If you have been following the social media whiplashing Yellow Tail wine has received as a result of their $100,000 donation to H$U$, then you may have already seen this video by Troy Hadrick, Advocates for Agriculture spokesperson. If this story is news to you, check out Chuck’s earlier post on this topic.
No more Yellow Tail wine for me. I hope you feel the same.
I guess I’m not shocked that HSUS has pulled this bait and switch on Ohio voters. While stepping aside to let Ohio farmers pass the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, our friends at HSUS are now campaigning to make sure that board pushes their agendas forward, which include: abolishing meat, dairy and eggs from the American diet and putting farmers and ranchers out of business. In their newest campaign, Ohioans for Humane Farms, HSUS and Farm Sanctuary are back on the campaign trail, ready to take action in the next election. Check out an excerpt from Kristy Foster in Farm and Dairy.
Producers and state officials had heard it was coming. Now, it’s official: The Humane Society of the United States launched a counterattack on Ohio Jan. 27. Ohioans for Humane Farms, backed by HSUS and Farm Sanctuary, submitted a petition — including signatures from Ohio voters in 48 counties — to Ohio’s Secretary of State in support of placing an anti-cruelty measure on the November ballot.
Regulations requested include: 1. End confinement for veal calves, breeding pigs and chickens in what has been described by the Humane Society of the United States as “tiny cages.” 2. Stop “downer cows” or animals too sick or injured to stand or walk on their own from entering the human food chain. 3. Establish regulations for the euthanasia of sick and injured animals.
This is an interesting look at the H1N1 vs. swine flu references in the media that continues to plague the pork industry. Written by Gary Truitt for Hoosier Ag Today, Prevent Swine Flu, Eat More Bacon, Truitt suggets that producers quit fighting the “swine flu” references and simply start making fun of it. I wonder how this will go over. What are your thoughts? Could this work? Here is a clip of that article. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section. (Photo courtesy Hoosier Ag Today)
H1N1 is not a laughing matter; people are sick and dying from this unique virus. The President has signed a document declaring this a national emergency. Some schools are closed; people are standing in line for hours to get H1N1 vaccines; and, last week, some Halloween candy distribution events were called off, a true sign of a pandemic. But if this is really that serious, why are people so uninformed, why is the media so misinformed, and why has it become the latest butt of jokes? Because that is why we do in America when an issue gets overexposed. It moves from being serious to silly. H1N1 is quickly headed in that direction which may allow pork producers to finally repair the damage caused by the Swine Flu association.
For the past several months, the ag industry has been trying to get the media to stop using the term swine flu. This effort has been, for the most part, a failure. Even efforts by USDA, The White House, and several press associations have failed to make a dent in the use of swine flu in stories about H1N1. So, if you can’t beat-em join-em. Let’s start calling it swine flu but in a way that removes all the credibility to the term and thus eliminates people’s connection to the swine industry.
There is a web site that is selling a verity of products with humorous swine flu sayings on them. T-shirts that read, “Prevent swine flu eat more bacon.” They also sell neckties with photos of pigs wearing surgical masks. The internet is filled with funny photos, sayings, and stories all making fun of swine flu. One e-mail message that crossed my desk warmed me to disregard any messages asserting eating canned pork could give you swine flu, it said it was just Spam. There are rumors that a line of special swine flu get well cards is in the works. Perhaps Gary Varvel will do a cartoon showing healthy hogs in a bio-secure confinement facility watching CNN and saying they are glad they are not human so they can’t get swine flu.
Tomorrow, I’m headed to the home of longtime friends Mike and Sue Sibson, cattle ranchers from western Miner County. They have asked me to come view their operation and help tell their story. The Sibsons were one of several South Dakota families to sign on to a lawsuit last year trying to prevent TransCanada from using eminent domain to seize easements from landowners along the proposed Keystone pipeline route.
A South Dakota political blog, Madville Times, did a feature on the Sibson’s struggles. Here is an excerpt…
The Sibsons refer to their land, now sliced in half by the Keystone Pipeline, as their “homestead” of 30-some years. “Homestead” is a powerful word. It recalls where our people came from: traveling across wild land, picking one spot out of a million possibilities, staking survival—financial and physical—on their best guess that this patch of land might produce a good crop. Our ancestors came in response to a simple promise from the government: build a house, grow crops, tough it out, and the land is yours.
