As Americans gather for Thanksgiving, I’d guess very few talk about the economic contributions behind their food table. If there’s any such discussion, it’s likely how the average cost of this holiday meal has risen more than $5 this year. However, what’s just as important is the cornerstone that agriculture provides for our economy. While only 1.5% of our population farms, the agrifood system in total is nearly 20% of the economy. Agriculture and supporting systems have been one of the few economic bright spots in the last couple of years with employment being consistently available, though few recognize it as a cornerstone. Read More »
Archive for the ‘Farmer’ Category
Giving thanks for a cornerstone
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011Do Activists Destroy Family Farms?
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011A mother who had to go back to work to cover legal costs. A dad who never had health issues now has to visit the doctor for stress-induced illness. A little girl so worried about her family farm being taken away that she has panic attacks. This is the reality of what activists do to family farmers. Count it as a wake-up call for anyone who thinks it will never happen to them.
“Pray to God it doesn’t happen to you” is the single message Alan Hudson wants his fellow farmers to know about his experience with activists. “Go to meetings even when it doesn’t suit you and keep up on the regulatory front.” It’s not just about the $200,000+ in legal costs; it’s the embarrassment of being in the local paper more than a kidnapper who murdered a little girl. It’s the toll it’s taken on the entire Hudson family. And, it’s the invasion of privacy with planes circling their farm whenever they’re working cattle.
The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun calling for a comment alerted Alan and his wife, Kristin, about the pending lawsuit in December 2009. Rather than talking to the Hudsons about their concerns or contacting them through lawyers, Waterkeeper Alliance turned to the media. At question? A pile at the back of the Hudson farm.
On a flight over their farm on the Delmarva Peninsula, an activist saw a pile that she thought was chicken manure. Assateague Coastkeeper and Kathy Phillips posted aerial photographs of what they claim to be a chicken litter pile at Hudson, later determined to be Class A biosolids. In technical terms, Class A biosolids can be land applied without any pathogen-related restrictions at the site – and the pile in question had been pasteurized. In other words, it’s waste water solids that can also be bagged and marketed to the public for application to lawns and gardens. Yes, that would be “nutrient-rich organic materials” from humans – in this case, from Ocean City.
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) investigated the mystery pile of poo, asked the Hudsons to move the pile to a different location on the farm. Alan obliged and spent most of the week of Christmas moving and covering the pile. MDE was happy and said the farm didn’t need to take any further action other than to spread the biosolid pile in the spring for the next crop growing season. They inspected the farm again in January 2010, noting “no animal manure piles were observed outside.”
Yet the federal lawsuit was still filed, first by Waterkeeper Alliance, Assateague Coastkeeper and Kathy Phillips alleging discharges in violation of the Clean Water Act, the latter of which were dismissed as plaintiffs. Hudson said their latest claim is that manure if flying out of fans, which he considers highly unlikely since urine and feces are mixed in the poultry species. I suspect the only manure flying around is that from people looking for trouble.
Alan and his 75 year-old dad run what activists call a “factory farm.” They have Cornish Hens in two barns and contract with Perdue Farms because it’s the best business decision for their family to have a stable income. They produce around 500,000 servings of Cornish Hens a year in their barns; composting the manure so that it only needs to be removed once/year (minimizing environmental impact). The Hudsons also have 45 head of beef cattle and farm 200 acres of corn, soybeans and hay. Alan and Kristin are the fourth generation on their farm and have not had any problems with their neighbors in the the past until this one paid activist – who lives in a resort town, but regularly conducts ditch tests without any regard to record rainfall or other conditions.
None of us in agriculture will say that we’re in a perfect business; it’s dirty, exhausting and can be smelly. Technology has improved our ability to deal with manure – both animal and human (as shown with the info on biosolids above), but it’s still manure. Farms like the Hudsons use a nutrient management plan to ensure they’re protecting the land, air and water as much as possible. They live on that land, drink the water there and send their kids out to play – it’s not logical that they’d be poisoning their home. Unfortunately, there is no plan for how to deal with well-funded activists that are getting free legal counsel from the state’s land grant institution.
