Farm Fieldtrip Broadens Mind, Bridges Gap
By Amy WilkersonOn our “Get Involved” page, one of the ideas is to take your farm to school kids. But because we are all young at heart, let’s take it to a group of adults.
Last spring, The Des Moines Register wrote an article asking people to join the Register’s Reader Advisory Board. So I sent whom I was, what I do and why I wanted to be there – and was accepted. There is a vast array of people, nationalities, professions, opinions, religious beliefs, etc. When I embarked on this adventure, my goal was to make sure that no column written negatively concerning agriculture went uncontested – and with The Des Moines Register, that is a full time job. I wanted to balance the scales and offer the “other side.”
In the last several months, I have widened my scope and learned that there are other issues people want to discuss. As our involvement in livestock production consumes us 24/7, we – or at least I did – forget that there is another world out there. Fortunately, as I became more aware and interested in what other people were involved with, they became more interested in what I was doing.
The group decided that they would like to take a “field trip” to our farm. Of the 25 people in this group, 15 of them said they would be there. Unfortunately, the morning of the tour we had some freezing rain and only 9 of them came. Complete in disposable coveralls and boots, we discussed animal husbandry, antibiotic use and environmental safeguards. Taking into account the conversations at our monthly meetings, I thought the environmental issues and antibiotic usage would be of the most interest to them – I was wrong.
We have a 4,400 head wean to finish farm and work in conjunction with Prestage-Stoecker Farms under a contract. What seemed to be of most interest was the relationship between Prestage-Stoecker Farms and us. Many of them wanted to know the business arrangements. Who was responsible for what? What do I have control over and what does the company decide? Why do I want to provide the best care of the pigs and how does the company know if I am? What happens if I don’t? I was a bit surprised at these questions but really shouldn’t have been considering producers who choose to work with a company have been painted as nothing more than low wage serfs being held hostage on their own farms.
Although only nine board members, four spouses and two kids came, it was a great experience. Living in the United States gives us each the liberty to hold our own opinions. My goal was to make sure that they had both sides of the story before forming their opinion. Several people expressed the need to actually “see” something before jumping to conclusions. Paul Anger, the editor of The Des Moines Register, told us that if all of the pig farms were run and managed this well, we wouldn’t have the issues we do. What are those issues? Are the arguments being made against modern agriculture the norm or are they a few unfortunate incidences? If all paper and television report are the accidents and negligence of a few bad actors, how do we get our side told? We take it to them.
