All Will Benefit From Additional Cows

My response to the above letter was printed in the Jamestown Sun this morning, May 12th, 2010.
I had titled it "All Will Benefit From Additional Cows", but it was re-titled by the newspaper as "Big dairy will make it easier for family dairies in ND".

In response to Tracy Muske's May 6th letter to the editor entitled "Low milk prices make it hard for family dairies to survive", I feel obligated to clarify a few things.

Low milk prices have made it difficult for ALL dairy farms to survive. As a member of the board of directors of the North Dakota Dairy Coalition, I know firsthand that existing dairies have always been our top priority. We have served as a resource to help North Dakota dairies to improve and/or expand their operations. The dairies that have considered moving to North Dakota are generally not new dairies, but dairies that have chosen to move from another location, usually due to urban encroachment. Also, North Dakota has many advantages for dairie operations, including open space, land availability and affordable feedstuffs.

The past few years have been some of the most difficult the dairy industry has seen, and that has affected ALL operations, regardless of size or business structure. As the number of dairy cows in North Dakota has dropped, the biggest challenge has been the loss of infrastructure, meaning that dairy processing plants are now fewer and farther apart, therefore increasing the cost of milk hauling. In addition, access to veterinary and dairy equipment services has decreased. More cows in the state would mean a revitalization of that infrastructure, which is necessary for ALL dairies to exist.

When it comes to the issue of farm size, I'd like to remind everyone that a farm is a farm. No matter what size, or how their businesses are structured, all farmers are charged with effeciently vaising safe, wholesome food. None are more focused on animal well-being than dairy producers, who rely on healthy cows to sustain their businesses. Each farmer has the freedome to choose their own farm management techniques according to their individual goals and there is always a good reason for whatever size their operation is as their business evolves. For example, if my children choose careers other than agriculture, after my generation's retirement, my family's farm may be run by non-family, yet it will still be a farm. If all of my children choose to stay on our operation, then our operation will grow to meet the needs of multiple families, albeit larger, it will still be a farm. Either way, the next generation will continue to care for our resources responsibly. There is a place in the agriculture industry for every size and type of farm.

With regards to the dairy proposed in LaMoure County, I sincerely hope that our community warmly welcomes them. Everyone, from dairy producers to dairy consumers, will benefit from additional cows in our area.

Notice To The Help...This is the Home of Mothers.

("A Mother's Love" by Bonnie Mohr. For more information go to www.bonniemohr.com)

When I visited the National Dairy Shrine, in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin (http://www.dairyshrine.org/ ) a few years ago, as part of the International Forum for Women in Dairying, I happened upon a small poster. It was a reproduction of a sign to hang in a dairy barn, with a quote written years ago, by W.D. Hoard, the Founder of Hoard's Dairyman (http://www.hoards.com/). Today I keep it as a reminder of the basic animal husbandry principles that still hold true today.

Hoard's Dairyman was founded in 1885. My Great-Uncle, Harry Ensor, depended on it as a reliable source of information from the mid-1940's until he passed away in the late 1990's. The larger-than-average magazine with it's bright red and white covers still remind me of him.

Although Mother's Day has passed, I hope you will enjoy this quote. It is a reminder of the four-legged "working mothers" who provide us with our milk and an array of other wholesome dairy products and the tender care they deserve and receive from dairy farmers.

"NOTICE TO THE HELP: THE RULE to be observed in this stable at all times, toward the cattle, young and old, is that of patience and kindness. A man's usefullness in a herd ceases at once when he loses his temper and bestows rough usage. Men must be patient. Cattle are not reasoning beings. Remember that this is the Home of Mothers. Treat each cow as a Mother should be treated. The giving of milk is a function of Motherhood; rough treatment lessens the flow. That injures me as well as the cow. Always keep these ideas in mind in dealing with my cattle." ~ W.D. Hoard

When Faith and Farming Collide- Part 2

(photo by Pavel Pabjan, Jr.)

It is with great difficulty that I blog today. I find myself in such an awkward place, questioning things that I was certain of and questioning the leadership of a church I love so very much. As you read this, please try to put yourself in my shoes, and prayerfully consider all that I, along with my church family, am working through at this time.

My faith and my farming practices have always gone hand in hand. I feel farming is my God-given purpose in life. I am to do my best at farming by efficiently and effectively using the resources He has provided to feed His people so that they are strengthened and nourished to serve Him. I feel that one of the greatest freedoms we farmers have the luxury of is being self-employed. We choose the management practices that best suit the needs of our land, our animals, our families and our consumers. Each farm is as unique as a fingerprint, even in small, close-knit communities. We have the choice of such a vast array of technologies- that in itself is a blessing.

