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Could the attacks on agriculture
be a good thing? Tyler Rider
Feb. 15, 2010
Tyler and Becky Rider represent the 8th
District on the Kansas Farm Bureau Young Farmers
and Ranchers committee. They along with their 2
1/2 year old daughter Eve make their home in
Ness City Kansas. Tyler and his family grow
wheat, milo, and feed for their and feeder
cattle on 4000 acres. Becky works part time
doing accounting for the local elevator during
her breaks from raising Eve and their 2nd
daughter who is scheduled to come any day now.
How
many people have seen an ad produced by the Humane
Society of the United States (HSUS) or heard about
the farm animal welfare ballot initiatives in
California, Ohio, and other states? I hope all of
you reading this have. If you haven’t seen the ads,
they show pictures of animals that look sad,
neglected, and/or mistreated and ask you to support
HSUS.
So
what do the HSUS TV ads and the farm animal welfare
initiatives have in common? The HSUS and other
animal activist groups are using these ads to raise
funds for their numerous activities, one of which is
supporting their farm animal welfare initiatives.
These initiatives are aimed at telling producers how
they are to raise their animals (cage free chickens,
gestation stall free hog production) . When someone
outside my operation tells me how I should be
raising my crops and livestock, I get concerned.
So
I have decided to speak out, something I encourage
you to do. The person who knows best how to produce
the crops, livestock, or other items on your
operation is you. If you don’t take the opportunity
to tell people how/why you produce things the way
you do, HSUS and other organizations can tell them
how you are producing them and they may not be
correct.
Some of you are probably like I am and just want to
take care of your day to day tasks and keep out of
trouble. But if we don’t watch closely, the way we
do our day to day tasks (prodding a cow or calf,
spraying atrazine on your crops, etc.) will become
against the law.
Why
do I think the numerous attacks on agriculture could
be a good thing? They are causing me and some other
producers to use social media to tell others not
familiar with modern agriculture production why we
do things on our operations the way we do. Knowing
how the food, fiber, and fuel they consume are
produced, will make consumers more confident that
the products they consume are produced in a
responsible, compassionate, and sustainable way.
Another goal of this education is to ensure that if
consumers are given the opportunity, they will allow
agriculture producers to determine how to raise the
agriculture products they consume, not someone
outside the operation.
I
hope you are using the opportunity to tell others
about what you do on your operation. Be it a city
neighbor you encounter on the street, a relative at
your next family gathering, or someone who sees your
post on a social media outlet.
Comments?
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