AgFest Week/Behind the Blogger:Miles Theurer

Hello all! My name is Miles Theurer and I am a Senior hear at Kansas State majoring in Animal Science/Pre-Vet. I will be starting veterinarian school this fall. I grew up on a family farm and cow/calf operation and have been around production agriculture my entire life, so I have seen and put in the hard work, sweat, and tears needed to be involved with the livestock industry. I know how much work, effort, and mainly care producers put into ag because this is their passion. Their families have been involved with ag for several generations and know that the livestock are the most important thing for them. They also want to be able to pass their operation on to their kids and grandkids.

Anyway, enough about me. I wanted to make people aware of an event in the College of Ag that is put on for ag awareness and education-AgFest Week April 5-9. AgFest Week is a week long event that showcases the College of Ag to the rest of the university and the entire state of Kansas. This event is packed for educational events throughout the week.

On Monday, April 5th at 7PM in Forum Hall in the Student Union there is an informational panel of Climate Change and its Effect on Agriculture. The panel consists of Representative Sharon Schwartz, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty, and Dr. Clenton Owensby from the Agronomy department. This will be a great opportunity to learn about the current climate change legislation and its effect, and also what ag actually contributes to climate change.

Tuesday, April 6th involves Ag Olympics. Ag Olympics is an opportunity to interact with each and have some fun. Everyone likes to do an obstacle course and have a little competition.

Students participating will be interacting in the business world in
the future, so this is just a way to step back and get to know people
on a different level.

Wednesday, April 7th Ag Council puts on one of most educational events-Kiddie Barnyard. Kiddie Barnyard is a great opportunity to educate the youth of Kansas on where their food comes from. With the increasing distance between rural and urban America, there are a lot of people that think milk comes from the store-which is not so. Education is critical for the continued success of production agriculture.

Thursday involves a free BBQ on Weber Lawn! AgFest BBQ is sponsored by the Alpha Gamma Rho and FarmHouse fraternities. Everyone enjoys a good meal and this year will be no different. Getting people together and conversing over a pulled pork sandwich always makes for a good time.

The grand finale of AgFest week is the concert. This year the headline artist is Jack Ingram and the Jared Daniels Band will open. The great thing about this concert is that it is a benefit concert for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Last year, we were able to donate $7000 to the Kansas Multiple Sclerosis Society for research for one of the most underfunded diseases. Students enjoy going to the concert and having a good time, while still helping raise money for a good cause.

If you have any questions about any of the events or would like tickets for the concert, email me at milestheurer@gmail.com or call at (620) 440-1554. I hope to see you at some of these events next week!

Some real Food For Thought

So yeah, that's the name of the blog.  It's also the name of a kickin' YouTube video produced by Monsanto, that is spreading the word about America's Farmers.  The video provides some awesome facts about food production in the U.S. in reference to how much is produced, how many people are fed by U.S. farmers and the hard facts about population growth in relation to food production.  The facts in this video are superb talking points for anybody advocating for the agriculture industry - crops or animals.  Take a look!



Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Don't Dis Cows for Climate Change

At the recent American Chemical Society National Meeting, a report from University of California-Davis, Clearing the Air: Livestock's Contribution to Climate Change, was presented and soundly refuted the claims of Livestock's Long Shadow, the controversial U.N. report that stated livestock production is responsible for 18% of GHG emissions annually. According to Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D, (pictured) presenter at the meeting, "giving cows and pigs a bum rap is not only scientifically inaccurate, but also distracts society from embracing effective solutions to global climate change." As it turns out, the actual percentage of GHG's contributed by livestock is a mere 2.8%. Mitloehner, associate professor at U.C. Davis, also stated that "producing and consuming less meat and milk will only contribute to more hunger in poor countries."

Clearing the Air has been receiving tons of great media attention and has been highlighted in articles in The Washington Times, The Register (UK), The Daily Telegraph (UK), The Des-Moines Register and has had postings on Yahoo! News online and broadcast reports on FOX news and BBC. To add to the good news, the U.N. admitted that the figures concerning livestock in Livestock's Long Shadow were exaggerated in comparison to transportation. Pierre Gerber, Policy Officer for the U.N's FAO, replied to Mitloehner's criticisms after Clearing the Air came out: "I must say honestly that he has a point - we factored in everything for meat emissions, and we didn't do the same thing with transport."

Click to read more about Clearing the Air.

This a great triumph for the agriculture industry -- people are paying attention to the facts about livestock production. Hopefully, The NY Times will follow suit and print an article highlighting the hard facts from Clearing the Air.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

The urban consumer, rural producer gap

This was on the front page of USA Today :


I think one of the biggest challenges for our generation of agriculturists is connecting with an increasingly urban group of consumers and politicians. The average person today is 2 generations removed from the farm and this number is going to continue to grow. At the same time, people are wanting to know more about the food they are eating than ever before. I think it will be up to agriculturists to reach out and make this connection, especially over the Internet.

