On the last day of 2014, we thought it would be fun to look back at the most popular posts on Let’s Talk Farm Animals this year. Here’s how they stacked up in popularity with you, our readers.

#5: Let’s get talking! 

Alright.  I believe it is time to dust off the old soap box and step back on…

Many organizations reporters and marketing programs recently have expressed opinions about what is the “ideal” regarding animal production in Canada.  “Better Beef” from A&W, the W5 report regarding egg layer operations, PETA, HSUS throw around ideas and words intended to pluck at the strings of the consumer’s heart to show that they are better, that they care, that they are not the enemy while big business – agriculture – is trying to simply make an extra buck.  Phrases such as environmentally friendly, sustainable, humane, antibiotic free are tossed around like so much feed in a pig barn. Although I group these organizations together, their underlining intent is often not the same. READ MORE

#4: Conventional versus organic milk production - do you know the difference?

This weekend an interesting conversation came up about organic milk production.  And it’s shameful to admit but I realized just how little I know about it!  So this started me on a quest to learn more about the differences between organic and conventional milk and thought I would share some of my findings with you. READ MORE

#3: Animals are animals, not people

A few weeks ago we were sitting around watching a Disney cartoon with our two young children before bedtime activities started. One of the more senior members of our family who happened to be in the room with us (a recent retiree from farming) made a comment that went something like “Disney has ruined society’s perception of animal agriculture”. At first, I brushed it off with a laugh but have been thinking that perhaps that statement holds more truth than I first thought. READ MORE

#2: Inside Farming: Hormones are everywhere, including in you

There is much buzz in today’s media about wanting hormone-free meat. Can I let you in on a secret? There is no such thing. You see, just like humans, all animals have naturally occurring hormones in their bodies. What the consumer is actually trying to get when they ask for “hormone-free beef” is animals that are raised with no hormones outside of their own. Companies such as A&W are trying to scare consumers into thinking that their products are better because they are using beef that is raised without growth hormone implants. READ MORE

#1: Kids in the barn

Over the past few months, as people hear I’m now working in the barn alongside my husband, there’s one question that we commonly get asked. “What do you do with the kids while you’re in the barn?” READ MORE

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on December 31st, 2014 :: Filed under Activism,AgVocacy,Farm life,growth hormone,Organics,Speaking out,Uncategorized
Tags :: 2014, ontag, RealDirt

---

On the last day of 2014, we thought it would be fun to look back at the most popular posts on Let’s Talk Farm Animals this year. Here’s how they stacked up in popularity with you, our readers.

#5: Let’s get talking! 

Alright.  I believe it is time to dust off the old soap box and step back on…
Many organizations reporters and marketing programs recently have expressed opinions about what is the “ideal” regarding animal production in Canada.  “Better Beef” from A&W, the W5 report regarding egg layer operations, PETA, HSUS throw around ideas and words intended to pluck at the strings of the consumer’s heart to show that they are better, that they care, that they are not the enemy while big business – agriculture – is trying to simply make an extra buck.  Phrases such as environmentally friendly, sustainable, humane, antibiotic free are tossed around like so much feed in a pig barn. Although I group these organizations together, their underlining intent is often not the same. READ MORE

#4: Conventional versus organic milk production - do you know the difference?

This weekend an interesting conversation came up about organic milk production.  And it’s shameful to admit but I realized just how little I know about it!  So this started me on a quest to learn more about the differences between organic and conventional milk and thought I would share some of my findings with you. READ MORE

#3: Animals are animals, not people

A few weeks ago we were sitting around watching a Disney cartoon with our two young children before bedtime activities started. One of the more senior members of our family who happened to be in the room with us (a recent retiree from farming) made a comment that went something like “Disney has ruined society’s perception of animal agriculture”. At first, I brushed it off with a laugh but have been thinking that perhaps that statement holds more truth than I first thought. READ MORE

#2: Inside Farming: Hormones are everywhere, including in you

There is much buzz in today’s media about wanting hormone-free meat. Can I let you in on a secret? There is no such thing. You see, just like humans, all animals have naturally occurring hormones in their bodies. What the consumer is actually trying to get when they ask for “hormone-free beef” is animals that are raised with no hormones outside of their own. Companies such as A&W are trying to scare consumers into thinking that their products are better because they are using beef that is raised without growth hormone implants. READ MORE

