What to do about something

Darren Olsen, Editor, Progressive Hay Grower

Two years ago, coming off the 2006 election, I spent some time writing for another publication we produce, Ag Nutrient Management, about the recently passed law in Arizona concerning veal and pork production. There voters decided that current farm management practices were too confining and inappropriate. They made the decision to modify the laws. Life for producers hasn’t been the same since.

Once again, during this election cycle, we have seen the voters of a state determine which farm management practices are appropriate. Against the best knowledge available from industry and academic professionals voters in California passed Proposition 2, a piece of legislation designed to unfetter any animals raised in confined conditions.

In these instances, voters were drawn to the emotion of the argument, not the facts that have developed in conscientious raising of animals. So many people forget that most agriculture practices have been developed for the best situations for growing and health available.

The vote has come down to the few instances of abuse that have been documented and portrayed as the normal position of the agricultural industry rather than the exception. People remember the few bad among the many good and allow the emotion of the images, their feelings and desire to do good to control their opinion rather than reality.

We fight for the underdog, the abused, the victim. They deserve our support, and rightly so. The problem develops when the perception of a few is broadcast on an entire system. Whether it is fair or not, the role of emotion has taken over the basis for voting.

With that said, we face an event as a production industry sometime in the next few months that will allow every producer, if desired (and I hope you do), to voice their support either for or against Roundup Ready alfalfa. APHIS is nearing completion of their full impact study as ordered by the courts, and a comment period before the report becomes final will be allowed. Anyone wishing to comment on the report is welcomed to do so. It is open to anyone who wishes to share an opinion.

Knowing that this is coming and having seen what has happened to production agriculture in the last few years, I would ask you to take time to do three things:

1. Express yourself when the opportunity comes.
Roundup Ready alfalfa has the potential to radically change the forage industry, for good or for bad, whichever side you stand on. What is critically important is that producers have their voice be heard regarding this issue. No one other than you can fully express your position.

The one thing I would ask anyone submitting responses is that you leave emotion outside the argument. Whatever your take on the issue, address it according to how you produce and how you see this crop affecting your life. There will be many people offering opinions and emotions, many from outside the industry, and real life, practical input will looked at much more than emotional rants. The more you can use real-life situations and applications to your argument, either for or against, the more you will be heard.

2. Whatever the outcome, support the industry.
Everyone has a stake in this and everyone stands to reap the repercussions of what will happen. I highly doubt the worst-case scenarios on either side of the argument will come to pass. What I do see is people stepping outside the confines of the ruling and creating more problems. Whatever the outcome, it benefits everyone to do their best to live up to the agreements and arrangements that are outlined. The only way we will become better as an industry is to help everyone accomplish their highest goals with the tools they have available to them.

3. Take time to share what is going on with those around you.
As a forage industry and agriculture in general we have lost our voice among the people of America. Most of the voting block is so far removed from the day-to-day operations of production agriculture that they no longer have a real perception as to what it takes to feed America and many others around the world.

Take time to let people know what you are doing and why you are doing it. For the great majority of us there is nothing but good to report. The problem is, with the removal of the consumer from the understanding of producing food, the negative actions of a small few have come to represent agriculture as a whole. It is up to agriculture to represent itself and everyone has a stake in that.

As producers in America, it is critical we come together to represent ourselves in a positive light and that people understand what it takes to feed and clothe the nation. If we don’t, there will someday be someone telling us exactly how we will produce the forages we want to, and their answers will be derived from an emotional outcry based on a few. If we work together we can keep fact from fiction, emotion from reality. If we don’t, we can expect nothing but what continues to roll across agriculture today, and we will have no one but ourselves to blame. HG