Soybeans and Livestock

Ky Dairy Farms Continually Improving Cow Comfort

2009-10-12T09:17:00.001-05:00

Jimmy and Andy Woodall a father and son team milk over five hundred cows on the east side of Logan County. A successful well managed dairy that is always looking for new management methods or researching new technologies to improve profitability.

The newest change was converting the free stall barn ventilation from 224 box fans to 24 feet ceiling fans built by Big Ass Fan Company in Lexington. The enormous fan appropriately named pushes air over the cows which greatly improving cow comfort resulting in increased feed consumption and ultimately more milk. The energy savings off operating 18 fans with 2 horse power motors versus 224 smaller fans with 1 horsepower motors is significant. During peak months they could save as much as $2,000 a month. In the long term the repair and maintenance of 18 versus 224 motors could be huge. The energy savings alone is considerable, but to improve the cows environment to increase production will allow this investment to pay back in less than three years. The number one issue in culling cows on a dairy is reproduction. It's too early to tell if the fans have impacted cow health to the point of improving conception. Any improvement in calving interval and conception rates will positively impact the dairy's profit.

The Woodall project was assisted by a grant and loan from the USDA Rural Development Office. The program (section 9006) is titled Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Grant and guarantee loan program soon to be renamed "REAP". The USDA Rural Development Office has funding for projects that save energy or renew energy. It could be as small as insulating or as large as the Woodall's fans. Contact the USDA local Rural Development Office for details.

Jimmy and Andy Woodall willingness to look outside the norm and try a different approach have succeeded for their operation and the entire dairy industry looking to cut costs while improve the comfort of the cows. Do these big fans have application in other large animal units? Thanks to the Woodalls it will be looked at, you can count on that!

National Corn Growers Association Responds to Time

2009-09-01T14:14:00.003-05:00

Check out NCGA's comments:

http://www.agrimarketing.com:80/show_story.php?id=56287

Response to Time Magazine's Article: America's Food Crisis and How to Fix It.

2009-08-27T13:43:00.002-05:00

The media is at it again folks - Playing the blame game . Today's victim? You guessed it. Our farmers and ranchers.

Although no expert on publishing a magazine, I venture to say that Time magazine has no desire or intentions of reverting back to the way in which they ran the business in 1923, when the first issue of Time was released in the United States. Why is it then that the magazine and writer Bryan Walsh expects livestock farmers to return to agricultural practices of the early 1900’s?

Walsh’s biased allegations are disturbing. One of my first red flags was thrown at the statement, “…filling food at the literal expense of healthier produce is also a principal cause of America’s obesity epidemic.”

The obesity epidemic can only be cured by one’s own decision and behavioral change to bypass that second-helping of dessert or a “super-sized” value meal and to incorporate exercise. It is not farmers force-feeding a lesser quality of food.

The accusation that farmers cram livestock into cages and barns for extra profit is ludicrous. Maybe not every writer knows, but trust that every farmer does know, that in order for livestock to be healthy and productive they MUST be comfortable (in housing, temperature, feeding schedules, etc.) and modern agricultural practices provides just that – satisfied animals for America’s high-quality food supply.

Just last year a farmer-friend of mine invited the community out to his swine farm to see for themselves how the animals were housed, protected and cared for. Those people who were removed from the farm by several generations were surprised to see how much care and attention was given to the animals. We were even served a high-protein, high-quality pork dinner 100 feet from the barn. No one complained of odor that night, because there was no odor to complain about. I wish Walsh had been invited.

Why is the media in constant attack of farmers taking on the task of successfully feeding six billion people through modern practices? Let consumers make their own decisions. Just this weekend at my local grocery I had the choice of organic verses non-organic and free-range verses conventional food. Although I chose non-organic conventional food, I was not in the face of other consumers making a different choice. Consumers have a choice and the last time I checked that was what it was all about – the freedom to choose.

Get Real Time. I am left to wonder if this biased journalism is causing the sharp decline in paid circulation of Time. This story alone has greatly disappointed my confidence in Time as a viable news source.

The Truth About H1N1 Virus - vs. HSUS Spin.

