Stereotypes about farming

Let’s talk stereotypes,

Throughout the past couple of months I have been researching the meat industry in America, specifically cattle. I find these animals to be fascinating and as I research more into how their minds work I have found myself wanting to go into the agriculture industry as an occupation. In the early stages of my research I have found a few consistent stereotyped assumptions on beef cattle and farming that I find interesting.

• Farming is an easy way of life.

• All family farming follows the same model.

• The animals are confined to pens where they are unable to lay down.

• Family farming is outdated.

• Farmers pump antibodies and hormones into the cows.

• Babies are ripped away from their mothers.

• Cattle are dumb and senseless animals.

• Tagging the Calves is abusive.

• Rancher's brand their animals with hot painful irons.

• Poor medical care commonly leads to illnesses or death of the animals..

• Beef cattle are shipped long distances to be butchered.

• The animals are not raised on their natural diet.

PC: Hannah Hoffman

Why do these stereotypes exist? It’s clear that these accusations are placed on the industry as a whole because some farmers do abuse their animals. They say good news travels fast. Well I hope this travels real fast’;not all people are abusive to their animals? After further research on this topic it was clear that some of the articles are being published by people who had never seen a cow in person or even stepped on a farm. The three stereotyped assumptions I would like to debate are:

• Farming is an easy way of life.

• Farmers pump antibodies and hormones into the cattle.

• Tagging the calves is abusive.

It's an easy way of life

Let’s be real, farming/ ranching and working with livestock is far from an easy way of life. Day and night you have to feed, water, and take care of these animals. This job is not weather permitting, you go out if it's -30 degrees out or if their is hail hitting your back. It doesn’t matter if it is extremely cold, hot, or storming out, you have to make sure your livestocks basic needs are met at all times. You have to make sure they have medical care and treatments. Even if that means walking through mud or flooded pastures so high that the mud seams over the top of your muckboots.

Not only does this require more work for the farmer rancher it can be very costly especially when you have a large herd. Farm machinery is quite pricy, gas and diesel can suck money out of your pocket SO fast. In order to keep a farm running you have to have enough hard working hands to keep the farm running. This means more money is spent hiring work hands who are educated in driving large tractors/trucks, are able bodied, and who have worked with livestock.

Farm life is nowhere near easy, but it's worth every minute. It is a rewarding business especial when you see an animal or crop grow and be able to be used for consumption.

Antibodies and Hormones

Most farmers do not pump antibodies and hormones into cows. Only a small portion of farms do this mainly to treat hurt and injured animals. Antibodies and hormones are more commonly used on large industrial farms where the animals are in tight quarters and disease can travel fast. Even when theses medications are used the animals have a legal waiting time before they can be butchered and consumed. This waiting time is to allow the animal to get the medication out of their system.

There are certain laws regarding the legal amounts of hormones aloud to be given to an animal. “Since the 1950s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep, including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and their synthetic versions.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015) In order for the drugs to be legal they are be be tested. They are pushed through different levels of testing in order to prove they will not be harmfull to the consumer or cause long term damage to the animal.

Natural hormones are given with either small implants under the animal's skin that slowly dissolve or through feed. These have a 0 day withdrawal, their for the animal could be consumed within hour of receiving the drug. “People are not at risk from eating food from animals treated with these drugs because the amount of additional hormone following drug treatment is very small compared with the amount of natural hormones that are normally found in the meat of untreated animals and that are naturally produced in the human body.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015)

When it comes to synthetic hormones the laws are a bit different. Their is the same amount of lab testing just like the natural hormones, but their is a longer waiting time for the animal to be able to be consumed. Their is a safe level that is okay for a human to consume after the animal is prepared for consumption. “Furthermore, FDA required that the manufacturers demonstrate that the amount of hormone left in each edible tissue after treatment is below the appropriate safe level.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015)

PC: Farmgirl Photography

Ear tags are animal abuse

I think it is funny that people think tagging calves is abusive. The purpose of tagging calves is used as a record and they are strategically placed on specific parts of the ear that do not hit any major veins. It is a very fast and efficient process. Most times the tags have letters and numbers identifying the genetics of the animals. This is also used when an animal is sold. The tags allow for the buyer to track where the livestock came from in case the animal is hurt or they want to know genetic background.

The ear tag it used to know everything about the animal as it has grown up. Many farms keep a digital record all their animals and just by typing in their ar tag number one would be able to know the animals diet, genetics, and health. “Farmers call these earrings ID tags or ear tags. Used to identify each animal, tags help farmers keep accurate records for different feed programs, types of medical issues, veterinary visits, calving records, family history and production levels. “(America’s Dairyland, 2017)

In the more advanced levels of ear tags there are microchips that can be pulled up in order to show the rancher exactly where the animal is. This type of tag is called a radio frequency identification. These are quick and easy tags they allow for information to be transferred within a click of a button. “This type features a code similar to a barcode found at a store. When vaccinating, changing the nutrition level in the cow’s diet or working with the cow in some other way, a farmer can scan the code and automatically enter information directly to computer records instead of inputting everything by hand later in the day.” (America’s Dairyland, 2017)

Stereotyping and whole industry is never a good thing. Their will always be that one farm who abuses their animals, over uses drugs, and does not fit the requirements. Yet, there will always be the farms that are family run and raised where the animals are taken care of better than the humans that raise them.

If you know of anymore please comment them! I’d love to hear more.

-Jaksen

Resources:

Farmers and Farm Life. (2017, April 11). Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://site.iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath/farmers-and-farm-life

Calderone, J. (2016, March 31). Here's why farmers inject hormones into beef but never into poultry. Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/no-hormones-chicken-poultry-usda-fda-2016-3

Medicine, C. F. (2015, October 20). Product Safety Information - Steroid Hormone Implants Used for Growth in Food-Producing Animals. Retrieved April 26, 2017, from https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm055436.htm

A. (n.d.). Why do Cows Wear Earrings? Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://www.americasdairyland.com/on-the-farm/thecows/have-u-herd/why-do-cows-wear-earrings