Farmer Roy's Random Thoughts - I never said it was easy.

[Agrispeed]

what about animals.?There is such a push now for laboratory produced meat you never know. Hopefully I will be dead before thatt becomes the norm. During the war people had a lot of ‘erzatz’ food . Tasted like garbage. My grandfather even grew his own tobacco and cured it with horse urine. Smelled like hell but it was better than nothing he said.

Lab food doesn't capture carbon. Farmers need to really bang the message out that we are the only ones with the power to not only make our society sustainable but to be regenerative.

Of course most farmers are too busy rubbing their balls about their new, bigger tractor to do that.

 

[hendrebc]

Lab food doesn't capture carbon. Farmers need to really bang the message out that we are the only ones with the power to not only make our society sustainable but to be regenerative.

Of course most farmers are too busy rubbing their balls about their new, bigger tractor to do that.

This!! I tried saying about red meat being regenerative and capturing carbon on a thread here somewhere and on a FB post and was more or less laughed at both times

 

[Kiwi Pete]

In our nexk of the woods it’s the sons ( or daughters) calling the shots unfortunately. Some have gone college, others haven’t, but they all share the ‘ go purebred, buy more land,buy bigger fancier equipment , get freestall barns and buy robotic milkers and robotic calve feeders. Basically buy, buy, buy. The fathers, many in their mid to late 50’s that I know of are so happy to have a kid on board that they go along with it. The end result is that there is too much work and too much debt for the father to retire and he is now working a lot harder and longer than he ever did. I know quite a few farmers in this situation and several look as if they are just about to drop dead. A lot of the push is coming from our agricultural colleges and quite frankly I find it a form of elder abuse.

Teachers are employees
They teach from that paradigm, and thus teach their students to be employees of their farms.

Management and work are only cousins, but many farmers are too busy playing "us and them" games elsewhere in their lives to understand that fully.

So their management styles reflect their schooling: "work hard and get good grades" translates to "work hard and spend money to make money" - it all must be very convincing.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Lab food doesn't capture carbon. Farmers need to really bang the message out that we are the only ones with the power to not only make our society sustainable but to be regenerative.

Of course most farmers are too busy rubbing their balls about their new, bigger tractor to do that.

I also wonder how nutrient balanced lab grown meat will be. There are many studies that have shown most meat from farm animals to have significantly lower content of a range of vitamins and minerals than it did several generations ago. Will the lab grown meat be similarly nutritionally poor?

 

[Agrispeed]

I also wonder how nutrient balanced lab grown meat will be. There are many studies that have shown most meat from farm animals to have significantly lower content of a range of vitamins and minerals than it did several generations ago. Will the lab grown meat be similarly nutritionally poor?

That's an interesting point Grass-fed beef is supposedly better for you.

We were part of a study into quality diffrences in grass fed milk and I am waiting results, but I can probably guess what the answer will be.

 

[Farmer Roy]

Lab food doesn't capture carbon. Farmers need to really bang the message out that we are the only ones with the power to not only make our society sustainable but to be regenerative.

Of course most farmers are too busy rubbing their balls about their new, bigger tractor to do that.

This!! I tried saying about red meat being regenerative and capturing carbon on a thread here somewhere and on a FB post and was more or less laughed at both times

farmers wont push the carbon capture message if they don't believe it, or see the relevance, themselves . . .

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Bit of a lucky escape this morning Shifting chopper cows and bull calves and several large bulls to a different paddock when one big bàstard decided he didn't like the look of me. I didn't clear the drain in the corner of the paddock ( yet somehow managed to not get 2 gumboots full of water) and went ass up after clambering out. Copped his big fat head fare in my bum. I dont know why he didn't keep going and trample me completely . Made it to the water trough where we had a bit of a Mexican stand off. Needless to say hes booked a one way ticket to the Abs

picture taken through rails in yards. This prìck stands at least 6 foot tall. ( taller than me) . I'm feeling it now

 

[Kiwi Pete]

farmers wont push the carbon capture message if they don't believe it, or see the relevance, themselves . . .

Especially if they don't understand it themselves.
And you can reasonably tell by the actions, how big a lack many have... or they simply wouldn't persist in doing many of the things that they make a habit; to be fair, that's most things!!

