A teacher told a student that he was a bad person for raising cows…

“The Punchy Bunch” is a poem written about some boys who are just too punchy for their own good — and don’t understand that the word “punchy” is not meant as a compliment.

A few years ago I went vegan for the season of Lent as an experiment and, in turn, found out something totally unexpected.

When it comes to my column/blog and agriculture, I don’t often write about my mom. I think it’s because I don’t have as many photos of her on a horse as I do my dad but let’s be honest here… nothing I have ever done in my entire life would’ve been possible if it weren’t for her. So, here’s what you need to know about my mom, Kristi Jane Purviance, or “Mrs. P” as most of her former students call her on Teachers' Day.

Makenzie Raesner is spotlighted in the Corporate Cultivators series, a series dedicated to showcasing agriculturists of all kinds outside of the typical farmer/rancher stereotype we often see portrayed in the media. Raesner is an Own Brand manager at HEB, a Texas grocery store chain, and plays a vital role in making food go from the farm to your table.

Introducing “Corporate Cultivators,” a new series dedicated to showcasing agriculturists of all kinds outside of the typical farmer/rancher stereotype we often see portrayed in the media. It takes more than just a sodbuster or a cow-puncher to get food from our gate to your plate, this week’s blog post details some of those key players in the ag industry who often go unnoticed!

Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat is a social media brand and website used to sway meat-eaters to the vegan diet which advertises organic dog meat as a livestock producer would. It’s clever, I must admit, but totally sick. In this blog post, I try to combat resources such as Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat with well thought out, educational, fact-backed arguments.

I believe the Producer Partnership, my full time employer, is something great in a world focused on bad right now — and I want to tell y’all all about it.

…the title on this one is self-explanatory.

Seven years ago, I wore my blue and gold corduroy jacket for the last time. When I think of my time as an FFA member, like many people, I get nostalgic. The stories I could tell from that period of my life are sweet, some funny, and almost all too ag-nerdy for most people to want to listen to. So, in leu of sharing those memories, I’d like to share with y’all how my investment in being an FFA member is currently paying off for me in honor of National FFA Week.

A few years ago, "fake meat' vs. traditional meat was pretty much all anyone in agriculture talked about. It was a huge issue for me and many other agvocates out there.⁠

Two weeks ago, while on my honeymoon, I overheard a person look at their dinner guest and say, "what’s the point of the Beyond Burger anyway? It’s basically a real burger.” Which made me realize just how big of an issue some things can be for some people and how it's a non-issue for others.⁠

Today, I give my cliff notes and key points on the biggest differences between alternative proteins and traditional animal protein.⁠

Last week, the White House announced the Biden-Harris Administration’s Action Plan for “Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain.” In this week’s blog post, I do my best to educate you on what exactly this means for everyone from the barn cat to the consumer.

The past two years, I’ve published columns right around the new year with my predictions for the anti-ag agenda in the upcoming year. Following suit, today, I will give my 2022 trend predictions for what I believe the anti-ags will attack agriculture with.

The hands that feed you need a helping hand themselves every now and then; and it’s our responsibility to reach out our hand and pull them out of whatever pit they’re stuck in.

“You ever plow a field? To plant quinoa or sorghum or whatever the ‘heck’ it is you eat? You kill everything on the ground and under it. You kill every snake, every frog, every mouse, mole, vole, worm, quail…you kill them all. So I guess the only real question is: how cute does an animal have to be before you care if it dies to feed you?”

— John Dutton, Yellowstone

In summary: Yellowstone did a better job of communicating agriculture than I ever have.

My dad hammered the phrase “actions speak louder than words” into my brain when I was in high school. At the time, I brushed it off, but as I’m getting older, I understand it more. The big bad wolf can huff and puff all he wants but until he blows the house down, he’s just blowing smoke.

We as ag industry supporters, professionals, and elected officials need to do a little more acting and a little less speaking. But how?

Vegan activists filled hand sanitizer dispensers outside of restaurants and butcher shops with fake blood so consumers would realize eating meat means they have “blood on their hands.” However, their motives seemed more rooted in climate issues than ethical veganism, begging the question: is climate change really the issue?

There was quite a bit that happened in the past two weeks as far as anti-ags go, and I can’t really narrow down what I want to focus on. So, without further ado…here’s what you missed in the ridiculous world of anti-ags this week.

In the past, I’ve talked quite a bit about the nasty comments and messages I and many other agriculturists have received from anti-ags. However, today I would like to shift gears and talk about the aggressive and completely unnecessary comments I’ve seen from agriculturists and how we can incorporate graceful education in our responses.

It's taboo, it's hard to hear, it's something you don't want to have to explain to your kids — but it's what anti-ags are saying about the dairy industry. In this weeks blog post, I talk about anti-ags claiming farmers and ranchers sexually assault their livestock by breeding them to other animals, artificial insemination, and even helping an animal give birth.

This past weekend, I traveled to Bozeman, Montana, to the Montana Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer & Rancher Conference. I’ll be presented a workshop with a lecture titled “Effectively Communicating Agriculture: How to Talk to Anti-Ags.” This blog is a written version of my workshop.

We’ve been told transparency is incredibly important to consumers, and specifically vegan and on-the-fence consumers. But is transparency really as coveted as we’ve been taught? By the looks of an anti-ag Facebook group I’m in (and by viewing the comments made on Commissioner Quarrels’ Facebook post), transparency regarding what is and isn’t lab grown meat may not be so desirable.

It’s a sad fact to face: knowledge of the animal ag industry is not included when a consumer purchases animal products in the grocery store. In this blog post, I talk about an example of this non-existent knowledge I heard while listening to one of my favorite podcasts.