In a later post, I will describe exactly why my family has chosen to use certain technologies, but there isn't enough room for that today.

The challenge I'm faced with right now is what action to take now that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the "umbrella group" of churches, which my church belongs to, has taken strides to formulate a "Social Statement on Genetics". This has me VERY concerned.

You can read the full draft of the statement here:
http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements-in-Process/Genetics/Draft-Social-Statement.aspx

Bishop Rindy of the eastern North Dakota synod of the ELCA is a wonderful man. As he spoke at a meeting at my church last night, I have to admit, everything he said made sense, but I still have questions that remain unanswered and I have more "homework" to do on this issue.

First, some facts on the ELCA "Social Statement on Genetics", which includes a section on "Genetically Modified Organism's in the Food Supply":

- All social statements begin as a request to the synod.

- In August of 2005, the Churchwide Assembly authorized the development of the statement.

-It will cost $30,000/year, or a total of $210,000 from start to finish. This includes study, printing, etc.

- The draft of the "Social Statement on Genetics" is 63 pages long.

- The "Task Force for ELCA Studies on Genetics" has 18 members, but only includes ONE farmer, "Mr. Linden Olson, farmer and consultant, and member of American Lutheran Church, Worthington, Minnesota." It doesn't appear to me that any of the other members are involved in production agriculture.

When I asked Bishop Rindy about the section on GMO's , he responded that it will be a "document to help Lutheran's talk about genetics in a faithful way" and will explain "how you responsibly use GMO's".

I don't know about you, but I don't think the ELCA has really considered the long-term ramifications this may have on so many levels of our food supply. Maybe they have, and they're okay with the fact that this could have vast negative effects on so many of their farming members, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, as they are still studying this issue and collecting feedback. I'm reminded of when Oprah made a "statement" about beef on her show. That was just a "statement", but it had consumers in a panic.

The basic principle I keep coming back to is that I do NOT believe it is the church's place to give recommendations on farm management practices. Similarly, I do not think it is acceptable that the church tell everyone in town what tires to put on their car, etc. We go to church to worship and study scripture, but from there it is up to individuals to apply the lessons we've learned in our lives.

No matter where you stand on this issue, I encourage you to pray about this, and to comment before October 15th, 2010 at:

http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements-in-Process/Genetics/Respond-Online.aspx

This issue will be voted on at the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

(11/12/10- Please note: this was originally written in May 2010. I was not interviewed for today's articles in the Fargo Forum or the Jamestown Sun. Please read my newest blog post on this issue: When Faith & Farming Collide: Part 3. Also, Blogger has an error and I am unable to reply to any comments at this time. THANK YOU for visiting!)

What The Consumer Demands The Farmer Provides

(Rear view of black less-lard hog, side by side with overweight, white, mostly-lard, hog at Dept. of Agriculture experiment station. Photo by Al Fenn. Life Magazine, October 1954.)



"The agriculture sector is...partly responsible for the explosion in our health care costs because they're contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in health care costs."
- Senator Barack Obama, TIME Magazine, 2008.

Excuse me?!


Here's a little lesson in economics. When there is a demand for something, the supply increases.

Every time a consumer stands in front of a grocery store shelf and picks "this" product over "that" product, the demand for "this" product increases. This trickles back through the food manufacturers to the farmer eventually, therefore increasing the supply.

We farmers grow only what the consumer demands. For example, My Dad has told me stories of "lard hogs". Back in the day, the fatter the hog, the better, because every family had a tub of lard to cook with. Then somewhere along the line, consumers began desiring leaner pork, so farmers started breeding leaner pigs. Today, "voila", the modern hog has the muscle definition of my workout video instructors.

What I'm getting at is that I'm absolutely fed up (pun intended) with so many people blaming farmers for, well, just about everything.

What the consumer demands the farmer provides and we do a darn good job of providing whatever it is consumers demand in a safe, efficient manner.

If you're looking for someone to blame, perhaps you should take a closer look at YOUR food consumption decisions. Clean up your eating habits, and believe me, I will still grow what you demand.

When Faith and Farming Collide

Tonight I'm doing my homework. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, of which my church is a member, has drafted a "Social Statement on Genetics", to be considered by the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. This includes a section on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) in the Food Supply.

Tomorrow night our church will host ELCA leadership to speak on this, among other topics.

If you are interested in seeing what my church is working on- check out the link below.

www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements-In-Process/Genetics.aspx

I strongly encourage YOU to investigate what connections YOUR church has to policies that affect agriculture and prayerfully consider how to address this issue.

Stay tuned for more on this issue.

What does the cow "say"?

