By Leslie Ballentine, farming and food commentator
This past year, a University of Manitoba student was inspired by a campus talk she heard by the Ontario Farm Animal Council. So inspired, in fact, that she wrote a thought-provoking article in the student newspaper. Titled: Things you should know before criticizing food production, the article is directed to the students on campus. But I think it should be directed to everyone. And it is food for thought to start the year.
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Posted by FFC on January 3rd, 2012 :: Filed under
Environment,
Family vs factory farming,
Food safety,
Housing,
Innovation and technology,
MisconceptionsTags ::
agriculture,
environment,
Farmers,
food safety,
misconceptions,
technology
Farm kids are just a little different
By Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Even though a farm kid looks the same as their non-farming classmates and friends, inside is a completely different story.
I have a nephew who lives in town. He’s just a few months older than my son. My nephew does spend a fair amount of time on the farm, but not enough to completely erase the differences. When the boys were younger, my nephew had started talking while my son had just a few words in his vocabulary. If you asked them what a cow said, my nephew would dutifully say “mooo”. My son had his own way of answering that question. He would tip his head back, push his lips out, and make a “mmmmmm” sound. It was very cute to watch him try to mimic the cows.
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Posted by FFC on December 13th, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal care,
Consumers,
Dairy cattle,
Family vs factory farming,
Farm lifeTags ::
animal care,
animals,
family,
farm,
Farmers
Guest blog, by: James Bosma, Dairy Farmer and Agriculture Advocate.
Factory versus Family farming has come to the forefront of discussion as of late. But what defines a family farm?
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Posted by FFC on November 14th, 2011 :: Filed under
Education and public awareness,
Family vs factory farming,
Sustainability of the family farmTags ::
agriculture,
Canada,
farm,
Farmers
by Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Growing up, I always heard about the family vacations my friends were going on. Trips to Florida to escape the snow, flights to other parts of Canada or the world for a relaxing escape, and weekend getaways were talked about on a regular basis, but the conversations were always hard for me to join.
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Posted by FFC on May 31st, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal health,
Family vs factory farming,
Farm lifeTags ::
agriculture,
animal care,
animal welfare,
animals,
Canada,
farm,
Farmers
by Patricia Grotenhuis, Lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Farmers see some strange things on their farms. Sometimes things will happen that are completely unexpected – yet absolutely beautiful reminding us, first-hand, what nature can do.
One day, while I was at university studying agricultural science, I got a call from my mom at home on our farm. The call wasn’t unusual - but the story she was about to tell me certainly was.
One day, while out checking the beef cattle, they noticed a young fawn in the same pasture as the cattle. Over the next few days, my family noticed the fawn was always within sight of the cattle – but never too close. They never saw a doe, and were wondering who was caring for this little fawn.
Bambi in the field with the cows.
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Posted by FFC on May 19th, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal care,
Beef cattle,
Family vs factory farming,
Farm life,
Uncategorized,
Wildlife,
winterTags ::
animal care,
beef,
cattle,
Farmers,
wildlife
Guest Blog by Jeanine Moyer Jeanine was raised on a pig, beef cattle and crop farm in Ontario
Growing up on our farm meant that quality time spent with dad was ‘seasonal’. Cold winter days would keep dad in the house where my siblings and I could play and spend time with him. But as soon as spring came we knew our time with dad would be limited to those short hours at mealtimes and on rainy days.
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Posted by FFC on May 3rd, 2011 :: Filed under
Crops,
Family vs factory farming,
Farm life,
springTags ::
crops,
farm,
Farmers
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
The following letter to Reader’s Digest points out that even veterinarians can have misplaced views about animals.
Dear Editor:
The recent issue of Readers Digest carries an editorial titled “Food For Thought: Pets are family, but chickens are food?” Written by a rural vet in Quebec, this editorial claims to “examine our changing view of other creatures” to make an argument for applying the same standards to food animals as we do our pets.
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Posted by FFC on April 21st, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal care,
Consumers,
Family vs factory farming,
Letters to the Editor,
VeterinariansTags ::
agriculture,
animal care,
Consumers,
Farmers,
food
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
The over-used term “factory farm” never seems to be defined. Many farmers and others who work in the agriculture business consider it an insulting term, much like a racial slur that shouldn’t be tolerated. Here is what one farmer thinks.
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Posted by FFC on March 23rd, 2011 :: Filed under
Animal care,
Education and public awareness,
Family vs factory farming,
Letters to the Editor,
Sustainability of the family farmTags ::
agriculture,
animals,
farm,
Farmers,
Housing,
Ontario
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
In recent years, the term ‘factory farm’ has been used with growing frequency in both conventional and online/social media to signify anything and everything that is seen as bad in livestock and poultry production. The term is almost exclusively used to criticize animal farming. You rarely hear it used to describe greenhouse tomatoes for example.
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Posted by FFC on March 17th, 2011 :: Filed under
Canada,
Consumers,
Education and public awareness,
Family vs factory farmingTags ::
agriculture,
Consumers,
Farmers,
Media
by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Although it seems there is not much to do in the winter on a farm, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work which people don’t think about. Many people realize the animals still need to be cared for…that is a given. But, as winter draws to a close, it is the start of calving season for many beef farmers, kidding season for goat farmers, and lambing season for sheep farmers. Winter days in the barn can bring some extra jobs, as well. Water bowls can freeze, straw can become wet even faster than normal because of the snow and animals that graze at other times during the year need supplemental feed.
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Posted by FFC on March 15th, 2011 :: Filed under
Family vs factory farming,
Farm life,
Weather,
winterTags ::
animal care,
animals,
Canada,
Farmers
