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 their children can move to the cities and get a job that pays better and has a future.  In the United States, we can be thankful that we sell our products on a regional, national or international market.  Education is not limited to the upper echelons of society.  We can ship our cattle by boat, train or truck.  We have the knowledge available to prevent overgrazing and contamination of our water sources.  When we have a disaster or severe drought in the US, the government makes sure aid is sent where it’s needed, not used to line the pockets of corrupt politicians. 

In Romania I was warned against eating local cheeses as they were unpasteurized and could be contaminated with Brucellosis. I have to admit that unpasteurized cheese tastes a lot better than what we get in the US, I’d rather never have to question the safety of American cheese.  In many places, meat can be unsafe to eat unless cooked to a very well done level.  In Ecuador I couldn’t eat many of the fresh fruits and vegetables (apart from bananas) as I wasn’t sure how safe they were to eat.  The Argentina government keeps a cap on beef prices, and has put a price freeze on certain cuts of beef.  The price producers in that country sell their beef for would cause most American ranches to be unprofitable.     

This farm in the Peruvian Andes has no running water or electricity.  They raise Llamas and Alpacas for meat and wool at elevations above 14,000 feet.

For a comparison of a different kind, I always thought that the Swiss had a great idea.  When you travel in Switzerland, you can’t help but notice all the beautiful traditional farms.  Cattle are grazed in the mountains in the summer and still wear bells.  Swiss maintain this complete level of tradition because the government pays them very well to do so.  The Swiss government is ensuring that farms have the traditional look because it makes for great agritourism.  You won’t find many metal buildings, ear tags or feedlots in Switzerland.  Of course I’m biased on this point because our cattle ranch also has the traditional western look and is in a very scenic location.      

The consumers of these United States certainly have a lot of thanks to give to our farmers.  They grow affordable food that is available year round and very safe to eat.  As farmers, we can thank our predecessors for their ingenuity, hard work, intelligence and the foresight to ensure their land is well taken care of so it could be passed down to the next generation.  Our development and improvement of technology has helped to use less resources and institute more efficient farming practices.  Every farmer in the world works hard, but we should thank the American farmer for providing us with the world’s best food.       

On an unrelated note, for those of you that subscribe to Working Ranch magazine, there is a two page photo of Hunewill Ranch on pages 68-69.  Our ranch is not featured in the article however, just the photo of it.