A unique mom sees the value of her son on the farm

The link below is to a blog so good, it simply needs no enhancement.  See how a mom describes what happened to her son when he had the advantage to work on a farm, and why the current plan by the Dept. of Labor to keep kids from working on the farm is so misguided.

http://learningtosubmit.com/2012/04/25/should-rural-kids-be-allowed-to-work-on-farms-ranches/

The irony of ‘slime’

Well, even though it’s settled down some, there is a huge ‘dent’ of damage left over the so-called ‘pink slime’ debate held recently.  People lost their jobs.  Businesses closed. Consumers were scared.  And all for nothing.

But one of the biggest parts is the irony of the entire issue of finely textured beef.  Opponents, just as it is many times when people knee-jerk react before they look at facts or think about consequences, actually hurt their own cause.

Now I know you should never assume, but just for grins, let’s say these finely textured beef opponents also claim to care about the environment and food safety.

What are they fighting against? Finely textured beef is perfectly safe.  When steaks and roasts are cut, it creates the “trim” that becomes ground beef.  The compaines supplying lean finely textured beef use a process to remove a lot of the fat from the lean beef in the trim, which is then added to ground beef as a concentrated, lean source of protein.  It may also be SAFELY treated, just as many other foods are today, to eliminate possible bacteria contamination.  In short, the beef is safe, so says the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Here’s more.  Finely textured beef eliminates waste because it uses all the true beef available.  If it’s not used, the extra lean beef is thrown away.  Is that good for the earth, or for hungry people?

According to the amount gained, if finely textured beef isn’t used, beef demand would require another 1.5 million cattle.  Let’s see, 1.5 million times all the extra feed, water, extra space, etc. etc. etc. Does that make sense?

None of this yet deals with the bottom line.  Without finely textured beef, the price of your hamburger goes up, for no reason.

Then there is the issue of labeling.  Finely textured beef is just that…beef.  I guess the label could say “beef, with added beef.”  Would that be better?

Finely textured beef has been around for more than two decades, when the technology and idea became available to not waste this valuable lean protein.  All these folks who jumped on the ‘slime’ bandwagon so fast, without looking at facts or consequences should know this.  Lean finely textured beef is not necessarily ‘pink,’  It’s actually very environmentally ‘green.’  Next time, they should stop and think before their actions damage an industry, hurt other people, and hurt the environment they claim to care so much about.

More info and sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDiPjmsKeh8&feature=player_embedded

http://www.kfb.org/news/newsimages/pinkslimeisnt.pdf

http://beefisbeef.com/

Labor Dept. needs some country living

People love to talk about ‘change.’  It’s understandable, because many things have changed over the years.  Probably one of the most easily recognizable is technology.  I now e-mail, tweet, post to facebook, watch video, check markets, navigate through cities, find restaurants and gas stations and a lot more on my ‘smartphone.’

Sometimes, I even make a phone call.

Girl and her calf on a Jackson, County Kansas farm

Modern Agriculture has changed dramatically too.  The amazing advances in technology make it the most efficient, productive, and environmentally sound food, fiber and fuel producing system in the world.

But a couple of things about agriculture have never changed, and the Department of Labor doesn’t understand it.  That’s why we now have what could be the most misguided proposal for the overregulation of agriculture we’ve ever seen.  You see, the Dept. of Labor wants to basically keep kids from helping, or working on the farm.  In the real world, that’s absurd on so many levels.  But Washington D.C. bureaucracy is not the real world.

Apparently, the Dept. of Labor doesn’t think youth under 16 can be around cattle, operate a mower or tractor, milk a cow, or cut weeds.  That’s just a few of the restrictions the new proposal would implement. In other words, many things I did growing up on our family farm, and all others before and after me, would be illegal.

