Closing

I have thoroughly enjoyed my blogging experience.

However, like most things, the time has come to say goodbye.

I will not be continuing my myth busting blogging. However, as readers, that does not mean you should stop searching for information! I highly encourage you to keep seeking information and knowledge.

Where can you go to find more information? Any of the links I have posted in previous posts are excellent information, but (in my opinion) the best, easiest to understand and fastest information you will get in regards to myth busting would be the Animal Ag Alliance Twitter page. To visit the page click here.

Why am I no longer going to be blogging?

I am preparing to graduate! I will have finished my Bachelor's degree, I will finish my internship this summer and I will start law school in the fall. I have a very full, busy and exciting schedule ahead of me! While I care deeply about educating the public about misconceptions in the agricultural industry, I know my limitations. I know that I will not be able to fully commit to my job, future education and this blog if I try to do it all.

With that being said, I am saying goodbye.

I encourage you all to continue to be information seekers and learn more about the agricultural industry.

Thank you for being my audience and allowing me to educate you!

Education is Everywhere

As mentioned in an earlier blog, myth busting isn't just me.

The Texas Department of Agriculture has created an entire educational campaign designated to showing the public the truth about agriculture and what kind of role it plays in their lives; myth busting included.

According to the Agriculture is Your Culture website, the goals of the program are: "raising awareness of how agriculture impacts all lives on a daily basis, enhancing the perception of agriculture as being a critical component of the economy, dispelling myths that agricultural operations are harmful to natural resources and the environment by revealing ways agriculture benefits them, dispelling myths that agricultural operations mistreat animals by revealing the ways agriculture improves the welfare of animals and garner support for the agriculture industry and it's upcoming needs." To learn more about the goals and objectives visit their website.

This campaign ties directly to tie agriculture to the general public by showing them pictures of items they would not have if agriculture did not exist. The website provides a list of different links for the public to follow, as well as a list of topics that are prevalent to Texan agriculture.

Helping the public understand agriculture is what Agriculture is Your Culture is all about. They provide opportunities and information in which the public can ask questions, get involved and learn more about Texan agriculture.

I've provided examples through different blog posts about how the agriculture industry is continually working to combat negative media and tell their side of the story. This campaign isn't any different. Under the partners tab on the webpage, it lists numerous partners from all different facets of agriculture. All the cooperatives are working together with one goal in mind: promoting agriculture in a positive light, all the while educating others on all corners of Texan agriculture.

Photo retrieved from: http://bit.ly/1VAUSBu

Dairy for Days

Earlier today, the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced dairy farmers have a new safety net.

So what does this mean?

The Margin Protection Program, created in 2014, a safety net for dairy farmers which consists of support if the difference between milk and animal feed prices drop below a certain level; the level is picked out by the consumer (http://1.usa.gov/1NnyxyT).

Farmers pay an annual fee, which in turn has their back if they ever experience a tragic event that would could cause them to not be able to produce or sell their milk anymore. Farmers must pay the annual fee each year if they would like to continue protection, and farmers also pay premiums which qualifies them for a higher protection plan.

Simply put, it's risk and crisis preparation.

Dairy is dying.

There are many dairy products we, as consumers, use every day and do not realize where it comes from. Dairy farming has become a huge expense and burden to farmers nowadays. Kids grow up, leave the farm and don't turn around and think twice about it, which is their prerogative and absolutely fine.

However, what happens to the aging farmer who can't do the work by his/herself?

What happens to farms when milk prices drop and there isn't anyone who can offer assistance?

The towel gets thrown in.

This could be a contributing factor as to why there are less than 90 dairy farms left in North Dakota, or why there are only a few dairy farms left in one of the most densely populated dairy townships in Minnesota.

The Margin Protection Plan (MPP) is a voice and a hand for dairy farmers. When they are entrusted by the American people to produce and care for a detrimental product, they need to have someone to turn to in times of hardship.

While not all protection plans are perfect, the MPP tries to offer assistance to those farmers who supply us with our dairy delicacies.

Engage Yourself

Our textbook gives several examples of "What Makes a Good Website." This includes: knowing the purpose, what needs to be communicated who is the target audience, What does your audience want to know and what do you want to convey (Telg & Irani, 2012, p.  209).

The Animal Ag Engage website/blog is an excellent example of what a good website should look like. 

