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Livestock producers need a plan for the future
Beef producers and other livestock producers need to have a coordinated strategic plan and be part of an organized movement to continue raising healthy food for the world. Dan Thomson, director of the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University, told attendees to the Iowa Cattlemen's Convention on Jan. 5 they need to become a part of an organized movement to protect the livelihood of cattle producers and all livestock producers. "We need to educate all young people about how important it is to have beef and meat in their diet," he said. "Because, if we don't tell them, the groups who continue to give animal agriculture grief will give them the wrong story." The good news, according to Thomson, is that U.S. Department of Agriculture economic research shows from 1990 to 2007 meat consumption has increased and the percentage of personal income used for meat is going down, which means consumers are still eating meat and getting it for a better price. "People have to consume food. With 97.4 percent of Americans eating meat, you, as beef producers, are playing for the home team," he said. "It is important to continue to educate the consumers and make that number increase." He referred to a consumer study done at Oklahoma State University that showed consumers put the financial well-being of farmers of higher concern than animals' welfare. "It's good to know that when asked these questions about lifestyle in general, that most people are more concerned about other people," he said. While this study showed what consumers are concerned about, there continues to be a lack of consumer attachment to the farm since only 2 percent of the population lives on a farm. "We have to stop creating paranoia and create prudence amongst the consumers," he said. Thomson said the groups which are causing animal agriculture the most grief are the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). "These groups know how to work on "people smart" and are very organized," he said. "They rely on media coverage of the things they do, and don't know how to take care of farm animals." HSUS and PETA are using new technologies to get their word out because that is the cheapest and fastest way. According to Thomson, they aren't meeting people face to face, but rather using television and the Internet to get their message out; and, they have the support of some influential people in Hollywood. "The people who are supporting these groups are very influential and popular. Therefore, people are following what they say, even if they don't know the facts," he said. Thomson said, "In agriculture we must move forward to disarm our critics. We have to look at our practices and realize which ones are just not going to be acceptable." He said these groups will measure how we are taking care of our animals based on the death rate. If livestock producers continue to take care of their animals in the best possible ways, the death rate will be low. "We also have to identify the high-risk areas. We have to watch who we hire to work on our farms and for our businesses in order to guarantee we have the best possible employees to take care of our animals in the best possible ways," he added. Thomson suggested the importance of training verification for employees, to protect farms and be sure the individuals are making the best decisions. "We need to set up training and use welfare assessment tools to ensure ag employees are caring for animals correctly," he said. "There needs to be a certain amount of regulation, because self-regulation usually means no regulation." He also suggested making beef producers verify their operation through a training program. Each operation could be ranked according to where it is at in the program through a star program--premise identification, beef quality assurance training, preventative medicines, food safety and environmental stewardship. Besides producer education, Thomson said, youth education is very important. "If you want to educate parents about what we do, we need to teach the kids," he said. "We need to take the farm to the city." When it comes to the activist groups, he said, "We need to let them know we care more about our animals than they do." He said it is time for beef producers and livestock producers to have a coordinated, strategic plan. "We need to be part of an organized movement, and we must want to get better each day," he said. "We need to do this for everyone who eats our food." Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 515-833-2120, or by e-mail at jbremer@hpj.com.
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STAND UP FOR BEEF PRODUCTION--Dan Thomson, director of the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University, told attendees to the Iowa Cattlemen's Convention to become a part of an organized movement to protect the livelihood of cattle producers and all livestock producers. (Journal photo by Jennifer Bremer.)