#1: Kids in the barn

Over the past few months, as people hear I’m now working in the barn alongside my husband, there’s one question that we commonly get asked. “What do you do with the kids while you’re in the barn?” READ MORE

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on December 31st, 2014 :: Filed under Activism,AgVocacy,Farm life,growth hormone,Organics,Speaking out,Uncategorized
Tags :: 2014, ontag, RealDirt

---

Ahhh Christmas tradition.  It’s a wonderful thing isn’t it?   In our family we go to my aunts Christmas Eve to see my cousins and a portion of the rest of the 50 members of our extended family.  After a brief interlude for Mass, we catch up on the year, share a wine (or two) and enjoy good food.  Then its back home to wait for Santa to arrive!  Christmas Day we get up early and open presents then feast on breakfast and coffee followed by games, sledding and a massive turkey dinner.

And that is exactly the way it goes every year single year.  Even the getting up Early bit (and yes that was an Early with a capital E).  When we were younger, my uncle or cousins or brothers would go feed the cattle.  This usually started around 7 and took the morning.  Another uncle would need to go and check the feed bunks before that to see which cattle needed to have their feed rations adjusted and give the animals a quick look over.  Our hired employees would check pens (which meant they looked over each and every  single animal) to make sure they were healthy and if someone was sick they would be taken to the treatment facilities or “hospital” to be cared for.  Someone else would also need to put fresh straw out and make sure each of the water bowls was free of ice and clean of debris (and sometimes this could take awhile in Saskatchewan with -30 Celsius temperatures).  Of course on other days there would be more chores and tasks but for Christmas this was enough.

In the end this meant that if we wanted to open presents and have breakfast together then we had to wake up early so the animals could get fed on time.  The farm has recently sold so it is no longer necessary to get up Early (with a capital E) but we still continue to do so.  After all tradition is important.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and a wonderful safe healthy holidays to all!

---

Posted by FACS on December 23rd, 2014 :: Filed under Beef cattle,Farm life
Tags :: Farm life, merrychristmas

---

Jean L Clavelle

Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan

I was at a conference this week discussing agriculture and food production in Canada.  I must say it was a pretty exciting and motivational two days.  The first reason being that we had some progressive innovative farmers and industry people in the room.  They were excited to be there, they are passionate about farming, they want to keep improving, and they want to show Canadians what they do.  Not only that but they were asking what do consumers want from us?  The second reason is that there was some interesting, scratch that, fascinating discussion about how food is grown.

Historically debate about growing food has been a bit one dimensional.  By only looking at food safety perhaps we are neglecting to look at animal welfare.  By prioritizing environmental factors perhaps we are overlooking the affordability of food.  There was a theme running through the last few days where a more holistic approach to growing food seems to have taken root, that there is a social commitment on the part of all of us involved in agriculture and growing food to balance the five principles of sustainable food growth and farming.  These five principles include: Food Safety; Animal Health & Welfare; Environment; Economics and Food Affordability; and Health and Safety.

---

Posted by FACS on December 15th, 2014 :: Filed under Agriculture Education,Canada,Chickens,Consumers,Sustainability,Uncategorized
Tags :: Consumers, Faces of Farming, sustainability

---

By Jeanine Moyer

(Simcoe and Stoney Creek) - Ontario beef farmer Cory Van Groningen knows what’s important to his customers – quality

and trust. And he’s found a way to increase meat tenderness while tracing every single cut of beef from the farm, directly into the hands of his customer. All this is achieved by using barcodes and innovative tracking systems that begin at the animal’s birth, and follow right through to placing prime beef cuts in the grocery store cooler.

As co-owner of the family business, VG Meats, Van Groningen is responsible for keeping the supply chain short by raising cattle for their own processing plant and retail stores. He and his wife Heidi run a 400 cross-bred cow herd, producing beef for VG Meats and other retailers. Raising cattle directly for their own market means Van Groningen has complete control over the product through every stage, beginning at birth, to ensure health, quality and traceability.

Keeping with a 40-year family tradition of processing and retailing meat, Van Groningen also works alongside his parents and three brothers, managing and operating a processing plant and two retail locations. Selling directly to customers through two retail locations in Simcoe and Stoney Creek, ON, means Van Groningen and his family can talk directly to their customers, determining exactly what they want and what’s important to them.

