I was grumpy yesterday, I admit it. One of my favorite cows is doing very poorly and will probably not make it. The heifer I have been hand caring for, carrying all her food and water from the house and barn and trailers for over a week, had a dead heifer calf yesterday morning. She is still far from out of the woods herself.
These are things we must take in stride, if you have animals you will lose some. Just as pets die so do farm animals. It hurts, but there is little to be done but soldier on.
However, as I was dragging the eighth pair of buckets of water up from the house, I thought about how all of us farm folks are supposed to somehow teach non-farm folks about what we do, why we do it that way, and explain to them why activists groups and food companies like Chipotle are not necessarily giving them all the information, or the right information, about modern farming methods.
Oftentimes agenda-driven organizations are downright lying to them, but with their glitzy horror videos and sad-eyed pets, and even cartoons, they are very convincing.
But according to far too many arm chair experts, we farmers must somehow counteract their million-dollar ad campaigns with words of our own.
No matter how frustrated we are made by the falsehoods we hear and the attacks that are made on us, we must be civil and non-confrontational. Every magazine editor, website and organization has some reason why, when farmers do attempt to follow through with ag promotion, they are doing it wrong, not doing it enough, or somehow are entirely to blame for what is going on in the anti-farming culture that dominates the media. They completely ignore the fact that every beef and dairy farmer already pays, before they see a penny from milk or beef checks, for promotion of their products by people who are trained for the job. They forget that every farmer who works at promotion, the good folks who write silly songs, put up Youtube videos and talk to folks in the grocery story have demanding day jobs that require time and effort.
And as I toted water, and toted hay, and fielded men looking for ropes..... in the house (the only ropes in the house are for the dogs) I got downright irritated at those editors and such.
The original reason I started this blog was to do all that stuff about putting a face on agriculture. I am not sure that ever happened, but it has turned out to be an incredible amount of fun, I love the people I have met...sometimes you are the only thing that keeps me sane.....and sometimes, just a few times, I may have even made a tiny difference in how someone from the other side of the sidewalk views farming.
However the day will never come when what I say here or in the Farm Side will outweigh what people see on slick TV ads or on billboards in Albany. Those campaigns are waged by trained professionals with deep pockets behind them.
I think making an effort should count. I think there are a lot of pretty darned cool farmers working hard on Twitter, Facebook, and just about everywhere they can, taking time that they could surely use for their day jobs, to moonlight in ag promotion. I think certain industry spokes folks should cut them a little bit of slack.
Rant over, thank you.
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14 comments:
I hear you. Nothing is as simple as The Others would have anyone believe.
I'm sorry you lost the calf and that your cow's not doing well. I will hope for the best.
As a civil servant, I do know how you feel.
I've learned a lot from your post. The main thing I learned is that I couldn't do what you do, it's a lot of work. I also never knew or realized how much you and other farmers really care for your animals. You treat them as if they were your pets, you give them more than food, you give them love. Sorry about the calf.
Great Rant!!! The great thing is that you are thinking while you are carrying, and writing down your thoughts. There are a lot of pail carriers out there who never get to step two when they are going either up or down hill.
'....and sometimes, just a few times, I may have even made a tiny difference in how someone from the other side of the sidewalk views farming.'
You sure have. You are my only insight into your world since Dick Woollacott died back in the '60s!
When you reach a moment like this... here's a brand new first thought you can pop into your mind...
Imagine this entire friggin' country being without electricity for an expected year... and Paris Hilton throwing a fit because she can't get her blow-dryer to work.
There are so many "mouthers" out there that are totally clueless to how much they would prefer to shut up and be grateful, if they had to experience this situation. Without electricity - no gas pumps to fuel trucks to deliver. And when all else fails - if we're all smart enough... we'll learn how to hand-milk a cow. But will they be able to buy a gallon of milk? LOL
Sure you are being heard, it takes lots and lots of time and the same thing being said over and over. Don't give up.
