trucks in the shed and got the tractor and blade ready last night in preparation for today. There is a very good reason why farmers are obsessed with the weather and I am grateful for it, especially today.

But what about the livestock? Sure, we have tractors for pushing snow complete with cabs, heat, and air-ride seats but how are our pigs faring in this frosty weather?

Good news! Not only do we have heated cab tractors but we also have heated barns specially made for the pigs. You won't find frosty snouts and frozen hooves on our farm; instead, you'll find warm pigs with plenty of food and water. We didn't even have to break the ice for them to drink!

These huge furnaces are throughout the barn and work just like a furnace in a house. When the temperature drops the furnace kicks on until the barn reaches the toasty temperature we designate in the computer. We also have brooder heaters for the little pigs but once they are big enough to generate their own heat we take these brooders down. We also have a generator, which Aaron checked on this morning, in case the power goes out.

Despite whiteout conditions, 40-mile-per-hour winds, and freezing temperatures farmers and ranchers are out checking on their herds--both indoor and outdoor. No matter where the herd is raised--climate controlled barns, pastures, or hoop houses--farmers still have to brave the weather to get to their animals every single day. 

 

 What are you doing on this snowy day?

Off the subject: Is it normal to have thunder and lightening during a snow storm or am I the only one that finds that odd?

Coming Together as Partners in Farming

The work of farmers has grown while the number of farmers has dwindled. Whether you believe that big business ran farmers into the ground, or that poor market values in the 80’s are to blame, or perhaps it was government subsidies that did them in it really doesn’t change the outcome. Furthermore, many people in America just don’t want to farm so pointing fingers does little good. The point is that only 2% of the people in this country provide food for our great nation and other countries around the world. While America imports practically every product you buy from the store there is one product that we still export…food and associated byproducts. That means that there is still something that is MADE IN AMERICA. I don’t know about you but I think that is pretty impressive and it is pretty darned impossible without the use of modern technology, which includes tractors, confinement barns, and modern medicine.

There is a war going on right now and it breaks my heart. It is ignorant, egotistical, selfish, and shows a level of intolerance that is unacceptable and embarrassing. Whether you choose to eat meat, or eat organic, or to go vegan the wonderful thing is that you have the choice to make.

Why must we choose sides?

Since when is there only one way to farm or eat?

Why can’t we all be “right” in our own way?

We raise hogs in confinement barns and we only eat our own hogs. We buy eggs from a local farmer that raises “free range” chickens. We also buy produce from a fellow that drives around selling Amish grown products out of the back of his pickup and we eat out of our own garden too. I also buy food from big chain grocery stores like Wal-Mart and Aldi. This is what is so wonderful about this country—DIVERSITY!

I don’t have to eat organic but I am friends with the fellow that sells the eggs and I like buying eggs from him, so I do. I don’t have to grow my own food but I enjoy the satisfaction and process of gardening. I don’t have to eat meat just like I don’t have to eat all my veggies but I do because I have a choice and so do all of you.

So, here is a choice that must all make:

Are we going to continue to argue amongst ourselves or are we going to work together and become part of the solution instead of the problem?

Some farmers grow organic on a I think that is great and necessary. Some farmers contract with big companies to produce on a larger scale and I think that is great and necessary. Some go big while others remain small and I see absolutely no problem with that. Farming has yet to reach perfection; however, we will never even come close to that goal if we continue choosing sides.

Big or small, farmers are farmers and we need them all!

My Fine Swine

Fare thee well my fine swine

Fare thee well my pink friends

You’re off to fulfill your destiny

You’re off to feed the world

Thank you for your hams and hocks

Thank you for your steaks and chops

Even though it’s changing now, to me

You’ll always be “The other white meat.”

I'm certainly no poet but I thought I'd just throw this out there for the hell of it. We just shipped out the last of our piggies and now they're off to feed the world. It's pretty cool when you think about it. We get them in when they're just little piglets, raise them, feed them, care for them until they're all grown up and ready for market.
 
My husband surprised me with this group of pigs, though. We had just gotten back from our training session in Des Moines, it was late and early the next morning a load was going out. I had to convince my husband to get some sleep instead of going to help load. I asked him why he was so set on being at every load and he said,
 
"Because I feel like I'm missing out. I raised them, I wanna be there." 
 