“We’ve learned customers want to trust the people packaging their meat,” says Van Groningen. “They often ask questions as a way to learn more about products and test a retailer’s competency. Traceability is a way to earn their trust and help them verify they’ve made the right choice in choosing our meat products.”

As a farmer, food processor and retailer, Van Groningen knows consumer trust means the family business needs to be accountable for the products they sell. And that means product traceability right from the farm to the customer’s plate.

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on December 8th, 2014 :: Filed under Beef cattle,Food safety,Innovation and technology,Meat processing,Meat/slaughter plants,Retailers,Traceability,Uncategorized
Tags :: beef, Traceability

---

By Kelly Daynard

Plattsville – To hear Scott Richmond talk about his farm, you’d think he had more of a career as a poet or a novelist than as a farmer.

“My favourite thing is to walk out the back door when the dew is on the grass and the sun’s just coming up over the hills. It just smells like beauty”, he says when describing his chosen career. “I just can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Scott’s a fifth generation farmer, raising pigs, corn and soybeans on his family farm near Plattsville, in Oxford County. His farm was named Brae-Heid, in recognition of its rolling hills, by his long ago Scottish ancestors who emigrated here.

Scott said that there was never any doubt that he was going to farm. Looking back, he chuckles, “I don’t think I picked farming. I think farming picked me.” He studied agriculture at the University of Guelph, graduating in 2002. From there, he worked in construction for a while before returning home join his parents in their farming business.

Together, they have a “farrow to finish” pig farm where mother pigs (called sows) give birth to their piglets and the piglets are raised up to the age when they go to market. They also grow 250 acres of corn and soybeans that are used to feed their livestock.

A successful blind date a few years ago led to his marriage to wife Dawn and the recent arrival of their daughter, Meredith, the sixth generation of the Richmond family to live on the farm. Dawn wasn’t from a farm but Scott’s proud to report that she’s adjusted to her new rural life well. “She’s always eager to help out when needed.”

Scott says that the health and well-being of his pigs are always foremost on his mind – from the time he wakes in the morning until he goes to bed at night. His daily routine involves walking the barn to ensure that all of his pigs are healthy, content and have enough feed and water as well as checking his fields to ensure that his crops are also thriving. Said Scott, “I haven’t found a better business partner than Mother Nature.”

Scott is also active in his community. He’s vice president of his local curling club and past president of the Oxford County Pork Producers’ Association. He likes being involved in his community and his industry. “It’s a combination of coveralls and business”, he said in an interview. “I like working at home and being my own boss but I like helping in the industry too.”

Many Ontario pig farmers, like Scott, are also involved in helping their local food banks. In June 2013, a new pilot program saw a donation of 10,000- 500g packs of ground pork made directly to Ontario food banks in Southwestern Ontario including Sarnia, London and Hamilton. The program built upon the success of the “Donate a Hog” program that was started in 1998.

During the course of the 2013 pilot project, the donated pork represented the equivalent of 20,000 meals for adults. The entire quantity was dispatched within three to five days of delivery.

Next, the program’s organizers hope to build on the success of the Ontario Pork Program by securing enough funding to run the program year-round for two years. The hope is to purchase enough pork to make it available to food banks on a regular basis. Industry partners have expressed an interest in helping to match funds made available by Ontario Pork, the organization representing Ontario’s pig farmers.

The Oxford County Pork Producers’ Association, of which Scott is past president, has also been active in food bank initiatives, donating to their local food bank in Woodstock.

“I think it’s important for farmers like us to give back to our communities,” said Scott. “I feel really fortunate to have the life I live. If we can do something to help others facing hunger in our communities, that’s a very good thing.”

He added that more than 400,000 Ontarians visit their local food bank each month, with 160,000 of them being children. Many of them are lacking good protein sources, like pork, in their diets.

In 2014, Scott is the face of Ontario’s pig farmers and December in the Faces of Farming calendar, published by Farm & Food Care Ontario. His page is sponsored by Elanco Animal Health and the Ontario Association of Food Banks. Both are involved in the Ontario Pork Program.

To see an interview with Scott, visit - http://youtu.be/JFhaUrYkqLg

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on December 2nd, 2014 :: Filed under Faces of Farming,Farm life,Pigs,Uncategorized
Tags :: Faces of Farming

---