Blog Postings
March 22, 2013 by USFRA
By Chris Chinn
This morning I stumbled across a letter to the editor that does an EXCELLENT job explaining what it is like to raise hogs outdoors. There are several farmers who still use this method of production and I know they are putting in many extra hours this time of year to keep their hogs safe and warm. (Especially with the upcoming snow storm we are supposed to get this weekend). It’s a very difficult thing to do in our area of the country and the following letter to the editor does a great job of explaining the challenges these farmers face.
October 29, 2012 by USFRA
Each day consumers have questions about how their food is grown and raised – and who better to answer those questions than a farmer or rancher? Each week we’re highlighting an Anderson Live viewer question from our Facebook along with a farmer/rancher answer. Today, we are exploring “Do cattle graze pastures? How often or long do they a graze? And what is a cow's wellbeing like?”
Here’s what our farmer/rancher expert says...
October 25, 2012 by USFRA
"Farmers and ranchers don’t always agree with CSPI and its leader Michael Jacobson, but we do have common ground around being committed to providing healthy choices for everyone in America. We are also both dedicated to protecting the environment and animal welfare – although we may have different ideas on how to do that. In the spirit of dialogue, we asked Michael a few questions about Food Day. Please note his opinions are not endorsed by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. We share this in the spirit of conversation and working together."
– Bob Stallman, chairman of USFRA and president of the American Farm Bureau Federation
May 31, 2012 by USFRA
American National Cattle Women blog on all things beef and several months ago wrote about the use of antibiotics in livestock. USFRA recently hosted a roundtable discussion with third-party experts on this very topic and wanted to share the Beef Ambassador’s blog post about her Ag Ethics class this semester. She blogged about the concerns raised in her class by other students about the use of antibiotics in animals, particularly around the question of residue and resistance.
May 22, 2012 by USFRA
Pork producer Lori Stevermer recently blogged about visiting a classroom to share her experiences as a pig farmer. While culturally diverse, most of the children were unfamiliar with pig farming and asked Lori many questions: How much do they weigh at birth? How big are they at market? How can you eat the pigs you raise?
April 25, 2012 by USFRA
Farmer Meggie Foster and her husband Dallas hosted a group of visitors from China for an official farm tour. The delegates were part of a group of upper management professionals from a pig farm in China and wanted to learn more about how American farmers raised pigs with more modern resources.
March 14, 2012 by USFRA
DROVERS ON MARCH 14, 2012
Determining what consumers want and what they think of your product is the challenge of every business and every industry; agriculture is no different.
March 09, 2012 by USFRA
Cattleman Ryan Goodman recently attended the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville and learned about cattle feed efficiency. Take a look at what he learned and what he thinks about defining and measuring efficiency.
Want to read more? Check out Ryan's blog at www.agricultureproud.com
March 02, 2012 by USFRA
After Chipotle ran their video during the Grammy Awards a few weeks ago, we saw a lot of chatter online from both consumers and growers about what they liked and disliked about the ad. We posted a blog about the commercial, and believe it doesn’t tell the entire story. Take a look at what one farmer, Crystal Cattle, shared on her blog.
What do you think? Read more of her blog at www.crystalcattle.blogspot.com
February 27, 2012 by USFRA
Take a look at this blog by a farmer who fled her corporate job to embrace dairy farming. Her most recent post talks about how they handle waste management on her farm.
To read more visit www.truthordairy.blogspot.com
February 13, 2012 by USFRA
What does music’s biggest night – the Grammys – have to do with today’s agriculture? For many Americans, it was a two-minute, animated Chipotle ad that caught their attention. It caused them to wonder about where their food really comes from. It most likely gave them a poor impression - and a lot of doubts - about the people who grow and raise their food.
USFRA thinks that Americans want and need to hear the whole story. Is it really correct to characterize larger farms as “factory farms” that mistreat animals if they are housed in barns protected from inclement weather? Is it fair to use an animated video with a heartwarming song to try to cast a bad light on conventional farming? Is it right to imply that conventional pig farmers knowingly pollute the environment?