let's talk farm animals

2014 Milk Calendar features recipes by Ontario dairy farmers

At Farm & Food Care Ontario, staff eagerly awaits the annual November release of the Milk Calendar, published by Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC). In fact, we’re almost as excited about arrival of the annual Milk Calendar as we are about our own Faces of Farming calendar (which if you haven’t already seen ordered, you can do so at this link.

Hats off, this year, to DFC for profiling Canadian farmers, and their favourite recipes, in the calendar including Ontario dairy farmers Reuben and Ed Bos who appear on the calendar’s cover. You can read a great story about the Bos family that appeared recently in the The Record.

Ontario dairy farmers Reuben and Ed Bos on the front cover of the 2014 milk calendar

Ontario dairy farmers Reuben and Ed Bos on the front cover of the 2014 milk calendar

Several other Ontario farmers and their favourite recipes are also featured in the calendar including Catherine Agar of Salford with her French Roast recipe appearing in May; Andrew Campbell of Appin with his mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies appearing in July; Nichele Steenbeck of Varna with her favourite Strawberries and Potted Cream; Sandra Willard of Thornloe with her Breakfast Smoothie recipe appearing in August; Jody Spriel of St. Marys with her Cauliflower Cheddar Soup recipe appearing in October and Jennifer Eastman of Kinburn with her Ham and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese recipe appearing in November.

Farmers from Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec also contributed recipes to the project.

Ontario recipe developer and Professional Home Economist, Jennifer MacKenzie is again responsible for the array of great recipes that appear in this year’s project.

All of the milk calendar recipes can be found at http://www.dairygoodness.ca/recipes/milk-calendar/2014

 

 

Share

Posted by Farm and Food Care on November 27th, 2013 :: Filed under Dairy cattle,Feeding the world,Food,milk,Uncategorized
Tags :: , ,

David and Goliath - Guest blog

Comments Off

In this post, we’re pleased to feature a blog written by Ontario farmer Sandi Brock. You can follow Sandi’s posts at http://staffachickfarmer.blogspot.ca/

Guest blog by Sandi Brock (Reprinted with permission)

Hard to put into writing what we sometimes feel. Farming lately has felt like a David vs. Goliath type of battle. I’m growing weary of this fight. We (farmers) are being targeted by media. Media likes a story, the worse it is, the better for them. Unfortunately, it leaves our consumers confused, scared and ultimately turned off. Gone are the days when we were all reliant on our land, our animals and our hands to feed our families. Let’s face it, the majority of our friends, neighbors and families do not farm. In fact, they may have a hard time remembering even being to a farm that was maybe a grand-parent’s or great grand-parent’s.

This then becomes our lop-sided battle.

There are just not enough of us to overpower the damage the media is doing. Farming to them is a story. To us, it is our life. It is our blood, sweat and tears. It is our income, our pride, and our contribution to a huge sector of our community and country. We don’t do this to become millionaires. We are happy to get one good year in five. We live at the mercy of the weather, the consumer, and the lenders. If any one of these are not in sync, we don’t meet our goals.

We do this because it’s in our bones. We do this because we love it. We do this because, ultimately, we all like to eat.

So that’s my side. But, it’s not enough. We need to educate. Not the other farmers, which we often find ourselves doing. It’s comfortable to talk to others that do what you do. But, that’s easy. The harder conversations need to be had with your friends in town, your neighbors, your kid’s teachers. We need to be honest and open about what we do, how we do it and most importantly, why we farm. This is the message that needs to be spread like wildfire. The problem is, we don’t take the time. I know while struggling through this fall, the last thing I feel like doing is justifying my farming practices. We are tired, stressed and feeling a bit discouraged. Day after day is another damaging story about our industry. Are they true? Likely not, but does it matter? No. It has made people hesitate. Even me, seeing stories that are edited to create fear, have made me just a little more on edge.

Share

Posted by Farm and Food Care on November 22nd, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Animal care,Chickens,Consumers,Family vs factory farming,Farm life,Misconceptions
Tags :: , , , , ,

Fence Lines to Corporate Board Rooms Conference

Comments Off

 

SONY DSCJean L. Clavelle

For the 22nd year the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS) will be hosting its annual Fence Lines to Corporate Board Rooms Conference December 5th in Saskatoon.  This year’s theme is “Tactics and Triumphs” and will address issues ranging from understanding and meeting consumer needs, to dealing with pressures from non-agricultural groups, to the future of agriculture messaging in a constantly changing world.

Speakers will include Janet Hufnagel Thompson who built a feedyard in Western Australia and ended up being targeted by environmental extremists despite doing everything right from a regulatory perspective.  Greg Peterson of Peterson Farm Bros. will focus on his experiences telling his story through videos as well as the need for positive agriculture advocacy.  Julie DeYoung, A Public Relations Consultant, will address how the farming community rallied around a family farm being sued by environmental extremists and helped them win their case in court and for agriculture to win in the court of public opinion. 

Share

Posted by FACS on November 18th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Animal care,Animal welfare
Tags :: , ,

Bridging the great divide

Comments Off

by Jean L Clavelle

There are some statistics being tossed around these days on social media - only 3% of the population is involved in food production agriculture.  Of those involved in primary production, 98% are family owned and operated.  Interesting as it seems this has set up our culture to be an “us against them” scenario in terms of food production and the general public.

It has been my experience that people in animal agriculture are passionate about raising their animals.  This isn’t a job, it’s a way of life.  Most of my colleagues feel the same way, and primary producers (those directly involved with on-farm production) that I’ve had the pleasure of working with here in western Canada exemplify this statement.  They want to produce a safe product, they want their animals to have a satisfying life and they want to have enough income to provide for their families and continue on with this lifestyle.

Sure there are some bad eggs (sorry for the bad pun) and those that don’t make the right choices.  This happens in every walk of life, every profession, every business however it is not the norm and it is certainly not the norm (or considered acceptable) in animal agriculture.

Sadly animal rights groups and some media presentations like those we saw in the recent W5 report do their best to highlight the small percentage that do not represent what conventional agriculture really is.  And instead of highlighting positive practices, sensationalized media coverage takes small snippets of unacceptable episodes and position them as being the norm.  Let’s be clear, animal rights groups do not want us to use animals in any way shape or form.  They do not believe we should eat meat or any animal by-product.  And unfortunately this message is lost for the average consumer.

Share

Posted by Farm and Food Care on November 12th, 2013 :: Filed under Activism,Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Animal welfare,Canada,Feeding the world,Media,Uncategorized
Tags :: , , , , , , ,