Feedlots: Tell Your Uncensored Truth
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Last week, I wrote about the idea of feedlots. I covered the basics but didn’t really go into detail because last week’s column was meant to be read by people who don’t know about feedlots. This week, my intention was to go into the ins-and-outs of feedlots with commentary from Maylene Frost of Centana Feeders and I will hold up to those intentions online — but not in this publication.
I realized that it was incredibly redundant to go into details about feedlots with an audience of cattlemen and women. So, instead, you’re all going to get a good old-fashioned butt chewing.
My mother is an elementary school teacher, my daddy is a Methodist preacher, and I feel incredible remorse anytime I accidently run into someone in a crowded space — i.e. I know how to get on a soapbox with grace, and that’s exactly what I plan to do because you know what? You, the person reading this column, is personally responsible for spreading the good word of agriculture — let me explain:
When I began digging into the feedlot series, I knew some consumers didn’t even know what a feedlot was, and some of the consumers who did know were told false information which completely turned them off to the idea of efficiently feeding out cattle. So, I started to ask myself why… why was the positive and truthful information about feedlots lost in the shuffle?
When I initially talked to Maylene, she was excited about our interview. I told her my idea to create a video or two explaining feedlots to the public in a way which they could understand. I was met with no hesitation but instead a “how quick can you get out here?”
Then it dawned on me… the stereotypical feedlot photo.
My version of the stereotypical feedlot photo.
You know the photo I’m talking about… a wide photo taken from the end of a feed bunk while cattle are eating. To you, me, the person sending their calf crop to a feedlot, and the feeder, this photo is perfect. It’s a good, clean shot which is just pleasing to the eyes.
But to PETA, and the 5.7 million people who like their Facebook page, this photo shows cattle who are “kept in tiny pens, backed up to a feed trough, and forced to eat grains all day.”
Ridiculous, right? You know what’s even more ridiculous? The fact that we can’t even rebuttal these people because we don’t showcase photos which tell a different story. As a photographer, I’m just as guilty of this as the next person. But good Lord, we’ve got to change the narrative.
I know, y’all have read me getting on you about correcting misinformation and sharing your story before, but this time I’m serious so listen up: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE.
You, the old timer reading this on Sunday morning with a cup full of coffee and a plate full of biscuits and gravy, you are personally responsible for the future of agriculture. You’re responsible for not only teaching the next generation tried-and-true ag practices but sharing the good word of agriculture to as many people as you can. I know, you may not have a Facebook account and you may not even know what a podcast is (it’s basically talk radio but you can listen to it on your phone, like a song), but what’s stopping you from telling your granddaughter and her friends that it’s perfectly okay to not eat organic vegetables and grass-fed beef? It takes a fraction of your time but could change their mindset forever.
You, the young livestock producers and farmers reading on your phone after a long day of haying with a freshly popped cold one, you are personally responsible for the future of agriculture. You’re responsible for learning from the old-timers while practicing new technologies in an attempt to make your operation more efficient and sustainable. I know, you’re learning the biz, you don’t have too much time on your hands, but I would be willing to bet most of you have a social media account of some sort — whether it be your own personal page or your operation’s page — and you absolutely can share your story. It takes less than five minutes of your time to take a photo while you work and post it with a short caption of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. You know, as well as I do, that one single social media post or snippet from a news clip can change someone’s perception forever — so quit complaining about how you work in an unappreciated industry and provide the correct information so consumers CAN appreciate you.
You, the consumer, are personally responsible for the future of agriculture. You are responsible for educating yourself and your household, for making smart decisions in the grocery store, and for questioning the bogus information put out by PETA and the Humane Society. It takes 30 seconds to conduct a google search, so don’t believe everything you hear or see. Heck, fact check my column.
Finally, you, the ag communicator reading this on your laptop to take a break from designing graphics or writing (you know, the one who’s toes I’m probably stepping on the most), you are personally responsible for the future of agriculture. You are responsible for educating the masses through effective communication. You are personally responsible for sharing eye catching infographics about the beef sustainability lifecycle. You are personally responsible for sharing videos posted by farmers on your Instagram story. You are personally responsible for messaging your friend on Facebook who are blaming their latest sniffle on GMO’s in raspberries (raspberries don’t contain GMO’s, by the way).
My fellow ag communicators: you spent thousands of dollars and multiple years of your life dedicated to learning how to effectively communicate agriculture to the public — so do it. I’m just as guilty as anyone for not doing it… I haven’t even written this column for a year yet and I am still figuring out the best way to disseminate information.
Agriculturists, take five minutes out of your day to educate a consumer: share an article on Facebook, talk to a government official about GMO labeling laws, post a video on your Instagram, be a guest on a podcast, and most importantly, tell your friends the truthful, good information about agriculture. We can’t just sit around a bellyache about agriculture’s approval rating going down, we’ve got to combat this ourselves.
Educate consumers of our industry. Appreciate our industry. Fight for our industry.
