“You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals.” – General George S. Patton
In the quiet after the storm we call Commodity Classic it I had a few thoughts, other than sleep, that might be worth sharing. First, I hope everyone who participated feels good about making the time and being a part of the process.
Being a leader isn’t easy but it definitely has its moments. And Classic is a shining moment where the power of a grassroots organization and how it operates is on full display.
It seems that at every Classic from the sessions of Corn Congress to the great slate of speakers one clear theme emerges. It did so with a redundancy that was more remarkable than ever at the 2010 event. Growers talked about it in the hallways and speaker after speaker told growers that the industry is under attack from several quarters by food elitists, animal rightists, select environmental groups, and even unnecessary government regulation.
Although these efforts are backed by few they are a loud minority that often have deep pockets, a friendly media willing to hand them the microphone with little analysis or editing, and a zealotry and singleness of purpose that is as remarkable as it is disturbing.
Normally reticent, hard working farmers need to respond at every opportunity and that will mean carving out some time every week to tell your story. So tell it to anyone that will listen…from the local Lion’s Club or Rotary to the vast reaches of Social Media space the battle is on.
As General George S. Patton said, “A pint of sweat saves a gallon of blood.” With the thin margins in agriculture today there is little blood to lose and farmers are no strangers to sweat.
Perhaps author scientist Dr. Jay Lehr said it best during the general session at Commodity Classic when he challenged farmers to devote an hour a week to present Ag’s message and save their profession.
In the interest of morale in the industry I also want to point out that some people get it and these voices can also help us in our efforts to educate the masses. Bill Gates of Microsoft fame is a good example. In a recent article he said:
“Whenever I read about farming, I’m reminded how tough it is. Between the weather, weeds, viruses, insects and other pests, farming is a constant struggle, always posing new challenges. A city boy like me can think of it as putting a seed in the ground and waiting for nice stuff to grow. Wrong.”
You don’t have to be an expert to be an advocate. Just tell your story and when you see things like Gate’s comment store them away for later use.
This year, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) will launch an image and activism campaign to reinforce the importance of agriculture, according to NCGA President, Darrin Ihnen during a press conference at Commodity Classic. While many people are still confused about food versus fuel, an issue perpetuated by media around the world, and the debate continues around international indirect land use change, it’s time to set the record straight. Ihnen noted that a few simple facts can take care of both of these issues. This year, corn farmers harvested 13.2 billion bushels of corn, or 165.2 bushels per acre, on 7 million less acres than in 2007 when the harvest was nearly identical.
In an effort to curb misinformation and ensure effective policy is put into place, corn growers around the country have been getting involved. One great example is the outpouring of comments around indirect land use, E15 and the RFS2.
“We’re proud of the tens of thousands of farmers who commented to the EPA on that subject (E15). In fact, this is a perfect example of how we’ve seen a resurgence of activism on the part of American agriculture and we’ve held numerous discussions with our allies around the world on this,” said Ihnen.
He continued, “That’s why this year we’re launching an unprecedented image and activism campaign to do two things. First, we will aggressively reinforce the importance and positive image most Americans have with farmers and the products they grow. Second, we will create a more united and vocal army of farmers and their friends who can speak out against the myths and misinformation that we see so often.”
The Corn Farmers Coalition will focus its efforts in the beltway and the activism/grassroots campaign will focus on Americans around the country. Ihnen stressed that the campaign will be more successful the more people are involved and said in closing, “We’re excited about this challenge and invite all interested parties to join us.”
I have always been a fan of dolphins but after last night’s Oscars I am an even bigger fan. That’s because in the best Documentary Feature category Food Inc., the diatribe against American agriculture, got a good old fashioned smack down by The Cove.
The Cove” follows animal activist Richard O’Barry — who once trained dolphins for the television show “Flipper” — alongside a team of filmmakers as they attempt to document dolphin slaughter in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji.
Food Inc. shows filmmaker Robert Kenner attempting to slaughter American ranchers and family farmers and send us all running back to backyard gardens and 1900’s vintage farms. He shows us the worst examples of how livestock is raised in this country and also wants us to question the healthiness of corn in our food supply.
Food Inc. is clearly a piece of “food advocacy work” rather than honest journalism, according to Dan Glickman and he ought to know. The current chairman of the Motion Picture Association of American is a former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Bill Clinton. (Maybe someone should do a documentary on how the Ag Secretary makes the pilgrimage from DC to Hollywood. Now that would at least be interesting.)
Family corn farmers represented by the National Corn Growers Association lashed out at Food Inc. in advance of last night’s festive event saying the documentary shouldn’t win the Oscar because it not only grossed out grocery shoppers, but was unfair to the nation’s farmers.
The dictionary says the noun documentary describes a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event. Kenner’s propaganda clearly should have never made it to the red carpet.
