Power in Numbers

I have decided to write this blog entry in response to something I have just viewed. I have an assignment to complete for my communication class at Cal Poly, SLO, and I was doing research on it. My assignment is to interview a communication professional within a field that interests me and write a paper explaining the communication barriers of the industry. Of course, I chose the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Communication Executive, Mr. Daren Williams. I am to research proven ways to solve communication barriers within the beef industry, so I resorted to a Google search. I typed "Cattle Communication" into the search engine, and to my dismay, the first link that came up was titled, "Cows: The Humane Society of the United States". Immediately interested to see what this link was, I clicked on it. I skimmed over the article and found a video posted at the bottom of the page. I am still speechless after watching it ten minutes ago.
I have been born and raised in the agriculture community. I know what it's like to work in the agriculture industry, and I know what it's like to have agriculture around me at all times. I appreciate the hard work and dedication that American farmers and ranchers exert to make up the wonderful agriculture industry in the United States. After all, I am studying to become a larger part of our industry.
Less than 2% of the United States is involved in production agriculture. I am a part of that 2%. I am proud to stand by my work and the cattle that I raise and sell for the safe, wholesome, and nutritious consumption of meat in the US. What I saw in this video did not shock me, but it added heat to the fire that resides within me for my passion of agriculture. The video was filled with horrible pictures the narrator described as images on a "factory farm". There was soft piano music playing in the background, sure to pull at the heart strings of any viewer. The video was basically a 5 minute video attempting to destroy what American farmers and ranchers pride themselves in on a daily basis.
My viewpoint is this: 98% of farms in the United States are small, family-owned farms. They are comprised of hard working people, who care about their lifestyles: farming and ranching.
Groups like the HSUS are not giving the money they collect to save animals to local animal shelters. They are seeking to destroy animal agriculture as we know it in the United States
today. Farmers and ranchers are willing to share their stories, all you have to do is ask.
For more information about what the Humane Society of the United States is up to now, please visit humanewatch.org.

Home on the Range

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day
Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Random songs seem to pop into my head at various moments in time, and I caught myself whistling this old tune, most familiarly sung by Yosemite Sam from Buggs Bunny, today. As it is a cloudy day today, I decided to give my roommate a lift out to the Cal Poly SLO dairy so that she could work on her lab, and so that I could visit the babies, of course! Her lab included making an observation on a milk sample that her class had taken. We quickly accomplished that task and then headed out to the calf barn where I met Daisy, Daffodil, Mater, and Buggs (all of course names which I awarded them). Upon greeting the little Jersey and Holstein calves, I immediately felt my mood brighten and a huge smile come across my face. I was sure of one thing the moment Daffodil started sucking on my fingers trying with all her might to get milk out my hand–cows make me happy. Of course the saying goes that happy cows come from California. However, I think the saying should go as follows: Happy cows from California make Californians Happy! Although that’s not as catchy as the real saying, I still think it applies. Just from that short journey to the diary to visit all of my cow friends, my mood has brightened, and I have realized how much I miss livestock.

Home, home in the dorm
Where the college students all study
Where seldom is heard a enthusiastic word
and the dorms are stuffy all day.

Again, not as catchy, but altogether true. I find that as a National Beef Ambassador I can always, no matter what, fall back on one thing: BEEF! Cows really do make me happy. I have made it a point to travel out to the Beef Unit or the Dairy Unit at least once a month to lift my spirits. Today’s trip to the dairy also made me realize another thing: Where would I be if I had not grown up around agriculture? If I didn’t have the familiarity of waking up to newborn baby calves in the morning or the familiar squeal of a pig here and there, would my udder (pun intended) fascination for agriculture be the same? The answer is sad but true. The answer is no. Having agriculture surrounding me is what makes me happiest, and everyone who harbors the same passion that I do within their hearts can use this to their advantage. Passion is power. I believe that if we, as an industry, work hard enough our passion can and will rub off on those who are not as familiar with agriculture. By sharing our stories and telling the real facts, we can all strive to boost America’s passion for agriculture just by starting with real knowledge.

Where the air is so pure
And the zephyrs so free
The breezes so balmy and bright
That I would not exchange
My home on the range
For all the cities so bright.

The last two lines in this stanza really hit home with me. I know that whenever I go home from college, I sprint up to the barn, take a big whiff of fresh country air, and take it all in all over again. It never gets old. I go most everyday here without the familiar quiet sounds, the fresh country air, the sweet smells of the cattle, and the lovely sight of my herd on the hillside. Of course the pictures are engraved in my mind, but a nice reminder every once in a while brings me back to my grassroots. It is then that I know I am extremely proud to be a country girl!

Until the cows come home,

Malorie