In For A "Treat"! Antibiotics on the Farm

Three weeks ago I came down with an awful cough and chest congestion.  I “stuck it out” for just about as long as I could stretch it but finally broke down and went to the doctor late on a Thursday afternoon.  It turns out there was some fluid building up in my lungs and I was put on an antibiotic (that I should have been on three days before if I wasn’t so stubborn.)  By Friday night I could breathe again, the pain of coughing was gone, and I was able to get some decent sleep.  I’m sure this story isn’t much different from anyone else’s early wintertime woes.  

Our vet and I share a selfie in the pig barns

So let’s turn the tide and apply this story to the pigs on our farm. The big difference in between the farm and the people situation is that we do not allow that animal to “stick it out” to see if it will get better.  We want to keep that animal comfortable and healthy and not allow it to develop into a more painful problem (much like I foolishly did).  If an animal on our farm shows signs of becoming ill we do exactly the same as we would do for ourselves, but rather than calling a doctor we consult our veterinarian.  Our veterinarian is an extremely important part of our farm and really is like a part of the family!  He is the one person that we can call on at any time of the day, on any day of the week, with questions about the health of our herd.  We work with him so closely that at times I think I talk to him more than I talk to my own family members!  

An "Animal Treatment Card" 

Once the health issue with a pig is discussed, our veterinarian prescribes the proper course of antibiotic to be used.  After we administer the medicine to the animal, that animal is then identified individually with a special marking.  In the sow farm, we also use “treatment cards”.  These are special cards that are placed with a sow once she has been treated with something that describes several things for us.   We are able to keep track of the animals treated and make it simple for everyone on the farm to identify them.  On the card we record the type of product used, the amount administered, the route we gave it to her (intramuscular, subcutaneous, orally, etc.), the date it was given, and the proper withdrawal date for that particular product according to the date it was given.  This card then stays with the animal until that withdrawal date is met.  This way of recording treatments is and extremely effective way for us to treat and monitor each animal on an individual basis.   Remember that all animals that are sold to the packer must have all proper withdrawal dates met.  

It is important to remember that pigs get sick just like you or I might get sick.  We as farmers are committed to being outstanding animal caretakers as well as being responsible with the tools that we use to raise a healthy pig on our farm.

Detective Work is Good for your Dinner Table

While I may not be well versed in deep and detailed agricultural issues that maybe only growing up on a farm would expose me to, I understand the basics.  I appreciate both sides.  I think people in agriculture tend to get frustrated with the average “removed from the farm” consumer and the way they are so easily swayed by fear tactics.  What we need to understand as an industry is that people are generally just confused and prepared to take in any information they can get their hands on.  They don’t know if that information is true or false, they just know if it sounds scary or safe.  But it is so hard to shake a mental picture from your head once it’s been painted for you.  How do you go about the legwork of seeking out facts when people are throwing around the terms “toxic, poison, and inhumane?” when it relates to the food you are feeding your family.  Your mind makes leaps and bounds to where it shouldn’t and suddenly you’ve made your verdict on where you stand.  

A pig at our farm settles in nice and comfy

As I have made it apparent before, I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan (my dog is named Dr. Watson, after all) and I often refer to the books or series for quotes.  I find that the detective work and fact seeking that Holmes relentlessly does to pull out the smallest details is spot on for what we as farmers wish the consumer to do when seeking facts about food and farming. There is a quote from the new BBC Sherlock series (which is amazing, seriously watch it) where Sherlock is trying to express to D.I. Lestrade how he has been deceived.  He says to him:

“Ah, Moriarty is smart. He planted that doubt in her head; that little nagging sensation. You’re going to have to be strong to resist. But you can’t kill an idea, can you? Not once it’s made a home... there (in your head).”