Purpose: "The purpose of the Animal Ag Alliance is to Connect, Engage and Protect. The Alliance wants to connect producers and consumers by being a transparent bridge for consumers. The blog aims to engage different audiences to help them better understand animal agriculture. They also protect the agriculture industry by providing correct and accurate information. To learn more about the Animal Ag Engage blog, click here.

Screenshot of the homepage.

Design is a crucial element for a website. According to the textbook, important design principles include: division of space, formal and informal balance, visual vectors, repetition, contrast, typography, shape, size color and texture. 

Just by looking at the screenshot of the Animal Ag Engage, you can find a theme. 

Things done well: 

• Formal balance: (having information symmetric on the right or left sides of the page). The information is kept to a minimum, while it looks like there is a lot of information, it is still easy to read and find what you are looking for.
• Division of Space: The use of white space to focus readers on the content is done phenomenally on the blog. They make headlines darker to capture your attention and read on.

Something that could be improved:

• Contrast: While there is some contrast between the dark and light elements of the page, there is not much. After staring at this for awhile someone could start to only see white. 

While no website is perfect and each one is unique in different ways, there are websites that highlight visual design elements better. The Animal Ag Engage is not only related to myth busting, but it is a well designed and thought out webpage.

Myth Busting Isn't Just Me!

Myth busting isn't just me!

This video is an excellent example of everything I am trying to do on this blog. Not only is this crucial in showing how a city in a predominantly agricultural driven state is uninformed, but shows the need for advocacy through blogs and social media, etc.

The clip starts out by having consumers tell their perceptions of agriculture and stating reasons why the they believe some of the common myths in agriculture. After each of the questions, a farmer addresses the concerns and explains why they produce products a certain way. 

This video did an excellent job of taking hard/complex issues and explained them in very simple and easy to understand ways. Not only do viewers get to see a real farmer talking to them, but they can see the farmers in their element. The farmers are very personable and are genuine, all the while trying to address consumers' comments, questions and concerns. The producers in this video want consumers to trust them and believe in the future of agriculture as much as they do.

Myth busting is happening everywhere. The need for education and advocacy is a rising phenomenon.

Myth busting isn't just me--it can be you too!

Video Source: http://bit.ly/1q0jA0O
Provided by: Minnesota Soybean

What's the Word on Steroid Implants?

There's a common myth that the steroid hormone implants that are used in animals accelerate child growth, such as puberty in young women.

True or False?

False!

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) steroid implant use has been approved for use in beef cattle and sheep; this includes the natural version, as well as the synthetic version. However, the FDA only allows the use of this type of implant after the implant has shown it will not affect food, the animals and environment. When the animal receiving the implant is harvested, the ear with the implant is discarded and will never be used for human consumption. For more information about implants and their safety information, click here.

This is an illustration of where an implant will go and the typical size.

Photo retrieved from: http://1.usa.gov/1PrhRWy

A contributing factor to accelerated puberty is: childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity raises issues such as, sugar intolerance, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. All of these metabolic conditions can impact reproductivity. According to an article on Dairy Herd Management, the secretion of a hormone called kisspetin in children who are obese is disrupted because of the amount of excess fat on their bodies. This ultimately disrupts the natural cycle of puberty in young girls/women. Another explanation could be the disruption of children's sleep cycles.  Sleep-wake cycles affect the levels of certain hormones in your brain and could cause secretions at an earlier time. For more information, click here.

It is a scary thought to think hormones could be affecting puberty in young women that are found in our food. However, this is a MYTH.

Numerous studies have been conducted and so far the results have said there are no correlations between hormone implants and girls coming into puberty faster.

Are Pigs Pristine?

Myth: Pigs are dirty and smelly animals.

False!

While hogs have a very distinct smell and look like they are very dirty animals, they are actually some of the cleanest animals!

Hogs do have sweat glands, but they are few and far between, and they are not useful when it comes to temperature regulation. Which means they cannot sweat as well as other animals.

Pigs cool off in a variety of ways; some of them have muddy areas that they will wallow in, others will have kiddie pools or if they are out on pasture area, they will find a cool and shady area. To learn more about pigs and their sweat glands visit http://bit.ly/1XIZnaE.

Hogs have obtained a reputation for being dirty because there are some that will wallow in mud. There are pigs kept in facilities do not have to find ways to cool off because the temperatures are being regulated. Even in said facilities, it is said that they are very dirty and smelly. Like most animals, hogs have a distinct smell and the different barns have to be extremely clean to keep the hogs healthy. In fact, hogs will separate their pens/space in two. They will defecate on one side and will sleep on the other. Thus, keeping themselves and their pens mostly clean. To read more about this, you can visit http://bit.ly/21lXeDS.