The Sibsons thought the land they worked for was theirs. They chose a spot twelve miles out of town, built a home, paid the bills with corn, wheat, and cattle. By sweat and wits, they earned their farm. They figured it was theirs, plain and simple…until last year, when a foreign corporation said, “No, actually, we can claim your land anytime we want,” and the government to which the Sibsons pay their taxes replied, “Yup, sure can.”
“I’m one of the only guys who can say he had a 2000-mile pipeline shoved up his ***,” says Mike Sibson.
This got me to thinking about the big subject of eminent domain and how it has an impact on land owners. From your experiences, what’s your take? What are your thoughts? Do you know someone who has been touched by eminent domain? I will report back with the full story later on. Thanks for your thoughts…
It was standing room only in the First National Bank South Dakota Pavillion for the Agriculture Issues Panel featuring Senator John Thune, Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Bill Even, State Director of Farm Service Agency (FSA) Schaunaman and Michelle Rook of WNAX as the moderator.
And, the main topic of discussion: climate change legislation. The Waxman-Markey Bill (HR 2454), better known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on June 26, 2009. While the bill seems to have noble intentions to clean up the environment, it has the agriculture community worried about the implications this bill will have on the nation’s food producers. Senator Thune and Representative Herseth-Sandlin weighed in on this important bill.
“I will work with every fiber of my being to defeat the bill that passed in the House,” promised Senator Thune. “I think we should all be in favor of cleaning up the environment, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the American farmer and rancher. Let me make this point clear: We can’t quantify the benefits of cap-and-trade legislation, but we all know how much it’s going to cost us.”
“There is no doubt that we need to do something about climate change,” said Representative Herseth-Sandlin. “I did not vote for HR 2454 as it was written, and the bill has absolutely no chance of passing the Senate in its current form. I believe we need to have a production title to offset the costs for cap-and-trade. This shouldn’t be a patchwork quilt of regulations. We need to slow the process down a bit and do this bill right. I share the same concerns as Senator Thune, but there are people that believe carbon sequestration could be beneficial to agriculture. So, let’s work together to make sure this bill doesn’t harm the agriculture industry.”
So, what’s your take on this climate change bill? What are the benefits? How will it harm agriculture? It’s time for a good discussion, don’t you think?
An interesting article was recently published in the Ag Journal about an organization called Not 1 More Acre, who is fighting to keep the United States Army from claiming their pasture land. Check out an excerpt of the story below, and let me know what you think…
Nearly 400 people packed the Koshare Kiva Saturday to hear Baxter Black, America’s most recognizable cowboy poet and storyteller, perform a benefit for the Not 1 More Acre organization. Not 1 More Acre has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Denver to stop the U.S. Army from expanding Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Briefs have been filed in district court and are being reviewed by Judge Richard Matsch, who hasn’t issued a statement on how he might let the case proceed.
The event Saturday night, though, was to help the threesome who started Not 1 More Acre – rancher Mack Louden, Jim Herrwll from Otero Junior College, and Jean Aguerre from the Trinidad area – offset the tremendous costs in fighting the legal battles in court.
The biggest difference Army officials who have proposed expanding its 238,000-acre maneuver site in Las Animas County is that, “They will look you in the eye and tell you, ‘It’s not personal.”
“Anytime you put up with your land being taken, you tell them, ‘It’s personal,’” Black said. “We are of the land … from the glimmer of hope in our parents’ eyes to the grave.”
Black said it’s personal because the land forces those who own it to take care of it daily. It is the focus of their livelihood.
A workshop to educate farmers and ranchers on how to become spokespersons for agriculture will be held June 19, 2009 at Westwood Park in Geauga County, Ohio. This workshop, sponsored by the ProAnimal Coalition of northeast Ohio, will provide information on how local speakers can tell the factual story of animal agriculture and its importance to us and our food supply.
Featured speaker will be Matt Sutton-Vermeulen, nationally known for working with leaders in the community and agricultural industry to help them reach out to the community with factual information about animal agriculture. If you’re in the area, this workshop sounds like a valuable resource for spokesperson training.