Alan points out that people don’t understand farms like they did when more people were farming. And with lawsuits like this, I have to wonder how many family farmers will be around in the future. If you’re one of them, please use this as a reason to talk to people. If you’re not on a farm, perhaps this is a wake up call to the very real struggles faced by farmers because of activists in today’s litigious society
Note from MPK: After receiving the link to http://savefarmfamilies.org on Facebook and verifying the story through Maryland ag organizations, I really wondered what was wrong with our society. It saddens me when activists destroy the lives of farm families. It angers me that this farm may never see a fifth generation. And it reminds me that more people have to stand up for what’s right. The Hudsons don’t know it yet, but will be receiving one of the 10x Connect grants to help, in a small way, with their legal costs (you can give at the website). I reached out to Alan & Kristin to help tell their story. What can you do to ensure this doesn’t happen to more farms?
Going Beyond the Choir: Blog Action & Food Day
Friday, October 14th, 2011“We need to quit preaching to the choir and go beyond agriculture.” This is the single most common wish I hear from ag folks in my advocacy training workshops across the States and Canada. Going beyond the agriculture choir is easy to talk about, but difficult to execute. However, this week offers several opportunities for you to extend he reach agriculture’s voice. Please help get the word out to other folks.
Blog Action Day is Sunday, October 16, focused on food. I’d encourage you to go to http://blogactionday.org, register your blog and and then write a post that offers your perspective on food. You can also tweet using #BAD11 or connect on Facebook. At a loss for what to write or stressed about time constraints? They’ll give you ideas here.
If you’re on a farm or ranch, remember your daily “mundane” chores are a novelty to 98.5% of the population. You can even grab a video camera and record what you’re doing (know that I’m smiling as I write this since so few enjoy video cameras). Write about harvest and how that makes a difference in the food system. Consider drawing parallels between technology used on the farm and world famine. Open the window into your barn by sharing how you care for animals.
Have some fun with it – this should simply be a conversation. It is not rocket science, particularly if you’re able to focus on hot buttons of those who are “beyond the choir.” Stay away from the science talk, drop the ag jargon and share why your family cares about making a difference in the food system. In other words, relate on a human level!
Blog Action Day also falls on Food Day this year, orchestrated by Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). All stripes of agriculture deserve to be represented in Food Day – and you need to understand that the food story will be told by those present in the conversation. Are you willing to add your voice? You can do so by tweeting with the #FoodDay tag, seeing and responding to their messages on YouTube, commenting on their Facebook page or referencing it in your blog posts (for Google rankings).
Keep it positive – you do not need to be defensive, though you may not agree with many of the messages coming from Food Day. Why not add diversity to the discussion – and real life examples from people who live and breathe agriculture? And if someone takes a nasty shot at you, a certain sector of ag or questions your style of farming – take the high road. Help people understand your family’s role in food, why it matters and the necessity choice for both food buyers and producers.
Going beyond the choir involves jumping out of the choir loft and finding your own groove. Are you ready to take that step? I hope so – your voice needs to be added to the mix or it’s going to be a rather lopsided ensemble. I’ll be there – and have no desire to be a solo act. Won’t you join me?
Thinking about food
Friday, September 23rd, 2011Yesterday I witnessed a real-time conversation about food and farming, intersected by virtual participation and live video feed. It was a fascinating experience to be in the audience at UC-Davis, help stimulate the social media conversation and see the behind-the-scenes effort that went into these Food Dialogues that the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance also hosted in New York City, D.C. and Fair Oaks, Indiana.
Chefs, farmers, mainstream media, food scientists, academia, ranchers and even those with viewpoints different than traditional agriculture were on the panels. An array of topics included sustainability, food safety, local foods, biotechnology, hormones, antibiotics, manure, soil, environmental practices, ethics, animal welfare, social responsibility, national security and food labels. Questions flew from all over the country, drawn from the audience – as well as Twitter, Facebook and the Food Dialogues website. After a few early techno glitches, it was a wonderful example of the many ways we can have a conversation integrating real time and social media.
The most interesting part of the day was watching 4,000+ tweets and probing a bit further in the online conversations. The long-term value to this day is digging deeper to identify where farmers and non-farmers can connect. The reality is we share common values, but there’s a lot of misinformation driving us apart. Common values must prevail or we all lose. 72% of consumers know nothing or very little about farming. That screams opportunity for the majority of folks reading this!