This sounds exactly like what fact less fear mongering has done to our beloved world of agriculture. Extreme food and animal rights activists have turned into the Moriarty’s of the farming world, cleverly planting ideas with fears disguised as “facts”.  It has made some doubt the purpose and actions of the modern day farmer. Farmers scarcely ever educated about any of these glorious and innovative leaps we have taken towards feeding a growing population and now it is made into something to be feared and avoided.  So how do we turn the consumer back into Sherlock Holmes mode and aid them in defeating the overwhelming information that is working against them?  We need to help them in seeking facts before believing theories.  True fact seeking is a tough feat nowadays in the realm of such easily obtained information where the most popular link equals the most accurate in the eyes of the internet investigator.

I can’t say that if I had not met my husband 10 years ago and moved back to the city instead of the country that I would not have been one of these consumers.  I would be scared of what to feed my family, not knowing exactly who was preaching the real facts, taking whatever mainstream media has to say as truth, and making choices from there.  I see what farming and agriculture is about firsthand now-an opportunity unfortunately so few will ever get to experience.  It may make it even more frustrating for me as I feel like I many times scramble to get the word out, set the record straight, and restore people’s faith in the community that so carefully works to bring food to the worlds table.  This is the community that I am now so proudly rooted in and raising my children amongst. 

So with this we must continue to show people what we do.  We need to share our amazing stories of our everyday lives, not just the topics we feel are important to the masses.  Sure it is important to address such concerns as they arise, but remember that it is the most mundane of chores that we repeat time and time again that is probably most fascinating to a person on the outside looking in.  Strong work ethic and focus on family was one of the most surprising things I discovered when I moved here.  Consumers need to know that our passion is getting out there every day, doing all of the important little things that make up this wonderful life that we call farming.

Our son watches as Dad drives the tractor

Fall to Winter, Change in a Blink

It’s snowing outside.  Living in the Midwest my whole life I’m neither surprised nor sad to see it come back.  Like a dinner bell it signals the end of all the hustle and bustle that fall field work brings and rings in the hush of a calmer scene in the country. As harvest 2014 wraps up and winter blows in like he owns the place I began searching through all of my pictures that I have taken over this busy season.  As you well know by now, I am hardly ever without my camera in arms reach.  As a result I have captured some of the most pure snapshots of what living and working on the farm is all about.  It is about our passion and our love for what we do.  It is about being good stewards of the land and caretakers of our animals.  It is about hoping that the next generation grows their love for the farm so much that someday maybe they too will decide to come back and be a part of it.  So without further adieu I invite you to enjoy some of my favorite pictures from this fall. 

Watching closely so that someday he can do what dad does.

Our pig buildings sit in some of the most beautiful locations

Working on the equipment before harvest begins

Picking corn wears you out!

Tractor time with your kids is quality time with your kids

TJ and Tim check the feed mill in between all of the big bins.

The sunsets and sunrises were amazing this year!

The dawn of another busy day

As we pick the corn to feed the pigs you can see our farm in the distance

Real pig farming in all of its glory.

Some like to argue that pig farming is bad for the environment

, yet this surrounding environment doesn't show that at all.

The lights come on as the sun sets so that we can work deep into the night.

Sunday mornings picking beans with the family are the best days!

The deer get a little "silly" this time of year chasing their ladies.

I just could not contain myself with all of the beautiful colors this fall.

Tractor Driving Addiction

I can remember when I was younger driving through the mighty state of Wisconsin across rolling hills lined with rows of corn.  Every summer we would head through the state from Chicago on our way to our cabin in Upper Michigan.  It was a magical time for me.  Driving across the countryside like that was one of the only times I would leave my city limits and get to see true agriculture in action.  We would zip through and gawk as farmers in their tractors worked the fields back and

forth repeatedly in what seemed like slow motion.

 

I recall thinking to myself, how in the world can anyone stand to drive back and forth for so long in basically the same place? How incredibly boring and unrewarding that job must be.  

It was only after I had moved to the farm and became that farmer working in her field that I realized what the draw to it was.  It’s addicting, plain and simple.  Time in the tractor is time to myself and time to my thoughts.  It's a time where you can feel the power and the pull of the tractor you are the captain of as you pull some heavy implement across the soil.  It’s time to play whatever music I want to and sing to it, as loud as I want.  It’s a chance to sit back and watch the beauty of the farm grow and change around you.  It’s an opportunity to watch an entire sunset, start to finish, over a rolling hill and golden fields. 