(Fisher Price "See 'N Say")




What does the cow say? If you're like me, the first thing that came to mind is "moo". However, a colleague, who is a fellow fan of animal agriculture, recently pointed out to me the obvious. A cow doesn't SAY anything, it is an animal, and it is unable to speak. Until my colleague pointed this out, when I was teaching my children about animals I would use the typical line "what does the ____ say?" Now I say "what sound does the _____ make?"

This brings me to the concept of "anthropomorphism". I first heard this term from Dr. Wes Jamison, one of the speakers at the Young Dairy Leaders Institute. Dr. Jamison explained that anthropomorphism is when we give human characteristics to non-human creatures (animals).

The more I've thought about this, the more I recognize how rampant anthropomorphism is in our culture. My children have enough stuffed animals to start their own toy store. Disney has made billions on animal cartoon characters with human abilities and features. Millions of families around the world have pets that they would rank as family members.

This is a slippery slope. Yes, it might seem rather harmless to surround our children with humanized animals, and to have a family pet that's pampered, but we've got to be proactive on where to draw the line.

Animals are NOT humans.

In the book of Genesis God gave we humans "dominion", or supreme authority, over animals.

"...be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over ever living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28)

God created a hierarchy where utilizing animals and consuming them is acceptable. In fact, God not only accepts this, but instructs us to eat animals.

In Genesis 9:3, it is written "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."

If we are not proactive in teaching our children the basic principle that mankind is responsible for caring for animals and that God gave us animals to nourish us so that we can serve His purposes, they will be overrun with messages of anthropomorphism and will likely feel some sort of guilt associated with consuming animal products.

There is no reason for our children to ever feel guilt when eating meat, eggs, or dairy products. The animals that provide us with these products fulfilled their God-given purpose. They were born, lived their lives, and they died. This is the cycle of life.

Grannie's Letter to the Editor

(My "Grannie", Freeda Graziano, in the 1970's, holding a trophy she won in a local tractor pull.)


After my maternal grandmother (Freeda Graziano, aka "Grannie") passed away a few years ago, my aunt found an old, yellowed Baltimore Sun newspaper in the attic. It was dated March 18, 1973. At that time, she was married to my Grandfather, who still operates our family's farm in Maryland, raising crops and dairy cattle. The newspaper contained a letter to the editor from Grannie. Her letter is a rebuttal to an earlier article, which I do not have a copy of, but apparently it was by Gilbert Lewthwaite, was written about a farm in Iowa and was entitled "Price rise makes life easier on the farm". Mr. Lewthwaite's article included statements such as "the farmer is the major beneficiary from and source of current inflation." Ouch. I can see why Grannie took offense to such comments.


I so enjoyed her letter. She really "let 'er rip", and I was impressed to read the strong words from my witty, but generally soft-spoken, grandmother. I'm sure the original letter, if hand-written, was penned in beautiful cursive as well. I learned a lot from my Grannie. She was one of my best friends and I miss her everyday, but I'm grateful that I learned something from her even after she passed. We farm women, although generally a modest bunch, must stand up for what we believe in and that noone should underestimate us.

Grannie wrote "Sir: Gilbert Lewthwaite in his article "Price rise makes life easier down on the farm," leaves me with the distinct impression that a farmer shouldn't have the same priviledge as other working people: that is, of having a respectable modern home. Granted he doesn't spend as many hours in it as most people do, since his working day isn't a routine 8-hour day, but more likely 16 to 18 hours many months of the year; but most people still like a nice home to come home to, even farmers....

What is most puzzling to me is the fact that it took an act of God, a storm such as Agnes (hurricane that struck the east coast in 1972), to wake the people of this country up to the fact that a couple of bad years for the farmer will affect every person in this country. For years we have been the only industry in existence trying to survive running a business by buying our supplies and equipment retail and selling our product wholesale. For the past 20 years, while our costs steadily climbed our income was stagnant, but I don't recall that fact ever rating a front page article in your paper. Consumers were perfectly content with that situation, while many farmers were giving up and selling their farms to developers to build lovely homes for other people, and the farms steadily declined. Unless fortunate enough to buy one through family as Lewthwaite's man did, no farmer can afford to buy a farm now strictly to farm unless he rents other ground to farm to supplement his income. And this is getting harder each year to do as the farm ground is fast being bought up by developers....

I don't think you will find many farmers in the business expecting to get rich; but the consumers must realize that if the farmers can't make enough profit to stay in business, and they continue to sell out at the rate they have in recent years, the consumers are going to pay even more, as the food abundance and variety they have been enjoying in recent years is going to dwindle away before their very eyes."


Wow. So much of this is still true today.

Atta girl Grannie! Thank you for raising my Mom right, because she learned from you and she raised me right. Thank you for encouraging and inspiring me. I just wish you were here so that I could tell you Happy Mother's Day.