Perhaps now we can relegate Food Inc. to collect dust on the back shelves of video stores where it belongs and farmers can go back to producing the safest and most abundant food supply in the world.
Corn growers all over the country are preparing for the 2010 Commodity Classic next week in Anaheim where important policy issues facing farmers and ranchers will be discussed.
Members of the Missouri Corn Growers Association got in the mood this week by holding their annual meeting in Jefferson City and going to talk with state lawmakers about the importance of keeping agriculture in the hands of farmers. National Corn Growers Association president Darrin Ihnen (right) was guest speaker at the Missouri luncheon. With him pictured is Mike Geske, former president of the Missouri Corn Growers now serving on the 15-member National Corn Board.
I interviewed both Darrin and Mike about some of the issues important to growers right now and topping the list is the threat posed by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which is in the process of working up a petition drive in Missouri directed at dog breeders – lumping them all in the unsavory category of “puppy mills” – kind of like they lump all of agriculture under “factory farming.” Mike says that is why all agriculture groups in the state are working to keep legislators informed about how food is produced and the importance of the industry to Missouri. “We feel that once they get past the dog breeders they are going to be headed for commercial agriculture,” he told me.
Darrin says the threat posed to animal agriculture in individual states by groups like HSUS ultimately impacts all of agriculture across the country. “It’s very important that we help defend them,” Darrin says. “We can’t be separated when it comes to agriculture. We need to work together.”
This is just one of many important policy issues that corn growers will discuss at Classic next week, the annual meeting that also includes soybean, wheat and sorghum producers. Others include the indirect land use issue, climate legislation, increasing the ethanol blend rate and extending the blender’s tax credit for ethanol.
Listen to back to back interviews with Darrin and Mike here:
“Most of what you think you know about sweeteners is probably wrong. Some of this is a product of simple misunderstandings. The rest is a giant scam.”
SweetScam.com includes great information about science and nutrition, sweetener myths and facts, how sweeteners are made and how they compare. Not only that, they have a couple of nicely done print and television ads with the message that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is just the same as other sweeteners and is being falsely accused of making us fat.
Watch CCF’s “Sweetener Lineup” commercial here:
Meanwhile, as companies like Pepsi and Starbucks have been dropping HFCS from beverages, the March issue of Consumer Reports attempts to set the record straight, noting that taking this kind of action “may well have more to do with marketing than science.”
A sweetener made from cornstarch processed with enzymes and acids, HFCS has roughly the same composition as cane sugar—about half glucose and half fructose—and the same number of calories. Concerns that it’s directly responsible for rising obesity rates or somehow intrinsically more fat-inducing than sugar are largely unfounded, though researchers continue to study whether the body handles HFCS differently.
Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
The Center For Consumer Freedom is turning up the heat on the Humane Society of the United States. This week they took out a full page ad in the New York Times that highlights “the failure of the Humane Society of the United States to devote a significant amount of money to supporting America’s underfunded pet shelters. The ad explains that HSUS shares only 1 dollar out of every 200 dollars it collects with local, hands-on pet shelters.” That is graphically reflected with 200 little puppy paw prints, just one of which represents the money that goes to help homeless pets.
The ad reads:
Shouldn’t the “Humane Society” do better?
The Humane Society of the United States is NOT your local animal shelter. In fact, it gives less than one-half of one percent of its $100 million budget to hands-on pet shelters.
Meanwhile, this wealthy animal rights group socked away over $2.5 million of Americans’ donations in its own pension plans.
Surprised? So were we. The dog-watchers need a watchdog. Join the discussion at HumaneWatch.org.
As a general rule guns and alcohol don’t mix well. But when it comes to the colorful and often entertaining world wide web simplicity and entertainment value can help you hit the bullseye, especially with the rapidly expanding audience for social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
A perfect example of this approach and the power of Social Media for agriculture is the wild backlash experienced by Australian winemaker Yellow Tail after they made a donation of $100,000 to the Human Society of the United States. HSUS says they are saving puppies and kitties, while their tax return shows they are really spending millions on lobbying for animal rights and legislation that tells farmers how to do their business. Less than 5% of their budget goes to animal shelters.
After being bombarded with emails, twitter messages and Facebook page posts from farmers and ranchers pointing out HSUS’s disingenuous fund raising practices Yellow Tail did the virtual equivalent of saying “Uncle.”
They apologized on Facebook and then took down their Facebook page to minimize the damage. In a statement to ABC News this week, John Casella, the managing director of Casella Wines which owns Yellow Tail, says the company will look to non-political groups in the future.
“Yellow Tail is committed to the plight of animals in need and as a result, we can confirm that through any future activity, we will be looking to other non-profit organizations without lobbying interests that best deliver on our intended outcome of saving animals,” their statement said.