Sutton-Vermeulen will focus on the myths and misinformation from animal rights groups that are out of touch with today’s agriculture and putting our food supply at risk. He is well-know for working with non-governmental groups to help them become animal agriculture activists.
The June 19 workshop is open to all interested people who want to be spokespersons for animal agriculture and its importance to our country. Threats are coming from the Humane Society of the United States that they are coming to Ohio with a program to restrict sound, approved livestock practices. Such restrictions, if imposed, would reduce our food supply and increase the cost.
Registration for the workshop can be done by calling the Northeast Farm Bureau Office at 800-410-4613 by June 15. Registration is free if made by June 15 and $30 after that date. Westwood Park is located at 9465 Kinsman Road, state Route 87, in Russell Township, Geauga County.
For more information, link to John Parker’s article at Trib Today.
Okay, let me add to your political saturation level. Hey, it’ll all be over tomorrow night (we hope). I thought this was an interesting story, especially considering the business CHS is involved in.
Minnesota polls are showing otherwise, but the 20-year-old straw vote tradition at the headquarters of CHS Inc. (NASDAQ:CHSCP) , a leading energy and grain-based foods company, is giving Tuesday’s election to John McCain for president and incumbent Norm Coleman for U.S. Senate.
“We’ve conducted these straw ballots on major national and statewide elections at our location for two decades as a way to encourage employee interest and get out the real vote on Election Day,” said Jim Bareksten, director, government affairs. “Each time, our employee vote has mirrored the actual outcome — including the election of Jesse Ventura as governor in 1998.”
The election, which also included employees at the company’s Rosemount, Minn., transportation terminal drew 153 “voters.” In the presidential contest, Republican McCain drew 57 percent of the votes to Democrat Barack Obama’s 43 percent. Straw poll participants gave Coleman, a Republican, 57 percent to 33 percent for Democrat Al Franken and 10 percent to independent Dean Barkley.
If you were following my Twitter feed then you know where I’ve been for at least part of today. Not to try to influence anyone out there but Cindy, my daughter Chelsea and I went to see Sarah Palin at the Missouri State Capitol building. Here’s Sarah right after she winked at me.
We were kind of hoping she’d say words like “agriculture” and “farmers” but no such luck. However, it was a good time and we got to see my main man, Bocephus (Hank Williams, Jr.) sings some songs. If you’re really interested you can see more photos in an online photo album.
So that’s enough politics for one day. Regardless of where you stand, I hope you’ll go out and exercise your civic duty tomorrow and vote!
Sorry Andy, I didn’t get to give her a kiss for you.
Oh and btw. Hank Jr. sang a variation of one of his hits, called “McCain-Palin Tradition.” Here’s a video of it from another recent rally. I know some of you will enjoy it. Post Update: Cindy used my Flip to shoot the same song today so you get her version now.
Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain is causing quite a bit of concern among members of the agriculture and ethanol industries with his comments about farm programs and ethanol incentives. Last week in Missouri, McCain said, “My administration will reduce the price of food by eliminating the subsidies for ethanol and agricultural goods. These subsidies inflate the price of food, not only for Americans but for people in poverty across the world, and I propose to abolish them.”
During a question and answer period yesterday at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers AgExecutive Forum, I had the opportunity to ask Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer what he would say to Senator McCain about farm policy if he had the opportunity.
“What I would say to Senator McCain is this: ‘You’re flat out wrong about your agriculture policy,’” Schafer said bluntly, while noting that he needs to be careful what he says in the political arena. “I would say that both candidates leave a lot on the table to be desired for agricultural policy. I’d love to have the opportunity to get in there and say ‘this is the importance of agriculture in this economy’ and I don’t think either one of them are seeing it.”
Schafer hopes that Senator McCain gets some advisers who can help him see that “agriculture is the foundation of the economy and the strength of this country.”
Listen to Schafer’s comments here:
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You can also download his comments with this link: Ed Schafer on McCain ag policy (mp3)
Download photos of Schafer and others from the AEM AgExecutive Forum here.
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It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
