May 2009

Fresh Country Air

By Matt Reese



I was recently talking with an entrepreneur who grew up in New York City. His work has brought him to Ohio, in part to collaborate with farmers interested in efficient and renewable energy production. I asked him how his energy technology would fit the specifics of Ohio’s farms and he said, “Well, that’s up to the farmers to figure out. I’m a city boy and I’m used to just running to the store anytime I have a problem with something. These farmers are incredible. If something doesn’t quite work right, they get some duct tape and fix it themselves. They’re used to fending for themselves.”
For generations, farmers have had to be self-reliant and independently functional out of necessity. When these traits are combined with the entrepreneurial spirit required to run any successful business, it is no wonder that farmers are a pretty independent bunch, each with their own ideas and ways of doing things.
For this reason, and the fact that farmers are an ever-shrinking segment of society, they can be a fairly easy group to pick on. As a group, mainstream agriculture can rarely come to a consensus on much of anything. What is good for the corn grower is not often good for the cattle rancher, or the western wheat grower, or the poultry producer. Because of this, any organized, targeted opposition to one aspect of the diverse agricultural industry can usually divide and conquer. This is what the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is counting on.
This animal rights organization (not the local humane societies that take in stray dogs and cats) promotes extreme vegan diets and ultimately seeks to eliminate the use of animals by humans for any reason. HSUS used powerful emotional appeals to win over voters in California who chose to regulate the independence of livestock farmers through their ballots. Now HSUS is targeting Ohio.
The HSUS ballot initiative seeks to put into place regulations on poultry, veal and swine housing that are contrary to generations of on-farm experience and volumes of scientific research. There are already stringent regulations in place for livestock operations and marketplace alternatives for consumers who wish to vote with their pocketbook, with options including cage-free eggs and free-range pork.
And, in reality, the HSUS supported measures do nothing to promote animal health or comfort. In fact, arguments can be made that these measures actually degrade the quality of the animals’ lives. What the HSUS measures do accomplish is a reduction in the options farmers have for the production of economical, high quality meat, dairy products, and eggs and the food options consumers have at the grocery store.
HSUS is counting on farmers that argue among themselves and a voting public that is unfamiliar with production agriculture and can be swayed by high dollar ad campaigns and emotional appeals. It seems that Ohio agriculture has other plans.
In response to the enormous challenge facing animal agriculture, the Ohio Soybean Council has launched a billboard/sign campaign to educate consumers about the issues they will be facing in the grocery store and the polls. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) has conducted numerous industry wide meetings to educate farmers about what they are facing and get them on the same page concerning this critical issue. OFBF has also launched a new department, the Center for Food and Animal Issues.
The Ohio Corn Growers Association, Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, Ohio Livestock Coalition, Ohio Pork Producers Council, Ohio Dairy Producers Association, Ohio Soybean Association, Ohio Poultry Association and other organizations are as close to marching in lockstep as they have ever been on any issue before. Some of the members of these groups would be affected directly by the HSUS measures, while others would face the same indirect effects as all businesses and consumers in the state — a reduction in the freedom to run their business and purchase their food in the manner they choose. If voters can decide how farmers run their business and how consumers buy their food based on the whims of an animal activist organization, what is the next step?
The independence, iron will, elbow grease, individual perseverance and the other things that have guided farmers for generations will not address this new challenge. The farmers of the state have realized that solving this problem is going to take teamwork. This isn’t a problem that can be solved with duct tape.

Matt Reese writes for Ohio’s Country Journal and lives in Baltimore, Ohio. For questions or comments, please contact him at mkcreese@yahoo.com. This column was brought to you by Ohio’s agricultural organizations.