For all those animal activists who claim we don't care about our animals and we mistreat them, take another look at that quote. We had driven 5 hours, it was 10:00 at night, and my husband still wanted to go and load a 2:00 a.m. load of hogs because he didn't want to miss out. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is.

Slip-N-Swine

Phew! is it hot. We're currently at 91 degrees with a heat index of 102 and if that's not bad enough we're also sitting on 59% humidity. I'm sweating just sitting here typing and I'm in the A/C. My kids know how to beat the heat. As soon as they got off the bus (summer school) they jumped into their swim suits and begged me to drag out the slip-n-slide.

Nothing like slipping and sliding on a tarp with a built in sprinkler. Trust me. I had to belly flop down that thing a couple times myself.

Any who, slip-n-slides are not the point here. I really want to talk about how we keep our pigs cool on days like this. We tried the slip-n-slide approach but it just wasn't working out. The pigs couldn't get the hang of the flop-and-slide technique. Instead, we've gone with the reliable fan and sprinkler method.

As you can see our barn is lined with huge fans. My daughter standing next to one of the fans (she almost blew away) shows how big these things are. We drop the curtains in the front, kick on the fans in the back, and let the wind begin. 

 We also have a sprinkler system that we turn on during hot weather. The pigs just love water. You can see in this next pic a group of pigs chillaxen (my daughter's word) by one of the many sprinklers.

Just like my kids, they love their sprinkler. A bunch of the other pigs came up to me to say, "Hi." But these piggies just sat there looking at me. They grunted a greeting but they were happy to just stay put. I can't blame them. It's too dang hot to do anything but sit and sweat. If it gets any hotter I might just cozy up to that sprinkler with them. Stay cool everybody.

Journalism Ethics Out the Window

When did ethics, fact checking, and overall good reporting become optional? "The Problem with Factory Farms", written by Claire Suddath, both shocked and horrified me; however, it was not the content but her journalism--or lack thereof. Her interview of David Kirby was biased, contained as many comments as questions, and she never once challenged any information--even false. This article was clearly the work of an activist, not a journalist.

The article claimed, "The farmer can't even eat his or her own animals." In reality, yes we can. In fact, we have a pig, which we hand picked out of our own barn, resting comfortably in delicious pieces in our freezer. Kirby also criticizes companies because they "tell them [the farmers] exactly how to build the farm, what to grow, and what to feed." For one, we choose how to build our farm, the company only provides blue prints for the buildings. This is handy since none of us are building engineers. We have never been told what to grow and the feed is provided by the company to insure optimum nutrition during the different stages of growth. In addition, Kirby's definition of a CAFO is severely lacking; however, Suddath does nothing to correct him or even follow up on the issue.

Another point this article made that shocked me was Kirby's views on manure. "It has nowhere to go." He claims, "You don't have enough land to absorb their waste." I am sure if Suddath or Kirby consulted the Department of Natural Resources, they would find such claims to be false. In fact, DNR will not issue a permit if the farmer does not have a manure management plan in place and land enough to apply it. This article also claimed that "this kind of stuff" is not regulated. Please visit the Missouri DNR website and you will quickly find just how regulated "this kind of stuff" really is.

Finally, as my rant lingers on, I must comment on Kirby's closing statements. "There's no farm house on a factory farm..." and his claim that the pigs in a CAFO sound like "kid's being tortured...all night long." Not only does our family live only a few hundred yards from our barns but we have never had any problems with the sounds of "kid's being tortured." Of course, pigs squeal and make noise but, like any other animal, they eventually settle down and most pigs even snore. We farm land, we raise pigs with concern for their health along with the environment's, we live on the farm close to the barns, all the above mentioned are things Kirby and Suddath claim don't exist with CAFOs. Yet another misconception.

Bottom line, this kind of reporting, especially by major periodicals such as Time, is dangerous to agriculture, farmers, and the economy. Spreading misconceptions to consumers is both irresponsible and just bad reporting. I for one am sending an email to Time magazine to complain about this biased, misleading article. If you care about agriculture and maintaining affordable food in this country, I urge you to do the same. Email the Editor at letters@time.com.