You really need a golf cart to haul your stuff, at least part of the way. We have used them for many years and used ones are not that expensive. linda
Ditto Cathy's comment! Thank You for showing us what really goes on at a dairy farm.
Good rant, and a justified one. I cannot believe the stupidity aimed against the producers of food in this world.
You have put a face on agriculture. When i read your blog I feel that I have spent time producing food myself, without, you know, the work, the cold, the heartbreak...
Seems like the spoilers are always going to be with us, I don't listen to the anti-gun folks any longer. They know nothing and are just like the slick operators the farmers are up against.
I do know, that if you offer me a glass of milk it will be better than that guy in the designer jeans and boots without muck and mud on them.
Keep farming and writing, thank y'all very much. I have been on those thankless tasks at the end of no where - except we were there.
This is a wonderful post, done with clarity and passion. I have followed your blog you a few weeks now, and it is a delight. I remember in the 60-70's when Dutchess County Cooperative Extension hosted Town and Country day. Bus loads came to our dairy farm and toured the barns. How personally satisfying, and effective too. thanks again,
Lorraine
I share you outrage.
Your courage in facing the day to day challenges there on the farm and your sharing them with us has been inspirational.
Struggling to bring a sick animal along . . . it brings back memories. I am so sorry about the calf and hope there are better days ahead for you and the heifer.
I just think the teeming masses need to go hungry, and I mean really hungry, for an extended length of time, and then, they would be happy to listen to US!
what great stories and very interesting, especially for me being from florida now tx
June, thanks, I imagine that you do! Talk about thankless jobs...
Cathy M,thank you for your kind words. In the end we lost my old cow too. She had a good life, but I will sure miss her.
ijssp, thanks..I do a lot of thinking while doing mindless jobs I guess and a lot of the jobs are pretty mindless
Thanks, Dickiebo, I don't mean to go off the rails, but sometimes things I read in magazines, written by people who leave their job behind at the end of the day make me crazy
Weldrbrat, such a huge percentage of people are so far removed from the requirements of basic survival that they don't even know that there are any. I do surveys to make money...anything for a buck these days...and the products are so self-indulgent, so self-centered that they simply boggle my mind. Shampoo is shampoo isn't it?
Linda, thanks for your kind words. I wouldn't mind a golf cart. We have a lot of mud but I'll bet one would go pretty good on the frozen ground.
Dani, thanks, I don't mean to get crazy, but some things the magazine editors say just get me going in a big way. I know farm bloggers who are women, who not only work with their husbands, but have several little kids, houses to run, books to keep, and yet they find time to write about their operations to try to help the industry. Then they get criticized by guys who go home at night and sleep without worrying about calving cows or sick livestock or broken water pumps. who are they to talk I wonder...oh, geez, there I go again...sorry. lol
Jan, thank you! I just read an editorial column, alas in a beef industry periodical, which will only see the light of day on farms, which used some pretty darned good statistics to prove that if all farmers went back to 50s era production methods, 151 million people would get no food...quite an argument for modern production methods, but the wrong people are seeing it.
Earl, thank you sir. I respect your opinions about as much as anybody's because I know you have the background and the backbone to back them up. You take care now.
lorraine, thank you so much for visiting and commenting! The folks I meet here really make my days. When we were kids, we were the city kids that were taken to local farms for a field trip visit. Guess what we saw must have rubbed off because two out of three of us became farmers. lol Have you ever been to a Sundae on the Farm? I love to see the city folks enjoy a day on a working farm that way, although I don't get to them as much as I used to.
Cathy, thanks! Hope you are feeling better and that you are getting this glorious weather. I had to get the Farm Side done this morning as we have been crazy all week with calvings and associated problems but in about five minutes I am going OUTDOORS!!! lol
JB, you betcha! And the teeming masses have a lot more excuse for ignorance than farm magazine editors.
anon, thanks!
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