Michigan Gov. Declares Meatout Day

The Governor of the mitten state slapped agriculture in the face with a recent "Meatout Day" proclamation. The proclamation reads in part:

Now, Therefore, be it Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, governor of the state of Michigan, do hereby proclaim March 20, 2010, Michigan Meatout Day in Michigan. In observance of this day, I encourage the residents of this state to choose not to eat meat. Eating a healthy diet can be fun. Explore the different recipes that can be created by using fresh ingredients and by having a sense of adventure.

To add insult to injury March 20 just happens to be National Ag Day.

Click here to read about some of the backlash from the Ag Community.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

The phrase ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall’ has been used in historic situations by the likes of Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln. These famous leaders were talking about sticking together as one nation but I’m talking about helping out your fellow producers. There’s a lot of pushing going on right now - HSUS is pushing legislation in multiple states. In Ohio, to call for the state Livestock Care Standards Board to adopt minimum standards. In Vermont, a bill has been proposed which will require a humane society rep to be present during slaughter. Even in the U.S. House to set forth a mandate that any food purchased for federal programs comes from animals raised with enough room to stretch their limbs. Face it folks, things are just going to get tougher from here. However, it’s an easier pill to swallow if we face the uncertain future together.

Don’t get me wrong – good things are happening too. Idaho, Vermont, Kentucky and Missouri are in various stages of establishing Livestock Care Standards Boards. In Illinois, Rep. Jim Sacia is sponsoring a bill to repeal the state’s ban on commercial horse slaughter for human consumption and in Indiana, animal care legislation passed with very little uproar.

States across the nation are standing up for agriculture, regardless of specific agendas. This pattern needs to continue; cattle, poultry, pork and dairy producers need to unite and aid each other in the fight against radical animal activists. It’s a lot tougher to take down an entire industry than it is to attack one practice. Remember the theme song from The Wonder Years “I get by with a little help from my friends”? That’s exactly what we as agriculturalists need to do. Very similar to when members of the Central Washington softball team carried an injured Western Oregon player around the bases to finish her home run – when members of one sector get hurt, the other sectors need to pick them up, dust them off and carry them home.



Go Team Ag!
Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Meet Your Meat (and Misinformed Media)

K-Stater's remember all to well an editorial published in our school paper last fall "Vegetarianism: More than just a lifestyle - Meet your Meat" where philosophy student Beth Mendenhall discussed the evil that is eating meat (in her mind at least). This day was particularly memorable for me for a couple reasons. First, as a K-State College of Agriculture and School of Journalism alumna, I was struck by the misinformation used to attack the industry I love. Second, I also know the writer quite well. Beth and I were both on the K-State Debate team and we had numerous heated, but professional, disagreements on this very subject.

I was impressed with the quick response to the article coming from the College of Agriculture, although I felt some responses were much more effective than others. For me, comments that provided facts or personal experiences and addressed specific points Beth made were much more persuasive than those that simply attacked Beth as a person. I was particularly impressed by the response from fellow Food For Thought member Miles Theurer and blogged about his comments on the NCBA Young Producer's Council blog.

I sent in a letter to the editor that was never printed and thought I would share it here. Feel free to comment on how you would have handled the situation.

Dear Editor,

I like Beth Mendenhall. She’s funny, nice and really good at beer pong. I also like meat, beef especially. It’s nutritious, delicious and - unlike Beth - never beats me at beer pong.

But the Collegian opinion article “meet your meat” was anything but fun and games for people involved in agriculture across campus and around the state. I was extremely disappointed in the gross misconceptions Beth puts forth in her article. In fact, I find many things she claimed offensive. As someone who works hand in hand with livestock producers I know they care for their land and animals in a responsible way in order produce a safe, wholesome product and eventually pass their farms and ranches down to future generations.

I also take issue with the UN report Beth references. The vast majority of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributed to livestock production are from deforestation and other significant agricultural land use changes, which do not occur in the United States where we have 16 million more acres of forestland than we did a century ago.

According to EPA, the entire U.S. agricultural sector contributes just 6.4 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions. (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/downloads/08_CR.pdf).

Additionally, muscle protein is a good way to make your carbons count when it comes to your diet. For example, beef is a nutrient-dense, high protein food choice with 29 cuts that meet government lean labeling guidelines.

All that being said, there was one comment Beth made that I did appreciate. She mentioned “voting with your pocketbook.” For me, this is far superior than trying to legislate what livestock producers can or cannot do. Supply will follow demand. If you prefer an alternative like antibiotic free, locally grown meat products, and are willing to pay the premium it costs to produce them, livestock producers will happily meet your needs.

A proud 97.5 percent of Americans eat meat and should continue to do so knowing they are supporting a hard working, wholesome group of farmers and ranchers. Right now consumers are overwhelmingly voting for affordable, conventionally produced meat. This is a healthy, responsible choice. Personally, it’s my preference. Make your own decision. But also respect the opinions and decisions of others. All I ask is that you base your decisions on sound science – something Beth failed to do- and don’t attempt to pass regulations that would limit other people’s food choices.

Chelsea Good

Communication Studies Graduate Student