Animal Care is Priority

Sadly, it's happened yet again.  An animal rights group has posted a horrific video of a calf being abused.  As a farmer in animal agriculture, I'm angered, appalled and downright mad.  Who ARE these people?  It's bad enough that there are disturbed people who will harm animals (and other human beings) for amusement, but I find it equally disturbing that there are people who will film it instead of stepping in to stop the incident and report the abuse...immediately. 

My husband & I were raised on farms and have chosen this as our careers.  We have also chosen to raise our children much like we were raised.  At no point do we find it amusing to see an animal be hurt or suffer.  I can't think of a fellow farmer who finds animal cruelty acceptable.  Our animals are our livelihood, so why would we want any harm to come to them? 

We have spent countless hours over the years with our animals.  When a cow is calving, a calf is sick, a horse is lame or our farm dog isn't feeling well, we make them our priority.  Over the years, we've left family gatherings early (or got there late) to make sure everything is okay with one of our cows.  I left my great-aunt's 100th birthday party early to check on a cow who decided it was a good day to have a baby (everything  turned out just fine).  I can't count the many nights we've gotten up at midnight to check on a sick animal or expecting cow.  We cut our anniversary weekend short one year because there was hay to bale; the cows would need hay in the winter.  These are just a few of the things we do because we take caring for our animal seriously.  This is what responsible farmers do.  We don't abuse animals for the fun of it, nor do we find watching garbage like that entertaining.

Before you pass judgement on all farmers because of a sensationalized video on the Internet, take the time to check out a real farm.  There are numerous farmers on facebook, twitter and other sites that have pictures and stories to share with you.  You might start with www.midwestdairy.com and get the facts about dairy farming.