Fair Days

The 2011 Lincoln County fair is now history.  The fair is a great time for visiting with friends and taking it easy for a few days.  If it wasn't for the 52 mile one way drive it would be a piece of cake.  The best part of the fair is watching Maggie and Shane "compete" and to indulge Shane's love of snow cones.  Next year Maggie will be in 4-H and the competition begins.  So here is a photo journey of the 2011 fair.                           Wednesday noon Maggie and Shane participated in the pee-wee sheep show.  Shane had daddy help him with his sheep. As you can see Shane's eyes were everywhere but on the judge.   Next it was Maggie's turn.  She was so grown up leading her lamb into the ring all by herself.  I remember the first time she participated in the pee-wee lamb show she couldn't hang on to her lamb because her fingers were in her ears because they were too noisy!   She wasn't quite tuned into the program either! Wednesday evening they participated in the pee-wee pig show.  I don't know what happened to Maggie's pig photo, grandma must have forgot to push the button (lol), but here is Shane entering the ring with his hog.   Maggie had helped her daddy earlier in the day wash the pigs and one of them had stepped on her so she spent most of her time in the ring avoiding the pigs.  She loves taking care of the pigs so next time she will do her thing.   When the kids weren't busy with the animals they spent their time in the sandbox.  This was added last year and is near the show ring.  The kids can play to their hearts content without bothering anyone who is trying to watch the show. Friday evening after the livestock show was the rodeo.  At each rodeo performance the little ones can try to catch a rabbit.  Shane was ready to catch his rabbit.  He had one but Grandma's dog put a quick end to his pet.  I was ready to buy a rabbit for him to replace his loss.  He caught a pure black female rabbit he named Jasmine.   Friday was kind of a bummer because Maggie was ill and had to stay home :(.  She would have been her brother's best encourager! Saturday at the rodeo Shane decided he would participate in the mutton-bustin contest.  As usual he climed to the highest place at the chute.  When it was his turn he calmly put on his vest and helmet and climed up on the back of his sheep.  As the chute opened out he comes.  The rodeo clown who was helping promptly pulled him off as he did with all the kids so they wouldn't get hurt.  Here is my photo of Shane and mutton-bustin,  you will notice only the sheep lol.     All in all it was a great time for all of us.  Good food, Good friends and good times.  Oh and did I mention how much Shane loves snow cones!!!   How quickly they grow.  They are so much fun and I am so blessed they live so close.  Just wait until next year for more fun at the fair!

Are we losing our rights or giving them away?

The answer to the question is complicated.  Yes I believe we are losing our freedoms, both in agriculture and other parts of our lives, but I wonder how much of this is our fault.  Too often we are content to just sit by and let what happens happen.  Many have been burned by getting involved only to have friends, associates and sometimes even family disagree with us or even worse.  It is a hard thing to take on but if we don’t we will no longer live in the land of the free.

A recent blog post  “Gate to Plate Blog” brought this to light.  The topics included the recent CNN report on 4-Hers being desensitized to killing and the horse slaughter issue.  Everyone I know loves their horses.  They feed them, brush them, change horses when the days are long and always make sure their animals have fresh abundant water.  We don’t ever want to harm a horse.  That being said there are many who don’t share our sentiment.  We have seen horses dropped off on BLM land, on ranches across the nation or left to starve.  This isn’t humane.  Horses lose their teeth, quit eating or just get old.  Letting them suffer is not humane.  Is this a loss of our freedoms?  I believe it is.  We are expected to believe animals are human.  They are not.  They are animals.  Does this mean anyone has the right to mistreat animals?  No.  It is my belief when we are forced to give up one right many more rights will be lost.

4-H is a wonderful training for all youth both city and urban.  Many skills are taught in the 4-H program.  Skills include record keeping, patience with animals, regular chores etc.  All 4-Hers who choose market animal projects know that at the end of the fair the animal will be sold.  Many times the animal is slaughtered and put into the feed chain.  It is a hard thing to let go of something you really like.  I cried every time I sold a steer in my 10 year 4-H career and many times when my children sold one of their critters.  It is a way of life and it doesn’t get easier.  It is my opinion that 4-Hers are desensitized is ridiculous.  4-H youth as well as all farm children know what death means.  In fact many times they have a stronger knowledge of the life cycle than their urban counterparts.  Farm children know that death is something one doesn’t return from.  When was the last time you saw a 4-H member go on a shooting rampage in a school or anywhere else?  They have a tremendous respect for life but also understand the cycle.  The comments on the “gate to plate” blog about how we don’t have to eat meat make my teeth itch.  Yes we have that choice but we can also choose to eat meat or anything else we choose.  Is this current attack a loss of freedom?  We are allowing urban America who believe animals are human to make our choices.  SO yes it is if rural folks allow it to happen. 