 

[Farmer Roy]

I've read other threads on TFF, about how the UK public don't care about farmers
thought I'd share this little vid, to maybe give an understanding of how we actually have a lot of support & sympathy from the general public ( even if they don't truly understand, or have generalised outdated views, it is still generally more positive than negative ). This is only one example. EVERY major commercial TV station has run stories on drought ( yes, I know I have criticised these in the past, "sensationalised", "disaster" stories. But at least it shows there is an interest in those stories out there ) & been involved with & encouraged charity fund raising events.
"Buy a Bale". "Parma for a Farmer". "Aussie Helpers". "Rapid Relief Team". EVERY service club such as Rotary & Lions getting on board. City based schools & preschools. Random donations fron complete strangers. Just in the last few months there has been many many millions of $$ raised in charity drought relief funding. I'm not going to comment on wether that is right or wrong or effective or not, but what it does highlight is the overwhelming level of support & public sympathy there is towards OUR farming community & the situation they find themselves in at the moment

Another unrelated example. Recently, we have had a major food safety scare with sewing needles being found in Strawberries coming out of Queensland. The first couple of days it was all sensational about not buying strawberries, urging everyone to throw out any strawberries etc etc. However, the interesting thing is, after a couple of days & footage of truckloads of strawberries being dumped, a real grass roots social media campaign just sprung up from a variety of sources, encouraging people to buy strawberries, to think of the producers who were losing their income, suggesting different ways of using strawberries, checking for needles etc etc
it was really encouraging

Also with milk. Our 2 major supermarkets introduced $1 / litre milk years ago as part of their ongoing competition yrs ago. Although they refuse to back down from that, there was and still is, a very strong public & social media feeling amongst many people to continue buying more expensive "branded" milk, & support our Aussie farmers

I hear a lot of TFF talk criticising McDonalds & KFC. While I am not a particular fan of their products, they are MASSIVELY important customers of OUR products. Both of them , in their advertising, make very strong claims about using local ingredients & supporting local farmers. My wife used to work in Sydney in the head office of Yum Restaurants International ( the US company that owns KFC, Pizza Hut, amongst others ). Her job was Accounts Payable - so, basically, paying the suppliers to KFC, Pizza Hut etc. It is all fresh ingredients & it is all local

anyway, watch this little vid, its very heartwarming & very cute. The last bit, at Gunnedah, I was there but working in the canteen cooking steak sandwiches
https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/rugby/kick-and-chase/a-fiver-for-a-farmer!696296

ABC Rural
SpSonSsoSredS
· 7 mins ·


It's amazing what you can do with strawberries, and great to see inventive cooks getting behind strawberry farmers after the needle contamination scare.


abc.net.au

#SmashaStrawb: Social media lights up with these inventive strawberry recipes
People take to social media to share their inventive strawberry recipes and urge others to support farmers, giving rise to the trending tag #SmashaStrawb.

 

[Blaithin]

Can't say I've stumbled onto any threads talking much about McDonald's or KFC but that's not too surprising. I don't venture to many threads. However McDonald's is for sure a very progressive advocate for agriculture here. Especially regarding Canadian beef. They're working hand in hand with projects like our Verified Beef Program and the CEO and top executives are known to do many farm tours and hold conversations directly with producers.

Generally I find producers who are against corporations like McDonald's are that way because they take marketing slogans at face value. For example antibiotic free. Now McDonald's doesn't slam that phrase around here as much as other franchises do, however they do have a strict antibiotic free standard. Which, for some reason, producers get all up on their high horses over and post multitudes of social media rants about how they're a good farmer so will treat their animals, even if companies such as _________ won't pay them for the product afterwards. Blah blah blah.

Meanwhile if the producers actually cared to look at the standards the companies have written up (Usually in extensive legal jargon a lot of the time), they'll see that the companies do not disallow animals that have been treated with an antibiotic. What they disallow is prophylactic use of antibiotics and most of the time they require the producer to have a vet examine the animal, make a diagnoses and then prescribe an antibiotic. They can't just self diagnose an issue and use OTC drugs.

Here there are actually quite a few round table type discussions where these corporations will sit down with producers and representatives and discuss industry standards and goals. If a producer feels these companies are working against them, be it in the UK or anywhere else, then it could be suggested they get off their asses and get out there and talk to the companies about their concerns and goals.

 

[Farmer Roy]

so - if we get such public sympathy, why do UK farmers feel so little love ? Before ANYONE comments, I will remind you that despite the PR bullpoo, we are THE most urbanised country in the western world ( Japan has a higher proportion of rural population than we do ) The vast bulk of our population live on a narrow strip of land about 100km wide, on the east coast of Australia, between Melbourne & Brisbane. The vast bulk of our population are completely removed from agriculture & farmers. You have a MUCH higher proportion of your population living in rural locations than we do. Australians are just as keen on their takeaway coffee, wifi ( we invented wifi, just so youknow ), smartphones, shiny cars, new houses & cheap junk food as anyone in the UK is.
So - I again ask the question, why such a massive difference in public opinion

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

I'll take a punt and say that since we are such a relatively young country, most people aren't that far removed from a farming past. I.e. had parents or grandparents that had a farm that they visited on school holidays... I dare say with the next generation that link will be lost.