2009-06-10T11:29:00.005-05:00

(The following letter was submitted to a Kentucky newspaper this week. - TMP)

June 8, 2009

Dear Editor,

A recent letter from J.S., which was published in your newspaper, contains several serious allegations which are completely false. The worst was this one: “The origin of H1N1 are these mass production factory farms where

pigs are forced to live in cages so small that they cannot turn around.”

After reading her letter, I spoke to two separate H1N1 specialists at the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, an expert at the American Veterinary Medical Association, and another expert at the United States Department of Agriculture. Every one of these subject matter experts stated flat-out that there is absolutely no scientific basis for the claim Ms. S. made in her letter to your newspaper.

A TIME Magazine article on the H1N1 virus (May 15, 2009) provides further details: “Scientists are still far from certain where the H1N1 virus originated or how long it may have been circulating in pigs or people (the first humane outbreak is thought to have occurred in February). So far, no pigs have been found to be infected with the virus, other than at one farm in Canada on May 2, where the swine were actually infected by a human worker.”

In her letter, Ms. S. recommends that readers go to the website of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to learn more about so-called “factory farms” (a completely misleading term). In fact, her entire letter is lifted almost verbatim from their website.

The HSUS website is the worst place to go in search of the truth about animal welfare, public health, or science.

HSUS has a long and dirty track record which exposes their true priority: money. They’re the richest animal rights (AR) group on the planet. They talk a lot about “ending animal suffering” in their fundraising requests, but less than 4% of their money goes to hands-on care of animals. Deception is their specialty.

Their website articles by Dr. Greger (an AR activist on the HSUS payroll) are a classic example. Mixing true science in with his message pushing the AR agenda, he works like a magician, keeping you so busy watching that you miss the most important thing. If you have strong critical thinking skills, or a background in science/medicine, you’ll catch the trick immediately. But lots of readers won’t notice that words like “apparently” and “arose from” completely invalidate his case.

An example of this technique of non-specificity is in Ms. S’s letter: “Some feel these hormones are being passed along to humans when they consume the meat or dairy products.” This sentence is an implicit accusation that the farm practices expose humans to health risks. It’s a trick designed to create fear and mistrust of American farmers. Look closely and you’ll see that it fails on every level.

First red flag: “Some feel...” This as vague as it gets. “Some” could consist of three ten-year-old children. “Feel” does not belong anywhere near an allegation involving the food chain and public health. Second red flag: There’s no follow-up citing evidence of any specific health risk whatsoever.

Ms. S. ends her letter with the statement: “Knowledge and awareness has never been more important.”

She’s right about that. How about if we keep an awareness of how many children will starve to death today?

HSUS has already used their deceptive propaganda to enact laws wiping out American farmers in six states, and they’ve promised to take their campaign nationwide. While HSUS is marching across our country eradicating American farmers, world hunger has climbed to a heartbreaking number of 923 million people. Children suffer the worst.

Don’t let HSUS scare you and trick you into forgetting your compassion for all those who are going hungry today.

Sincerely,

Sandi Coy, RN

Quotes From HSUS Leaders Wayne Pacelle & John Goodwin.

2009-05-15T13:51:00.004-05:00

Quotes from HSUS Leaders Wayne Pacelle and John ("J.P.") Goodwin

Think You Know the “Humane” Society of the United States (HSUS)?

HSUS has grown to be the richest “animal rights” (AR) organization on the planet by deceiving the public.

Please read the following quotes from HSUS leaders, and decide for yourself.

QUOTES FROM HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENT/CEO WAYNE PACELLE:

When asked if he envisioned a future without pets, “If I had my personal view, perhaps that might take hold. In fact, I don’t want to see another dog or cat born.” ----Current "Humane" Society of the United States (HSUS) President/CEO Wayne Pacelle, quoted in Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 266.

“I don’t have a hands-on fondness for animals…To this day I don’t feel bonded to any non-human animal. I like them and I pet them and I’m kind to them, but there’s no special bond between me and other animals.” ---Current "Humane" Society of the United States (HSUS) President/CEO Wayne Pacelle, quoted in Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 251.

“ One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals.” ---Wayne Pacelle, quoted in Animal People, May, 1993

"We would be foolish and silly not to unite with people in the public health sector, the environmental community, [and] unions, to try to challenge corporate agriculture." ---Wayne Pacelle, at the Animal Rights 2002" Convention, July 1, 2002.

