Hello citizens and neighbors of Green County. I hope the Spirit of Christmas has found you all and invaded your lives. I really love this time of year - the Christmas story, the look on youngsters' faces when they see the presents and the trees and all the pretty lights. I remember Christmas caroling as a young "lad" with our youth group and seeing the looks and smiles the people in hospitals and nursing homes would give us when we showed up. I hope there still are groups doing that, since I now sing tenor, "ten or" twenty miles away.
Recently, there was someone who wrote a Letter to the Editor in regard to a "mega-farm" being built in Jo Daviess County. This reader wrote how this farm would have no positive impact on our local economy, as it would buy everything in bulk and buy nothing locally. The only part of that statement that is true is the fact that it will buy its products in bulk. Hey, if our farm could buy more in bulk we would, but we can't use it fast enough. However, we do get together with some of our neighbors on certain things and we do buy in bulk, and it benefits both the supplier and our little group. It is the basic principal of a cooperative. This dairy also is not going to get its vet work done by a vet five states away. And I know it is going to keep its equipment purchases local, as it understands the value of service.
Then there was a blog about how these dairies would make their animals stay in a building all their lives, and give them antibiotics to prevent spreading diseases. Those antibiotics supposedly would end up in the milk, and then our bodies. The blog also said "baby cows" are not allowed to drink their mother's milk, and that practice needs to be stopped. Again, not true.
Dairy cattle everywhere are raised in different environments, true. And at larger dairies they are kept in a building during their lactation, but then again so is our 100-cow herd. I bet the Humane Society would be super happy to see them out in the cold, wet snow with wind blowing on them, or baking in the hot sun. However, they are fed a diet that most likely is better balanced than any dietician could put together for a human. They have access to fresh water all the time. They are continuously monitored to ensure there are no problems. They have a nice warm dry place to sleep. Many of the larger dairies I deal with have land for animals to graze, but not all of them do, so they try to make the best possible environment for them.
There are NO antibiotics in your milk. Dairy producers are required by law to have milk tested after they have used antibiotics, to ensure there are no residual antibiotics in the milk. The cows are tested, the milk tanks are tested at every pickup, and the tankers are tested. If antibiotics are found, that milk is discarded. How safe is your milk? It is so safe, and I trust our dairies so much, I would be willing to drink the milk directly from the tank. The milk in the stores is perfectly safe.
Now for the calves, this is one part of the operation producers really focus on. Once the calf is born, the mother will lick the calf clean. During this process, most producers like to strip the first milk, or colostrum, out of the mother cow, into a clean container, although some producers will let the calf suckle on its mother. This is not an easy process and sometimes even is dangerous, as we have seen calves get kicked, crushed or abandoned. Once the milk is collected and the calf is clean, the producer tries to feed the calf as much milk as it will drink, then the calf goes to its new home, a shed or a hutch with a nice warm straw or shavings bed. During the cold months, many producers put calf coats on them to keep them warmer and stimulate more hair growth. From here on out, most producers will feed a powdered milk replacer, just like feeding a human baby formula.
So what do the majority of these practices have in common? They are common amongst large AND small dairies. I know a lot of producers involved in large dairies who started out as family farmers ... wait, they expanded into larger family farms, yet still hold true to the values they had when they were smaller. The bigger concern is that with the economy struggling, and milk and commodity prices starting to fluctuate down, a number of jobs will be lost if more farms go out of business or if they are unable to grow. And even with the amazing ability area producers have to step up and continue to feed our growing population, the impact of the loss of anymore farms will be felt. Keep in mind that for every dollar spent on agriculture, it is turned over in the community seven to nine times.
I am truly blessed and humbled to live in the presence of the many farm families of Green County and the surrounding areas. I am truly proud to call them family and friends, and I am very grateful this holiday season for the bounty they provide us. They deserve our thanks and gratitude, for without them this is a very hungry nation.
It is a pleasure to again serve as Green County Farm Bureau president this year, and I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.
- Jeff Ditzenberger is a Monticello resident and is president of the Green County Farm Bureau.
Recently, there was someone who wrote a Letter to the Editor in regard to a "mega-farm" being built in Jo Daviess County. This reader wrote how this farm would have no positive impact on our local economy, as it would buy everything in bulk and buy nothing locally. The only part of that statement that is true is the fact that it will buy its products in bulk. Hey, if our farm could buy more in bulk we would, but we can't use it fast enough. However, we do get together with some of our neighbors on certain things and we do buy in bulk, and it benefits both the supplier and our little group. It is the basic principal of a cooperative. This dairy also is not going to get its vet work done by a vet five states away. And I know it is going to keep its equipment purchases local, as it understands the value of service.
Then there was a blog about how these dairies would make their animals stay in a building all their lives, and give them antibiotics to prevent spreading diseases. Those antibiotics supposedly would end up in the milk, and then our bodies. The blog also said "baby cows" are not allowed to drink their mother's milk, and that practice needs to be stopped. Again, not true.
Dairy cattle everywhere are raised in different environments, true. And at larger dairies they are kept in a building during their lactation, but then again so is our 100-cow herd. I bet the Humane Society would be super happy to see them out in the cold, wet snow with wind blowing on them, or baking in the hot sun. However, they are fed a diet that most likely is better balanced than any dietician could put together for a human. They have access to fresh water all the time. They are continuously monitored to ensure there are no problems. They have a nice warm dry place to sleep. Many of the larger dairies I deal with have land for animals to graze, but not all of them do, so they try to make the best possible environment for them.
There are NO antibiotics in your milk. Dairy producers are required by law to have milk tested after they have used antibiotics, to ensure there are no residual antibiotics in the milk. The cows are tested, the milk tanks are tested at every pickup, and the tankers are tested. If antibiotics are found, that milk is discarded. How safe is your milk? It is so safe, and I trust our dairies so much, I would be willing to drink the milk directly from the tank. The milk in the stores is perfectly safe.
Now for the calves, this is one part of the operation producers really focus on. Once the calf is born, the mother will lick the calf clean. During this process, most producers like to strip the first milk, or colostrum, out of the mother cow, into a clean container, although some producers will let the calf suckle on its mother. This is not an easy process and sometimes even is dangerous, as we have seen calves get kicked, crushed or abandoned. Once the milk is collected and the calf is clean, the producer tries to feed the calf as much milk as it will drink, then the calf goes to its new home, a shed or a hutch with a nice warm straw or shavings bed. During the cold months, many producers put calf coats on them to keep them warmer and stimulate more hair growth. From here on out, most producers will feed a powdered milk replacer, just like feeding a human baby formula.
So what do the majority of these practices have in common? They are common amongst large AND small dairies. I know a lot of producers involved in large dairies who started out as family farmers ... wait, they expanded into larger family farms, yet still hold true to the values they had when they were smaller. The bigger concern is that with the economy struggling, and milk and commodity prices starting to fluctuate down, a number of jobs will be lost if more farms go out of business or if they are unable to grow. And even with the amazing ability area producers have to step up and continue to feed our growing population, the impact of the loss of anymore farms will be felt. Keep in mind that for every dollar spent on agriculture, it is turned over in the community seven to nine times.
I am truly blessed and humbled to live in the presence of the many farm families of Green County and the surrounding areas. I am truly proud to call them family and friends, and I am very grateful this holiday season for the bounty they provide us. They deserve our thanks and gratitude, for without them this is a very hungry nation.
It is a pleasure to again serve as Green County Farm Bureau president this year, and I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.
- Jeff Ditzenberger is a Monticello resident and is president of the Green County Farm Bureau.
