Earth Day is Every Day for Farmers and Ranchers

Earth Day - a day that reminds us all to recycle more, use less and think about future generations when making decisions that can affect our environment for years to come.

But guess what? We should be cognizant of our choices more often than just once per year - as consumers we should be striving to lessen our environmental footprint every day in order to preserve our world for future generations.

Good thing that farmers and ranchers have been working towards sustainability and resource conservation for as long as they have been producing food. Here are some hard facts about food production and resource conservation:

• Farmers who grow crops like corn, soybeans and wheat, will practice crop rotation which is the process of changing what is planted in a particular location on a farm from season to season. This helps with nutrient management of the soil and soil erosion.
• Hog farmers use manure from their farm as a valuable organic fertilizer that is readily used by crop farmers to help build beneficial carbon content in soil.
• Hog farmers have also streamlined their production practices which have led to a 35% decrease in carbon footprint from 1959-2009. That's quite an improvement!
• The beef industry reduced its water use and greenhouse gas emissions by 3% and 2%, respectively

The beef industry works towards sustainable production every year.
Courtesy www.factsaboutbeef.com

What are you doing in your life to lessen your environmental footprint? How could you improve?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Family Physician vs. Veterinarian

People today are more concerned than ever about the quality of their food, where it comes from, and how it’s raised.  The world population is growing, and those people need PROTEIN! 

Animal protein is a very economical and efficient way to meet people’s needs for quality nutrition, and American livestock producers are  better at meeting this rising need than ever before.  One of the tools we as producers have to promote the health of our animals is judicious antibiotic use. 

Judicious.  Webster’s defines this as “having or showing good judgment.” Farmers and ranchers must be extremely careful about what drugs are used, which animals they’re used on, and what they are used to treat.  Not only does it makes good sense and is economical, it’s mandated legally. 

The FDA has set forth guidelines as to the tolerances of drug residue that can be left in an animal when it’s harvested for food.  This means if livestock producers and veterinarians don’t follow the rules, they can be reprimanded, fined, and lose their jobs.  The next time you hear someone talking about all the antibiotics being used in animals, just remember: your family physician has fewer qualms prescribing you an antibiotic than your veterinarian does prescribing antibiotics for animals.

Best,
John Dwyer