“The entire animal rights movement in the United States reacted with unfettered glee at the Ban in England ...We view this act of parliament as one of the most important actions in the history of the animal rights movement. This will energise our efforts to stop hunting with hounds.” ---Wayne Pacelle, London Times, December 26, 2004

"If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would." ---Wayne Pacelle, Associated Press, Dec 30, 1991

"Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting." ---Wayne Pacelle, (Bozeman (MT) Daily Chronicle, October 8, 1991

"We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States ... We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state. ---Wayne Pacelle, Full Cry Magazine, October 1, 1990.

“The definition of obscenity on the newsstands should be extended to many hunting magazines.” ---Wayne Pacelle, quoted in Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 265.

QUOTES FROM HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES MANAGER JOHN ("J.P.") GOODWIN:

The industry has produced a booklet that they are sending out to farmers. This booklet describes security techniques that they can adopt. Security techniques which the (Animal Liberation Front) A.L.F. dismantled in Utah, putting the industry to shame. We haven't gotten a copy of the booklet yet...”

“Sadly, some so called "animal defenders" are not so supportive of these raids. Ann Davis of the Salt Lake City, Utah based Animal Rights Alliance has stated that she has already talked to the FBI, and will continue to do so. The FBI is working for the fur industry. Anyone that works with them is working hand in hand with the fur trade and is a traitor. If you don't want to be investigated then don't associate with turncoats. With friends like these, the mink are screwed...”

“Let it be stated loud and clear, that myself and the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade support these actions 100%. We will never, ever, ever work with anyone who helps the FBI stop the A.L.F.” ---JP Goodwin, “Fur Wars Heat Up. A.L.F. is on the Warpath! No Compromise, Issue 4, Fall 1996.

“My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture." ---JP Goodwin, employed at the Humane Society of the US, formerly at Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, as quoted on AR-Views, an animal rights Internet discussion group in 1996.

"We’re ecstatic," (of the fire that did almost a million dollars of damage and could have killed a caretaker family sleeping on the premises.) ---J.P. Goodwin, ALF Spokesman, Deseret News (Utah), Mar. 11, 1997.

Keep the Animal Rights Industry Out of Your Church.

2009-05-13T11:19:00.018-05:00

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "I have so much to do today that I should spend the first three hours in prayer."

I've been thinking about that quote a lot lately. I was raised in a Christian family, and I don't know how I'd get through a day without prayer. Blessed with good health, wonderful friends, a loving family, and fabulous dogs - I spend a lot of time giving thanks. I also ask for the usual things - strength, inspiration, guidance. Lately I've had to ask the Lord for something new and unexpected - help in keeping the animal rights industry out of His church.

A friend contacted me last week because her Daily Devotional had a segment which seemed like a good thing, but was a hook for a very bad thing. My friend, a devout Christian, knew what she was looking at because she knows the subversive nature and destructive agenda of the animal rights (AR) industry. Therefore, she was alarmed to see a link to the deceptively named "Humane" Society of the United States (HSUS) in her Daily Devotional. She showed it to me, and asked my opinion on the other groups with website links on the same page.

My investigation led to a mixture of good news and bad news. Here's the verdict. Christians need to be more vigilant in guarding the gate. The animal rights industry, whose hypocrisy knows no bounds, is coming soon to a church near you. (Check your Daily Devotional, they may have already infiltrated your place of worship.)

HSUS President/CEO Wayne Pacelle does his homework. He sees that American farmers are coming together to stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the animal rights industry. Farmers, now I'm speaking directly to you. Pacelle knows that you're ten times tougher and more savvy than the emotional AR cult members that he moves around like pawns on a chess board. He sees you speaking out against the animal rights movement. He knows that you are feeling a growing resolve to protect your families and your future from the destructive rampage of HSUS-driven laws.