As I reflect on the conversation, this is what my crystal ball says:
* Farmers and the general public both value sustainability. And most agree that it has environmental, social and economical components. So why do we have to fight about what a sustainable operation is? According to the new USFRA research, 99% of farmers say they care about environmental practices while nearly 3/4 of consumers are concerned about the use of pesticides and insecticides used in farming. There’s a connection!
* Scripted folks come off as less than genuine. Farmers sharing their story, even if it’s one of large family operation, are considered authentic. And transparency about what you really do on your farm or ranch trumps any argument. Yet that transparency is incredibly hard to define.
* Passion connects on an emotional level. Passionate ag and food people attract others like bees to honey. Sure, some can be passionate naysayers, but it’s a small percentage. Why not find common points in your passion to get excited about farming and food together? Hint: this means you have to rein your passion in enough to listen to each other.
* There is confusion in both the farm and consumer ranks about the effect of government regulations on farming. Consumers are seeking more information on this, so your personal stories about regulations will help build understanding.
* Animal welfare matters. It is important to people buying food – and farmers must talk about how today’s practices are actually better for the animals.
* Feeding a growing population appears to be important to everyone around the food plate, but it’s more top-of-mind to farmers and ranchers. There’s a significant chance to connect through this social good conversation.
Who was missing in these Food Dialogues? A more diverse subset of farmers – small, medium sized and organics to add to the larger producer mix. Given health professional influence over people’s food choices and beliefs, it makes sense to include more dietitians and doctors. I’m sure there will be additional opportunities to plug them into the conversation in the future.
More than 2/3 of those purchasing food are thinking about how it’s produced on a regular basis. Consumers are looking for information about farming. All of us in agriculture have to determine if we’re willing to give it to them – even during planting season, winter, harvest or summer heat stress. Are you willing to step into the conversation? If you don’t, there are plenty of people who will be glad to continue the food confusion.
Are farmers and ranchers ever happy?
Monday, September 19th, 2011
This was originally entitled “Isn’t it time we pull our heads out?” A close runner-up was “Your stubborness and independence may work on the farm – and put you out of business.” Professional discretion prevailed. However, it seems as though farmers and ranchers are never happy. And I’m not talking about the weather!
We first get mad when people “attack” agriculture. Then we thumb our noses at the “ignorant city people” who should know where their food comes from. And we grumble that we have to take the time to talk to these people when we’d rather be out with our land and animals. Usually somewhere in there is “someone else should be doing this for me – that’s why I pay check-off programs and my Farm Bureau membership.”
Territories develop, policy battles get in the way and the complexities of the agrifood system prevail. We get annoyed when these groups don’t represent every single practice exactly the way we want them to. It’s fair to say that an organization simply can’t tell YOUR story like you can – nor should they. However, we also complain that agriculture never works together – “it sure would be nice if the pork farmers would agree with corn farmers and those dairy people would get in line with the rest of us.”
After a lot of rhetoric and a few failed attempts, a variety of farm organizations finally pulled together the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance last year. So now farmers and ranchers are complaining that such a “large” organization can’t possibly represent ME because I farm _____. And how diverse is it anyhow – are you sure it includes what I do? And is it O.K. to work with such a big organization?
All of this leaves me a bit confused. This “big” organization was founded on farmer dollars and it’s working to have a conversation BIGGER than any of us as individuals. They are having town hall meetings with a variety of food folks, including chefs, mainstream media, academia and yes – even some people that you’d likely call a pundit. These food dialogues are designed to be a multi-faceted conversation and they’re happening in a way that you can participate virtually to ensure farmers are at the table. Why not join in on 9/22, submit questions and help answer questions about food?
No one can tell your agricultural story better than you. This effort won’t be perfect. You don’t have to agree with everything they’re doing. But doesn’t it make sense to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and pool our resources when there is only 1.5% in the U.S. population on a farm? Doesn’t it also make sense to approach this as a conversation instead of a battle? And shouldn’t it be more about the big picture than self-interests?
Just in case you’re wondering, nobody paid me to write this. After a decade of working with agricultural advocacy, I’ve heard thousands of complaints from farmers and ranchers across the U.S. and Canada. Frankly, it’s tiring. It’s time to round up the cattle, send them through the chute and get this job done. Either stop complaining or do something about it. I don’t see that we have any other choice. Do you?
