Recently, I visited a friend in St. Louis, Mo. While staying with my friend I found myself visiting with her roommate, who was born and raised in St. Louis. Naturally the roommate wasn’t very familiar with farming and she was intrigued by my occupation and lifestyle. As an animal lover, she was a little concerned with the way farmers are portrayed in the media in regards to how they treat their livestock. During our conversation I learned that she makes buying decisions based on what the media portrays. Wanting to become more education on the matter she asked my opinion and of course I was happy to share.
I told her the majority of farmers, and 100 percent of the farmers I know, treat their livestock humanely because they count on them to make a living. I presented her with a simple example.
It’s like landlords – there are good landlords and there are bad ones.
Good landlords will take care of their property both inside and out. Before a new tenant moves in typically a good landlord will repaint the walls, clean the carpet, repair any damages and maintain the curb appeal. While the tenant occupies the property a good landlord will see to it that any maintenance issues are addressed quickly and properly. Why do they do all of this? Simple, so someone will want to rent the property at a reasonable price.
A bad landlord will not see that the rental is in good shape upon the tenant moving in and will not address maintenance issues very quickly and will use a temporary fix instead of fixing problems correctly. What will this result in? Simple, the bad landlord will not keep tenants as long and/or will not be able to charge as much as a good landlord.
The same goes with a good farmer and a bad farmer.
A good farmer will see to it that their livestock have food, water and shelter. They will give their livestock the proper nutrition and health care they need in order to keep them healthy and productive. Why? So that they can keep producing a product that consumers will want to buy.
A bad farmer will do whatever they can do just to slide by. They may go days without checking on their livestock and skip out on health care. What will this result in? I predict that it will result in lower prices, less productivity and less consumer interest.
I’m not sure if my example and opinions changed her mind or not but at least I did my part to educate someone removed from the farm. Maybe this example or a similar example will help you when defending our industry.
Best wishes,