So how does he fight you? How does he undermine you? Wayne Pacelle is a master of Machiavellian manipulation. There's nothing random about the fact that HSUS recently conned Rush Limbaugh into recording a Public Service Announcement endorsing the “Humane” Society of the United States "outreach to the faith-based community." (Random, no. Bizarre, yes. There are so many things wrong with that sentence it's enough to make your head spin.) Rush Limbaugh a spokesman for an organization that epitomizes overreaching government and destruction of individual freedoms? Black is white. Up is down. The sun is cold.

But you can bet your bottom dollar there's a method to the madness.

Limbaugh's PSA's for HSUS exploded in his face. Rush has infuriated and alienated farmers, hunters, fishermen, gun owners, responsible pet owners and breeders, scientists, doctors, and pretty much anybody who loves someone battling a dreaded disease (See "The Irreconcilable Differences of Rush Limbaugh and HSUS" on this Blog.)

Leaving Rush's credibility in smashed and scattered pieces all over the left side of the road, Wayne Pacelle didn’t even glance in the rearview mirror. He had what he wanted. And he was in a hurry. There was a church up ahead with a side door that Rush Limbaugh had opened.

My dear Christian friends, I say this with love and a protective instinct. When HSUS is reaching out to you, it isn’t because they want to trade favorite Scripture verses. Picture yourself loaded with cash, on election day, in a room full of pickpockets and Washington DC lobbyists. HSUS wants your vote and they want your money (not necessarily in that order.) Wayne Pacelle knows that Christians, compassionate by nature, give generously - and in these tough economic times, he's getting creative.

After all, HSUS is still a little bit shy of $204 million in assets, and Pacelle has to earn his six-figure salary. Earn it how? Excellent question. Less than 4% of HSUS income goes to hands-on care of animals.

When I checked out the "Web Sites for Animal Lovers" in my friend's recent Daily Devotional, three were O.K. But one (as previously mentioned) was the-worst-of-the-worst of the AR groups - HSUS. The other was a seemingly harmless website called "MyDogIsCool.com" - which is a "front" page because it contains a link which takes you to "Born Free USA" and the "Animal Protection Institute." These are both radical animal rights industry groups which support HSUS - and demonize farmers. The websites of these two organizations reveal clearly the true agenda of the animal rights movement - with inflammatory language listing the supposed cruelty of even organic and free-range farms.

And yes, of course, all of the websites of these radical AR groups relentlessly ask for donations, and encourage viewers to join their mailing lists - so they can inundate the reader daily with their propaganda/requests for money.

How do you keep the animal rights industry out of your church? Be proactive. When I spoke to someone on the editorial staff of my friend’s Daily Devotional, she had no clue about the true agenda of the AR industry, until I explained it to her. It was an innocent mistake.

(See "Got 50?" on this Blog.) Put the the editor of your Daily Devotional at the top of your "Get 50” List. Educate this person. It's important to them to ensure that Daily Devotional content is appropriate. Be a good shepherd. Help them out by teaching them the truth about the AR industry - before they inadvertently make the flock vulnerable to circling wolves.

It’s wonderful to have messages reinforcing and affirming our love of animals, in faith-based materials. But website links can be fraught with peril. The safe recommendation any Daily Devotional can make is to volunteer or donate money directly to your local animal shelter.

Your Friend in the Fight,

Tina Perriguey

The Irreconcilable Differences of Rush Limbaugh and HSUS.

2009-05-05T17:50:00.006-05:00

Rush Limbaugh’s opening line is a radio talk show classic. “With half my brain tied behind my back - just to make it fair.” It’s a funny line, but many of his most ardent supporters have begun to wonder if it’s time for him to stop phoning it in.

On April 16, Rush released two Public Service Announcements supporting the “Humane” Society of the United States (HSUS). It should be noted that their name is misleading - HSUS doesn’t operate a single animal shelter in the U.S. With well over $203 million in assets, less than 4% of their income goes to hands-on care of animals. True animal welfare advocates regard HSUS as, by far, the most dangerous “animal rights” organization in the country.

Mr. Limbaugh’s advocacy for HSUS ignited a firestorm of outrage and protests from farmers, hunters, sportsmen, responsible pet owners, and political conservatives.

In a stroke of timing that seemed to bring the Irony Police pounding on the door, on Friday, April 17th, Mr. Limbaugh held his 19th Annual Cure-A-Thon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). Although it was still ostensibly “Open Phone Lines Friday," calls protesting his HSUS support were refused. The call screener gave the excuse that Rush wanted to focus on the cause of Leukemia and Lymphoma.