 Spring time tractor riding means the smell of fresh dirt being overturned for the first time since the frozen months, getting it ready for the planter to sew a new crop into the ground.  Time actually goes faster in the tractor.  You start at daybreak and before you know it someone is bringing you supper at the gate. I get it now.  Now that harvest is almost over I know that even though I might be happy to see my husband in person a little more, we will still gaze at that combine and tractor sitting in the shed longing for the crop to turn brown once more so that we can drive them across those wide open spaces.  Yes I think it is safe to say, I have a tractor driving addiction.

Living Rural Doesn't Mean Living Distant

There is truly not a more caring and giving community to live in than the farming community.  If there is someone in need, there are 100 people there to help them in every way possible in no time flat.  I have experienced this in the 10 years living here so many times, it is comforting and heartwarming.  I can remember thinking with hesitation that I was going to feel so isolated and distant from the world living out here a mile away from any neighbor.  Coming from a person who grew up being able to talk to their neighbor by just shouting out the window, it is an understandable concern.  But once I got here I was overwhelmed by the amount of care and closeness of everybody around.  I had never felt more surrounded by friends and family in my life. 

My father-in-law and my son at a school visit.

 I can remember one time that my dog, when he was a puppy, ran off and I found him with his head stuck in a fence and having trouble breathing.  I couldn't get him out and I needed something to clip the fence with.  Of course it happened to be the day that everyone was gone from the farm.  The only person around was my father-in-law and I knew that he was in the middle of an important meeting.  Freaking out over the thought that I might have to tell my kids that their brand new puppy was no longer with us, I called him up anyways, crying of course.  Before I knew it he was flying across the field on a four wheeler with a pair of clippers in hand.  Everyone who saw him soar out of the driveway at ridiculous speeds thought there was some accident somewhere and someone was hurt.   But alas, he was leaving his meeting to help me and my dim-witted little puppy.  He jumped off the four-wheeler with clippers-a-blazin’ and had my dog cut out in no time.  I’ll never get a dog with such a big head (or tiny brain) again.

Grandma is hardly ever without an amazing baked good-
even in stressful situations!

Then there was the time that my husband’s cousin (who is more like a brother to him) had rolled a semi truck while hauling pigs.  He was okay, the pigs were okay, and the truck was on its side in the ditch.  In the blink of an eye every family member, neighbor, and friend were on the scene and helping out.  Even the law enforcement members that came to the scene were everyone’s friend.  Worried about the accident, relieved that everyone was ok, problem solving about the clean up, everyone was there for support.  Grandma even brought over her homemade cinnamon rolls to the scene for every one helping out to have a good meal, something that she definitely does best!  It was just what we do.

The line of trucks full of corn that were helping someone in need.

Then there are times like yesterday.  There was a member of the community that needed help harvesting the rest of his corn due to an unexpected event.  Without hesitation there were multiple people with their combines lined up to help finish the rest of his crop in one day.  Our farm received all of the corn that was harvested to our feed mill.  Semi trucks full from the fields rolled by one after another like a giant freight train delivering the community members corn to us.  Our office staff grilled pork burgers for everyone involved and brought them to the farmers working in the fields and to the truckers in the scales where the corn was being unloaded.   The line of trucks waiting in line wrapped around our great big bins and out to the road at times. It was a huge effort by so many, which was never even given a second thought by anyone.  It is just what we do in the farming community to help out in every way, for every one that we can.

So it is here that I stress how it is not just about the pigs.  It is also about growing a community and respecting everyone around us that is involved, directly or indirectly.   Farming is by no means every man for himself and may the biggest man win.  It is an effort of everyone working together towards a common goal in the way that works best for them.  Our goal as farmers is to help feed the world and we lean on each other constantly to achieve that.  We take great pride in what we do and wouldn't change that for anything.

Sharing our passion with others helps them understand what
farming is really  all about.