So where does the question “are we losing our rights or are we giving them away” come into play.  As farmers and ranchers we MUST get involved.  We must watch for these attacks and respond in a firm but positive way.  Many ranchers fought against the horse slaughter ban when it went through the US Congress, which they lost.  Does that mean we take our ball and go home?  Absolutely not!  We continue to work to educate consumers about the issue.  We need to be polite but firm and we need to know what we are talking about.  It is also my belief that social media helps those in Ag tell their story.  There are so many things I have learned through Face-Book since I signed up and agriculture can do the same when posting to urban Americans. I belong to a cattle organization that doesn’t “face book”.  Their reason is that it takes too much time and no one will listen. I disagree! When I learned to promote agriculture on face book I was told just 15 minutes a day will make a difference (Many days it takes a lot longer because when I find something I have to research it).   We must tell our story.  We must be diligent in finding out what is going on and responding to it.  If we choose to remain uninvolved we certainly loose more of our rights.  So the answer to the question is yes we are going to lose our rights if we don’t tell our story.  If we don’t tell our story and convince Americans to its truth, yes, we are giving them away.

I found something else today.  In an article in the Washington Post the USDA is looking to do away with branding cattle in favor of other forms of animal ID (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/as-us-looks-to-trace-meat-from-hoof-to-plate-western-ranchers-fight-push-to-give-up-brands/2011/07/01/AGmvaEtH_story.html) What is the option?  Other forms like tags can get lost.  It is my fear that the USDA will use the loss of branding in order to reintroduce and force their National Animal ID System on ranchers.  So folks, get your fingers moving on the keyboard, start dialing and let your voice be heard.  As I said last week I don’t want to be like the frog put into cold water and when the heat was applied he cooked before he realized how hot the water was.  We will only loose if we don’t engage with both the government and the consumer.

I am a Rancher not a Stakeholder

Since I attended the AAW Syngenta Leadership Training in Phoenix in Mid April 2011 I have been going to start a blog.  My reason for not doing so thus far is I couldn’t think of a catchy name that people would gravitate towards.  You know names like Rose Colored Glasses, Over Easy, Sometimes Scrambled or my favorite Trailerhood Aristocrats.  I also hesitate to blog for fear of causing ill feelings among the folks who are on a different side of some Ag issues.   After all, my goal is to promote Agriculture not drive folks away because of a differing view point.  Today that all changed,  I need to make my story known, give the other side of the issues so everyone can be informed and make wise decisions.  While I am an advocate of everyone’s right to their own opinion I feel it is my duty to give my side and let the chips fall where they may.  Why?  Because the two little people who live next door deserve a chance to do what their daddy, grandpa and great grandpa have done all their lives.  They need to be able to live in the greatest country in the world and if they wish to feed America they ought to be able without unfair restrictions and limitations.  So while my name might not be catchy and there aren’t many if any photos here I go.

I read a post on facebook this morning concerning the how the beef board was going to change the status quo.  For many years I have been a big fan of the beef check-off.  I worked hard to get it passed many years ago and have willingly paid my $1.00 per head to promote beef.  Recently things have come to light that have caused me to doubt my support.  The first of which was the issue of what beef check dollars were being used for besides promoting beef.  The second is the CBB’s (Cattleman’s Beef Board) support and financial help to the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), which I assume the beef board is going to use to change the status quo.  According to an article in the June 2011 Livestock Market Digest written by Lee Pitts this organization has set up their structure and the construction of their board of directors as follows;  “ the minimum buy in is $50,000 and any firm that donates $500,000 automatically becomes an ex-officio member of the board of directors.”   So where does that leave the small independent cattle producer?  What chance do Independent organizations like R-CALF, USCA and OCM have at getting a seat at the table or for that matter in getting their message heard by politicians in Washington DC?   These groups believe that cattle producers and cattle producers alone should have total say in what needs to be done for their best interests, all members get a vote on all policies and only producers can vote.  Beef packers, drug companies and other livestock interests do not direct policy for cattlemen.  This is the way it should be.  So, what does the beef board have to do with all of this?  According to Pitts the check off so far has donated $250,000 to the USFRA.  While the mission of the USFRA which is to promote agriculture, food products, to the American consumer is laudable, the way of going about it, i.e. who can bring the most money to the table is suspicious to say the least.   

So, if you are still awake and have read to this point my message is that it shouldn’t be about how much money a group can ante up for a cause.  It should be about what is right for all those involved in Agriculture.  Until everyone has a seat at the table and contributes to the goal unified agriculture promotion doesn’t have a chance.