There is an Iowa family in need of your help. This family has strong ties to agriculture and the cattle business. This is a chance to reach out to help two little boys that were dealt a difficult hand of cards in life. I thought I would pass this along…
Bode and Brystol Druckenmiller of Indianola, Iowa are wonderful boys with loving, caring parents and for this they are certainly lucky. Luck doesn’t exactly come to mind when I think about these awesome little guys, however, and for good reason. Both are hemophiliacs with Factor 8 deficiencies and Brystol was also born with a complex heart defect requiring multiple additional cardiac surgeries. Each has has multiple recurrent hospitalizations over essentially their entire lives, yet today they are strong, bright young boys that I hope the cattle community will see fit to help.
The boys’ father Jeff Druckenmiller was raised in Fremont, OH while their mother was from the Fremont here in Iowa. Both were active in the cattle industry with Ashley showing many a champion across the state of Iowa. Today, Jeff works as a diesel mechanic when the boys are healthy enough to allow, Ashley works at a charity here in Indianola called Family Rewards, also working double shifts when she can at the local sportsbar Sports Page. I’ve seen many people labelled as “hero” over the last few years and would put Ashley up next to any of them. This is an excellent family and I hope you find a way to help. We would gladly accept donations of any kind. If you would like to help the Druckenmiller family, consider donating here.
If you have an item that you would like to donate to the auction, e-mail the information to jhrutkay@clubcalves.com and she will add the item. Anything you can do is appreciated more than you can imagine. Nothing feels better than helping those in need! Thanks to everyone who donates and bids! Auction will begin May 19 and conclude May 25 at 7 PM EST! Payment is due in full by May 30th unless other arrangements are agreed upon with Alan McDaniel.
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Our first panelist to tackle this question was Lutz Goedde, Deputy Director, Agricultural Development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He says the Foundation he works for looks at sustainability “through a very different lens compared to many other organizations.” He then proceeded to say that there are a billion people in the world who live on under a dollar a day and described what that is like. He says that agriculture is the primary means for most of them to get food and earn a living. He says they follow the Bill and Melinda sustainability philosophy that “every person on the planet has the right to live a healthy and productive life.” Next he says that there are normally three dimensions to sustainability which are economic, social and environmental. 
Next up was Dr. Michael Boehlje, Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and the Center for Food and Agricultural Business, Purdue University. He said we could look at sustainability from a traditional farm management standpoint of carrying capacity that recognizes current and future capacity on a global basis and deals with absorbing waste in terms of the economic or production activity you’re involved in. He says that although government is involved in this issue, it will be consumers who “will be the ultimate in terms of whether in fact sustainability practices are adopted and those who adopt them are compensated for them.” 
Finally we heard an answer to this question from Philip Wilkinson, Order of the British Empire, Executive Director, 2 Sisters Food Group. He said that the definition he would use is the one used by the United Nations but since that has already been brought up by earlier speakers he composed a slightly different one. He says, “A sustainable agricultural system is one which maximizes production by increases in yield while minimizing environmental impact and does not compromise animal welfare.” He says farmers are the logical custodians of the land who can accomplish this. He also quoted a former United Kingdom Minister who summed it us as, “Don’t cheat your children.”
Calling all communications professionals. What is one of the most difficult challenges we face? Developing campaigns that will garnering consumer support and product adoption. An example of just how difficult this can be is the corn-ethanol industry. Consumer support has been dwindling for months and this has in part, been driving by media hostility and biased reporting.
You might look at this picture and say, “That looks like a dangerous group,” but you’d be wrong. We’re just some lovable guys enjoying a frosty end-of-day beverage in the pub at Shrewsbury Hall. This is the pub next door to the 
One of the highlight sessions at the Alltech Symposium is The Great Debate. This is a roundtable discussion and featured well known panelists Michael Boehlje, Professor at Purdue University, Lutz Goedde, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Philip Wilkinson, 2 Sisters Food Group. The moderator (pictured) was Alltech Vice President, Aidan Connolly. The subject was “Sustainability – For realists or for dreamers?”
I’m not saying you should go out and buy one of these today but it sure is tempting. I found this story on 
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No forum on world food security issues would be complete without a session on climate change and that was how the 