There are several valuable lessons to be learned from this on-line firestorm. 1. Scattered independent farmers can join their voices for a cause and magnify their influence via Social Media. 2. Others outside of agriculture now recognize HSUS as a political entity, not a charitable organizations (IRS are you paying attention). 3. Hard working farmers have a sense of humor and that humor can be used to good effect to educate businesses and the public online.
Examples abound to document point 3. A rancher from South Dakota has posted an online video of himself pouring the wine onto the snow in front of his cattle and urging others to do the same. And a Nebraska video showing a person (ok, it’s a Corn Grower) using Yellow Tail wine for target practice got picked up by the popular magazine Field and Stream.
In response, the HSUS says the partnership with Yellow Tail is about celebrating animals and the money will support the organization’s rescue team, which saves animals from natural disasters or cruelty. The evidence shows this will happen when pigs fly.
The folks at Yellow Tail Wine must have thought they were making a great humane statement when they contributed $100,000 to the radical animal rights group HSUS and agreed to have “special [yellow tail] displays bearing The HSUS name and logo in stores across the country.”
Instead, it has turned into a public relations nightmare for the company, burning up the social media platforms with protests over their support of the group that is threatening animal agriculture production as we know it in this nation. An avalanche of postings on the [yellow tail] Facebook page and Twitter have caused the company to say on Facebook late yesterday “we’re listening. Check back soon, as we’ll be announcing news shortly on our Tails for Tails program.” Not sure what that means, but they are definitely getting an earful from unhappy consumers. They may not be able to get their $100,000 donation returned to them, but this is a real great example of how agriculture can be heard through social media.
To make a comment to [yellow tail] on Facebook, you have to first become a fan – then you can un-fan them. I am going to wait and see what they do first before taking the un-fan action. If they reconsider and take some positive action to regain the support of agriculture fans, I may just buy a whole case of their best to celebrate!
*Post Update* Go ahead and un-fan after you have made your views known. [yellow tail] didn’t quite get the point. Here is what the company announced: “Okay, there’s been good feedback here recently. Here’s an update on where our donation will be directed to celebrate animals: We’ve decided to use all of our $100K gift to aid animal rescue.” Right. That’s like telling the federal government where you want your tax dollars spent.
The awareness campaign is now going to the local level, since there will be special promotions through the end of March featuring [yellow tail] and HSUS. Time to let your local wine retailer know what HSUS is and why you won’t support anyone who supports them.
If you farm or if you eat you will be affected by a lovely body of water many of us will never see called the Chesapeake Bay. This is because “The Bay” as it is known affectionately is being used as a test case or a template for how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will deal with watersheds across the nation. Unfortunately, those pushing the agenda blame many of the Bays woes on agriculture.
So, although this largely political fight will take place on the east coast, the ramifications are real and they may soon come to your city, town, village, burg and farm.
We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Virginia Grains Producers Association for taking the lead in this fight. The primary concern regarding the EPA process is the lack of complete data about current implementation of conservation practices already in place. The shortfall of real information significantly skews water quality reports and results in misleading pollution load reduction assignments for any one sector.
In recent testimony before the United States House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Molly Pugh, executive director of the Virginia Grain Producers Association (VGPA), stressed the actions growers have taken and are taking to be responsible stewards of their natural resources.
First and foremost, environmental goals cannot be addressed without assessing the effect on farm profitability. “VGPA has committed to working with all our partners including environment and government partners to achieve our region’s environmental goals and long-term farm profitability,” Pugh said in written testimony. “Our growers are committed to environmental stewardship and making their operations as efficient as possible. Reducing soil erosion, improving field efficiency of nutrient use and improving water quality are all goals that make our growers more profitable and improve the quality of the land on which they depend.” (more…)
In what is being reported to be the busiest day to date at the UN Climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Darrin Ihnen had a private meeting with US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The time was spent discussing NCGA’s perspective on climate change and several other pressing issues.
Key to the visit was NCGA’s reiterating the fact that there are serious concerns among our members with the cap-and-trade proposal in Congress. Ihnen noted that if significant progress for agriculture is not achieved in the legislation, we will come under increased pressure to oppose the bill outright.
NCGA continues to be a part of the debate and development of climate legislation in order to make it as farmer-friendly as possible but Ihnen, a farmer from South Dakota, pointed out it’s difficult to convince farmers that a new “green” economy will be good for them when the renewable fuel that we already produce comes under such regular attacks from the environmental community. (more…)
In the quiet after the storm we call Commodity Classic it I had a few thoughts, other than sleep, that might be worth sharing. First, I hope everyone who participated feels good about making the time and being a part of the process.
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If you farm or if you eat you will be affected by a lovely body of water many of us will never see called the Chesapeake Bay. This is because “The Bay” as it is known affectionately is being used as a test case or a template for how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will deal with watersheds across the nation. Unfortunately, those pushing the agenda blame many of the Bays woes on agriculture.