I was starting to drive a tractor, ‘driving’ a pickup in a pasture to fix fence, riding horses to move cattle, and feeding cattle at around 9 yrs. old.  Could some of this be dangerous?  I suppose so.  But does the Dept. of Labor actually believe that my parents wanted me injured or killed?  Just as farmer Chris Chinn from Missouri told Congress in her real-life testimony on the issue, She, and I, were hurt more often and much worse at school than we ever were on the farm.  The farm is the perfect place and opportunity for parents to teach common-sense safety rules and precautions, the responsibility of handling expensive equipment, and the values of work.  That work ethic, and other skills and values I learned on the farm, has served me very well as an adult in my employment, relationships, finances and more.  We don’t need to keep kids from working on the farm, we need to get more out there.  I remember my city friends at school who came to see me on the farm, and some worked during the summer.  Their parents knew it was good for them to learn the responsibilities of taking care of animals, the value of equipment, the importance of a work ethic.  These kids were better adults because of their time on the farm.

The Dept. of Labor needs some country living.  Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran has invited Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to Kansas to see personally how these proposed rules can threaten the family farm and its historical value.  I hope she comes.  She needs to see the value system, the work ethic, and the skills learned on the farm.  I thank Sen. Moran and others in the Kansas delegation who are keeping up the fight to do away with this misguided overregulation.  If you grew up or work on a farm, you can help, too.  Just go to www.keepfamiliesfarming.com and tell your story.  Much of Washington D.C. doesn’t ‘get’ the value of rural living.  We must teach them through our action, or lose a heritage that will hurt everyone.

Food with Integrity? Maybe Not

Sometimes I think agriculture is falling into a well-conceived trap.  We’re told we should market to the consumer, provide what the consumer wants, and it’s the only way to be successful.  While there clearly is merit in that belief, even to the point that it may be hard to survive without doing it, it begs a question of what has happened to that consumer, and where are they getting their information?

Before I continue, I must say that I believe one of the greatest words in the English language is ‘balance.’ So understand that I believe there is room for all kinds of agriculture.  I just don’t like it when one group misleads the public about another to boost a self-serving agenda.  Yes, I realize not all do, but some with large pocketbooks certainly are.

Just today, I learned of a new video from Chipotle, the burrito-making bunch.  It has some great music (though it’s sad Willie Nelson is drinking the cool-aid) with a well-done animation of a farmer, who is putting animals in fences and buildings, then sees the ‘error of his ways’ and releases them all, into this nirvana of open pasture, much to the delight of Chipotle.  The purpose and message behind the video and the Chipotle website is what they call ‘Food with Integrity.’  Well, to make their claim, they say, or imply, you must never use hormones or antibiotics, fencing or housing animals is not caring for them, and a host of other agenda-driven hype.

I can spend a lot of time talking about science-based and practical reasons why housing animals save many of their lives annually, especially this year during the heat and drought.  I can talk about predators, prudent use of antibiotics, the ‘natural’ presence of hormones, and a lot more about animal welfare and food safety.  But my real concern goes beyond all this.

I am concerned that the consumer is getting inaccurate and misleading information on purpose.  If  ’modern’ or ‘traditional’ agriculture isn’t torn down, then other forms cannot be nearly as successful.  So, at whatever the cost, the public is being misled by some to believe that if a hog is housed, the farmer doesn’t care about its welfare, when actually just the opposite is likely true.  Hey Chipotle (and others this applies to), lying about food production hardly sounds like ‘Food with Integrity.’   It seems before we blindly accept ‘marketing to the consumer,’ we must continue and improve our effort to provide the consumer the truth.

Ag life: Growing up caring

I came across this picture the other day, shot by farm parents of their daughter.  It was a classic of how I grew up, how kids in agriculture grow up.  It’s about caring.  This girl wanted to be with her calf, making sure it was OK.  I remember the many, many nights as I was growing up we would check our cattle throughout the winter and bring in cold calves to the shed to dry off, keep warm, and take back to their moms the next morning.  We might have to bottle feed them.  We’d rub and massage them to get them warm, and we’d stay with them as long as needed.  Sometimes, we might even fall asleep with them.

The image you see here is the standard of the way I, and my neighbor kids, grew up.  It was about taking care of and respecting our animals.  This is agriculture.