I happen to know quite a bit about LLS. I’ve also done fundraising for them, but since I have no money or power, I did it the hard way - the way many Americans do - with Team In Training. This means that every dollar raised represents miles of blood, sweat and tears. Nothing like an Olympic-distance triathlon or half-marathon to prove you really want to cure cancer. Team In Training can be physically brutal, but the rewards are immeasurable - including friendships with remarkable Americans who are quite literally, fighting for their life every day. So Rush and I were on the same page on Friday April 17th, except for two things. I don’t work with half my brain tied behind my back. And perhaps that’s why I recognize that you can’t support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and HSUS at the same time.

From the HSUS website: ”The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund are actively working to end animal testing—permanently.”

Testing on non-human animals has been deemed necessary by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Americans for Medical Progress, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, Society for Neuroscience, the Deafness Research Foundation, and over 90 other charities and organizations working to alleviate suffering.*

The deafness research is a connection impossible to ignore. In May of 2001, Mr. Limbaugh was diagnosed with a hearing problem, a result of an autoimmune inner-ear disease. In October, Rush told his listeners that he was almost entirely deaf . The richest talk show host in the country had lost 100 percent of the hearing in his left ear and 80 percent in his right ear. He was relying on a TelePrompTer and assistance from his staff to understand his callers.

A cochlear implant was placed in his left ear to restore his hearing. In January of 2002 Rush announced that he could hear his own radio show "for the first time in nearly four months via a medical marvel."

Since a myriad of reasonable arguments against Mr. Limbaugh's support of the “Humane” Society of the United States have fallen on deaf ears (seriously, no pun intended) - I decided to consult the opinion of one of our nation’s most distinguished medical researchers on deafness.

Dr. Edward Walsh is a neuroscientist whose research interests include two basic disciplines: developmental auditory neurobiology and animal bioacoustics. The central themes of these interests are congenital deafness and the development of accoustical conservation protocols to reduce extinction pressures facing certain endangered species.

I asked this expert for his educated opinion on the bizarre juxtaposition of Mr. Limbaugh’s history and the new Rush/HSUS alliance. The passion of Dr. Walsh’s response reveals more than a great mind. This scientist’s heart is clearly in his work...

Dr. Ed Walsh: Rush Limbaugh would be deaf now, cut-off from “the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man,” in the immortal words of Helen Keller, if it wasn’t for Luigi Galvani. Galvani was a pioneering physician-scientist who roughly 200 years ago touched a statically charged metal probe to the detached hindquarter of a frog and watched the leg come to life, so to speak, twitching just as it had when attached to the living frog.

It was a watershed moment in the history of human experience; one of those instants in which fundamental insight is gained and the paradigm of life shifts forever. It was electricity it turned out, not fluids and humors, that activated muscles and nerves. The finding was revolutionary; it redirected the very course of biology, placing it onto a path that would lead directly to Limbaugh’s prosthesis.

While Galvani’s early reflections on the mechanism underlying the action that would one day come to be known as “bioelectricity” were incorrect, as are most first impressions, his observation triggered a long, continuous and productive sequence of scientific investigation that would lead ultimately to, among many other medical marvels, the development of the cochlear implant, the device that delivers sound driven electricity to the nerve fibers of the inner ear and connects Rush Limbaugh with the “sound of the human voice;” the device that allows him to maintain a popular radio talk show and fluently pontificate on the politics of the day.

Limbaugh is one of a rapidly growing number of profoundly deaf individuals who communicate verbally as easily and effectively as hearing individuals thanks to the advent of the cochlear implant. Galvani, along with his friend, colleague and frequent rival, Alessandro Volta, opened the eyes of the scientific community to the notion that all aspects of human sensation might be artificially activated through electrical stimulation.

Based on this profound observation, two hundred years of experimental biology involving non-human animals would be necessary to lay the foundation for preclinical and clinical efforts to realistically design and develop the prosthetic device that rescued Rush Limbaugh from a life of inescapable silence.

