This week a new director for the Ohio Department of Agriculture was selected by Governor-Elect Kasich.  His agenda since last year: "to prevent "out-of-state radical interest groups" from getting involved in livestock regulation."  His agenda now: "...to get Grand Lake St. Marys back to normalcy along with 20 other lakes in this state."  Remember, the lake was closed to boaters, swimmers and fishermen for much of the summer because of toxic algae caused by farm runoff as mentioned in the above article as well as nearly every story published.  This may get interesting and I wonder if it doesn't present a conflict of interest rather than "experience".

One of the saddest stories I read about this year was the dairy farmer who committed suicide and took 51 milking cows with him. This story was printed a few days after his death but from the beginning those that farm or know just a little about it all knew why he shot the cows before he turned the gun on himself.  He wanted to spare them the pain of not being milked when he was gone. The cows would have been in pain if one milking was missed and would have started to suffer terribly after missing just two. Doing the humane thing 51 times didn't change his mind regarding his own life but was something he thought about until the very end. That is sad.

This soul was a man who was passionate about his farm, thought about the welfare of his cows, and didn't want to bother his family, neighbors or fellow farmers with his burden as have others. Farming is hard, the pay ain't that great and it is different than CAFO's run like an assembly line with most of the work being done by machines. Any fluctuations in pricing is detrimental to the family farmer.  It's even harder when you have to compete with CAFO's.

I might have mentioned before I look at the HSUS as nothing but a lobbyist group.  They have a history of being shysters and misleading the public about what they do when they flash those tear-jerking commercials.  But as with any lobbyist group they have the big money and the power to raise awareness nationwide rather than keeping it in a community that is appalled by say, a puppy mill that was finally raided and flashing sad pictures across the local news.  Again, the livestock industry isn't something most want to think about but the HSUS does bring to light the suffering livestock go through so we can eat.

If we were to judge the standards of mass hauling to slaughter or auction this group would rival what the HSUS does.  I'm quite familiar with the group and two of its investigators.  The industry would have you believe they are an animal rights group when in reality the are only concerned about the welfare of the meat we eat.  They don't lobby, they don't preach an end to eating meat, they just provide the documentation of the inhumane behavior.

Lobbying groups from poultry, beef, and pork and the Farm Bureau have spent millions to promote commercial farming while offering little support to the family farmer.  I know first hand unless you offer grass-fed beef or are certified organic you have been backed into the wall and forced to go more commercial or lose the farm. Anything that has to do with healthier food with no pesticides or grass-fed beef is going to be punished by permit costs, certification costs, and land taxes.  The strongest support a family farmer has is the consumer.  We can feed our country without starving our generational families who have literally worked their fingers to the bone.  Next spring give CSA's a try if you can or better yet plant a garden of  your own.  Without trying it you'll never know how good close to home really is and you will have made a difference to the suffering of your meat products and support a neighbor as well.

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