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Plan on going to this tomorrow for a day out...If I can walk a bit better than I can now. Anyway it's nice to get away and kick some tires

Old ad, dates are not quite correct

 

[Farmer Roy]

Can't say I've stumbled onto any threads talking much about McDonald's or KFC but that's not too surprising. I don't venture to many threads. However McDonald's is for sure a very progressive advocate for agriculture here. Especially regarding Canadian beef. They're working hand in hand with projects like our Verified Beef Program and the CEO and top executives are known to do many farm tours and hold conversations directly with producers.

Generally I find producers who are against corporations like McDonald's are that way because they take marketing slogans at face value. For example antibiotic free. Now McDonald's doesn't slam that phrase around here as much as other franchises do, however they do have a strict antibiotic free standard. Which, for some reason, producers get all up on their high horses over and post multitudes of social media rants about how they're a good farmer so will treat their animals, even if companies such as _________ won't pay them for the product afterwards. Blah blah blah.

Meanwhile if the producers actually cared to look at the standards the companies have written up (Usually in extensive legal jargon a lot of the time), they'll see that the companies do not disallow animals that have been treated with an antibiotic. What they disallow is prophylactic use of antibiotics and most of the time they require the producer to have a vet examine the animal, make a diagnoses and then prescribe an antibiotic. They can't just self diagnose an issue and use OTC drugs.

Here there are actually quite a few round table type discussions where these corporations will sit down with producers and representatives and discuss industry standards and goals. If a producer feels these companies are working against them, be it in the UK or anywhere else, then it could be suggested they get off their asses and get out there and talk to the companies about their concerns and goals.

Oh yes, TFFland hate KFC ( in fact , anything to do with chicken production or meat ) McDonalds, & the public who eat it. I think they still believe everyone should live on a diet of roast beef, potatoes & milk ?

But yes, from what you describe, I think the situation in Canada sounds very similar to here.
The Australian Angus Association was very keen to have its "brand" associated with McDonalds

I knew a bloke who was a meat inspector at a local abattoir. Obviously, Maccas use "ground beef" which was always open to suggestions as to what was actually in it. He was always very defensive about such allegations, apparently their specs are very tight & they have strict quality control. Wether you like them or not, they do take their quality control & their standards very seriously.

 

[Blaithin]

I would question why urbanization equals an image of lower public opinion or support or has anything to do with it really.

I get excess chicken eggs, I will sell them for $5 a dozen.

You know who will pay $5 a dozen? City people who are absolutely removed from agriculture. Those urbanized folks.

You know who won't pay $5 a dozen? Pretty much anyone from a rural upbringing.

It has been my experience that those least likely to pay a bit more to support local producers are the producers themselves. They will tout a variety of reasons such as they can't afford it based on what they earn to it didn't cost that much when I was younger all the way to well I can produce it myself for cheaper. Yet folks in the cities are becoming big pushers of buy local, support local. Yes, urban populations are more removed and therefore less knowledgeable than many rural folks about agriculture matters, but that's not surprising. It's not like us farmers are all great minds on how to use public transit (at least I'm not!).

I would be more inclined to say it's not that the UK faces more negativity in proportion to it's population than other countries, it's just that social media brings out the negativity in all things more. It's not that the large portion of their population is bashing them, it's that the few that are are doing it very loudly. And it's so loud that then people who don't know any better hear it and believe it and then it takes time for them to learn a more balanced perspective.

(I would also probably debate the idea of a "rural" area in the UK. I'm unsure what criteria is needed for a location to meet that, but based on the population density I'm used to, that entire country is pretty non rural.)

 

[Farmer Roy]

Plan on going to this tomorrow for a day out...If I can walk a bit better than I can now. Anyway it's nice to get away and kick some tires

Old ad, dates are not quite correct

I went to Ag Quip last month, mainly because it was local
Apart from the steak sandwiches, the most interesting thing was a craft beer stand
Planting equipment is always what I am most interested in but have to admit my enthusiasm was a bit lacking this year
Good to have a day away & a bit of social interaction though

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

I unashamedly like looking at shiney new stuff besides if you dont go you dont see. That's where we saw that silage wrapper in 1996 Sure a lot of it is the same stuff most years , but it's always interesting to see the new innovations otherwise Roy youd still be sowing with a horse drawn combine

 

[Farmer Roy]

You mean like my Grandfather ?

Although the combine word will confuse the northern hemisphere types

Yeah, that's the main things about Ag Quip / Henty etc , the ability to look at something new "in the flesh" than just a brochure or online. Not many dealers have much stuff sitting in their yards, you might have to drive a long way to actually look at something

 

[Blaithin]

What’s confusing about the word combine?

 

[Farmer Roy]

What’s confusing about the word combine?

Haha - let's not go through that again