While many people think pigs are dirty and smelly, the truth is the opposite! There will always be pigs who will wallow in mud more than others and always be dirty, but pigs' natural instincts is to keep themselves and living areas clean.

Myth: Farmers Don't Care About Their Animals

There are a lot of videos and articles circulating the Internet that could make you believe farmers do not care about their animals. However, this could not be farther from the truth.

I'm sure that most people have seen videos from PETA or other organizations that show dairy animals constantly being exploited and harmed.

Are these accurate? No. The videos and accusations have been taken out of context. The animals in those videos could be considered "down cows." What that means is the cow or animal has fallen ill in some way, laid down and won't get back up. For those of you that don't know, when cows lay down and do not get up, it causes them to lose blood flow to their limbs, which then would prevent them from getting up. Farmers must do everything they can to make sure the cow gets back up. If she doesn't, they lose their product, and possibly their livelihood. According to Dairy Carrie, sometimes farmers are mean to their cows. They will prod them, use a skid steer and yell at them. However, it's not what you think. When it comes down to the wire, farmers may use a hip lift with a skid steer to lift the animal. Why? Because cows weigh 1,500-1,800 pounds.

(To read more about this, check out Dairy Carrie's article at http://dairycarrie.com/2013/12/09/cowabuse)

Farming is a business; the animals are apart of that business. The United States Department of Agriculture has issued an Animal Welfare Act statement which states that animals must be treated fairly and humane (the statement can be found at http://1.usa.gov/1KVlGI8).

The myth of farmers not caring about their animals is: false.

Sure, there's always people who will mistreat their animals and they'll always be the ones who ruin it for everyone else. However, these individuals are in a minority because farmers DO care about their animals. It's in their blood, it's their true passion and more importantly, their identity.

Future For the Hog Farm?

In a recent article published by AgWeek, it mentioned that residents of southeast Buffalo are unsure about a hog farm moving into the area.

The main concern is: the smell and disruption to current residents' way of life.

9,000 sows would call the Buffalo countryside home. According to the article, the farm would produce "6.39 million gallons of manure and would cover 3,300 acres."

Roy Thompson, a neighbor to the farm said, "It's just a dramatic change in the neighborhood." Thompson left city life behind to find contentment and peace in the countryside.

Many health studies are also cited. For example the levels of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are high near high manure producing livestock areas. A cause for concern would be drifting of the chemicals and causing respiratory illnesses in surrounding neighbors. Also, with the components of the manure, it could potentially breakdown the concrete holding pits, as well as affect air quality. North Dakota health permits currently do not address air quality, but only water quality.

Take one minute to think about this.

As I have learned more about the swine industry through my education, I feel the need to address certain issues in the story.

1. Ray Thompson wanted to move to the countryside for peace from city life. It is stated in the story that he has horses, chickens and cats. As he should know, animals produce smells. While I admit that hogs have a pungent smell, this should not be a reason to block the hog farm from raising animals.

2. The author states a statistic about antibiotic use on farms has a correlation to children having higher rates of asthma. However, that is the only time antibiotics are mentioned in the article. What relevance does this have? More than likely on a hog operation that large, there will not be children messing around with medicated feed or antibiotics.

3. While the ammonia could lead to a higher risk of respiratory illnesses, large animal operations have many regulations that have to follow regarding animal, environmental and employee welfare. There are many different organizations that producers work with to make sure they are compliant with all laws. In our state, pork producers work with the pork council and beef producers work with the Stockmen's Association.

4. The issue of corporate farming is also addressed. Currently, in our state, corporate farming is not permitted, but is on the ballot. Certain livestock industries are suffering in our state, and if there are enough rules to combat concerns while raising productivity and involvement in the suffering areas, citizens should be informed about the potential benefits.

To read the full article please visit this site: http://bit.ly/1QUb6Ao

The author is Patrick Springer.

WELCOME

Agriculture has meant and done so much for me in my life and I am dedicating my career to the promotion and "bridging of the gap" between consumers and producers.

There are so many misconceptions and misrepresentations about agriculture, which makes it vey overwhelming and hard to believe what is true and what is not. Myth busting is not to try and prove someone right or wrong, but it will be used to tell readers what is or is not a credible source.

Bear with me as I start my journey!