Dad, by the way, was the Best Man in my wedding, to give you an idea of my relationship with my Father.  One of the things I'm most thankful for about my life is that Dad always wanted to be a farmer.  He hasn't always been a farmer, by the way, but that's who he is, and that's how he views himself as a man.  And to a large extent, there will always be a part of me with that same persona.  I might never have joined 4-H and later FFA had it not been for Dad's influence, I'd have never taken up public speaking if not for Dad's own success in those FFA contests, and may not have gone on to study at Ohio State if not for Dad's (and Mom's) insistence that I have a college education.  My career as a farm reporter and my love of the beef industry are all because of those experiences and influences stemming from Dad's connection to the farm. More...

“One day a rich father took his young son on a trip to the country in hopes of showing him how the poor people live. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son,

"How was the trip?"

"Great, Dad!"

"Did you see how poor other people can be?" the father asked.

"Yeah!"

“And what did you learn?” asked the father. More...

Cattle farm and ranch families around the country are in the midst of a "food fight" this week, a five-day campaign to defend the beef industry against misinformation.  Prodded by numerous instances of blatantly false or unintentionally misleading stories in the mainstream media or around various social media networks online, cattlemen are engaging in one of the most unique and transparent public relations efforts in recent memory.  Speaking to a joint session of the National AgriMarketing Association and National Association of Farm Broadcasting in Kansas City, Missouri last week, Charlie Arnott of the Center For Food Integrity shared that his organization's research found conclusively that consumers have an unprecedented level of trust in farmers, but that at the same time, they don't see many modern production styles and practices as farming.  Putting a "face" on these farm and ranch families is one of the biggest steps needed to combat this basic schism, Arnott explained.

Coincidentally enough, beef backers were already working on the "Food Fight" campaign, rolling it out less than 48 hours after Arnott's presentation in Kansas City.  My colleague Lindsay Hill of ABN Radio, President-Elect of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, caught up with Lucinda Williams, Chairman of the Cattlemen's Beef Board, to discuss the effort.  Williams explains the reasoning behind the effort, and how farmers and ranchers can be involved in the effort this week, and through efforts long after the "food fight" has ended.

LucindaWilliamsCattleman.MP3 (2.62 mb)

This week’s theme on the YPC Cattle Call blog is “Thank a Farmer.”  I’m going to take it from a different angle and give some of the reasons we, as American farmers (and ranchers) have to be thankful.  I’ve traveled in twenty-five countries and have seen how farmers have it elsewhere.  Upon returning home, I’ve always been struck by how good American farmers have it.

This Peruvian girl herds her family's livestock around our bus.  Most farms in this area can afford only one or two dairy cows and lack the resources to raise beef cattle.

In countries with a limited rural infrastructure, a farmer’s only option for selling his product is to sell at a local level and for very low prices. Because of this (and other reasons), farmers in these areas have an existence similar to share croppers in the American South or homesteaders in Eastern Montana a hundred years ago.  In rural China I saw farmers that lived without electricity or plumbing.  They could not afford education for their children and had little of their own.  They used traditional farming methods and could not afford mechanized equipment.  Insecticides were administered without knowledge of what amounts to use, and as a result many of the water sources and foods were contaminated.  While traveling by bus through the Peruvian Andes I passed through many small villages.  These places were home to farmers living in poverty.  Centuries of overgrazing combined with poor farming practices have left the farmers with poor soil and erosion problems.  These places had no electricity or running water or even a clean water source.  Their livestock suffered from nutritional deficiencies as well as parasitic problems.  They could not afford vaccine or wormer to treat their animals.  The dream of these farmers is that More...

I challenge you to take an hour out of your week to give thanks to farmers and ranchers. Here are some options:

Write a letter to the editor. This article provides NCBA’s template on how to write a letter over giving thanks to farmers in ranchers in five easy steps. It also offers some helpful tips like keeping your letter less than 150 words.

Donate your Facebook or Twitter status to thanking farmers and ranchers.  You can include a link to http://www.beeffrompasturetoplate.com so friends and family have a place to go to get more information.

Thank your food providers in a public forum.  This is one that I plan on incorporating myself. Often we bring lunchtime speakers into the law school. We open the meetings by thanking the organization that provided the funding for food. When I fill this role from now on, I plan on making a point to also thank the farmers and ranchers that produced the food. 

Search the Internet and comment on news stories, blog posts and YouTube videos that are negative towards agriculture with an opposing viewpoint.  By searching for negative terms like “factory farming” on Google news or Google blogs you’ll come up with lots of results the shine a negative light on agriculture. This is the perfect opportunity to respond positively from a producer’s perspective.

This is something I’d like to see more people in the industry routinely schedule into their week. Just think, for every 40 people who make the commitment to spending an hour a week representing agriculture on the Internet, it’s like having another full time employee working to promote agriculture.

To all those cattle producers out there…thank you for all your hard work and dedication!  Most people do not realize the amount of risk, blood, sweat and tears that you pour into the steak that I enjoyed last night. 

The American consumer is privileged to have such a commitment behind its food supply.  Last night I went to a new steak house here in my home town.  The restaurant was completely packed with people eating good old corn feed beef.  As I sat there and ate my juicy 18 ounce NY strip, I couldn’t help but look around and admire the end product of our great industry.  It never failed, as soon as the waitress brought a tray full of sizzling steaks to a table, every customer at the table immediately had a smile on their face.  It was very satisfying to know that all the hours I spent raising my calves, all the nights I pulled calves and all the bruises I incurred working cattle resulted in the final consumer fully enjoying my product.  I will tell you, there was a sense of pride in knowing that I had a small part in making the family next to me enjoying a night out on the town.