Today, non-human animal studies serve as the testing ground for implant revision and refinement that cannot be explored through direct experimentation on humans, in accordance with virtually all codes of morality and ethical responsibility accepted by the civilized world community.

Given all of this, it is with a sense of paradox that the popular radio talk show host is publicly supportive of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a misleading name suggesting that the group is somehow affiliated with the U.S. government, which, of course, it is not. Instead, HSUS is a prominent branch of the American animal rights movement that actively seeks “to end animal testing permanently.” How is it that Limbaugh, the beneficiary of this 200-year-long line of non-human animal experimentation, finds the will to repudiate the process that has served him so well, and for which he has taken such clear advantage?

This disconnect, this failure to connect the dots that link animal experimentation with the development of the cochlear implant is simultaneously disconcerting and discouraging. It is disconcerting because it reveals with clarity the human capacity to comment with authority from a position of ignorance. It is discouraging because it reveals the predisposition of far too many to accept the view of a non-credentialed celebrity for no reason other than his or her celebrity.

I would respectfully suggest that Mr. Limbaugh look more carefully into the dogma of the American animal rights movement, of the Humane Society of the United States, and ask himself on what grounds he can accept the extraordinary benefit of the cochlear implant, or sponsor the work of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and simultaneously endorse a group with a radical agenda that would leave him deaf and thousands upon thousands of children hopeless in the face of life threatening diseases that include leukemia and lymphoma. I claim that he cannot.

Dr. Ed Walsh, PhD

National Animal Interest Alliance

Board of Directors

May 4, 2009

Which leads to one final question. Rush, are you listening?

Tina Perriguey

*Charities on the People For the Ethical Treament of Animals (PETA) “Do Test” (on animals) List:

AIDS/HIV

1. American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR)

2. Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

3. Pediatric AIDS Foundation

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

4. Alzheimer’s Association

5. Alzheimer’s Disease Research

ARTHRITIS

6. Arthritis Foundation

BIRTH DEFECTS

7. March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation

8. Muscular Dystrophy Association

9. Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children

10. Shriners International Headquarters

11. The Smile Train

12. United Cerebral Palsy

BLIND/VISUALLY IMPAIRED

13. Foundation Fighting Blindness

14. Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund

15. Research to Prevent Blindness

BLOOD

16. American Red Cross

17. Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation, Inc

18. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America

19. National Hemophilia Foundation

BURNS

20. Shriners Burn Institute/ Shriners International Headquarters

CANCER

21. American Cancer Society

22. American Institute for Cancer Research,

23. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

24. Cancer Research Foundation of America

25. Children’s Cancer Research Fund

26. City of Hope

27. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

28. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

29. G & P Foundation for Cancer Research

30. The Jimmy Fund

31. John Wayne Cancer Institute

32. Lance Armstrong Foundation,

33. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America

34. Lombardi Cancer Center

35. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

36. National Cancer Research Center

37. National Foundation for Cancer Research

38. Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research/Lombardi Cancer Research Center,

39. The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

40. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

41. Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

42. The V Foundation for Cancer Research

CHILDREN

43. Boys Town National Research Hospital

44. Children’s Cancer Research Fund

45. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation

46. Children’s National Medical Center

47. Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

48. The Jimmy Fund

49 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF),

50. Pediatric AIDS Foundation

51. Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children/ Shriners International Headquarters,

52. The Smile Train

53. Society for Pediatric Pathology

54. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

55. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Alliance

DEAF/HEARING-IMPAIRED

56. Boys Town National Research Hospital

57. Deafness Research Foundation

DIABETES

58. American Diabetes Association,

59. Joslin Diabetes Center

60. Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International

ELDERLY

61. American Federation for Aging Research,

EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

62. National Alliance for Research of Schizophrenia and Depression

63. National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

EPILEPSY

64. Epilepsy Foundation of America

HEART

65. American Heart Association

66. National Heart Foundation

KIDNEY

67. Kidney Foundation of Canada

68. National Kidney Foundation

LUNG

69. American Lung Association

MISCELLANEOUS

70. Alliance for Lupus Research

71. American Brain Tumor Association

72. American Digestive Health Foundation

73. American Health Assistance Foundation

74. American Liver Foundation

75. American Tinnitus Association,

76. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (ALS)

77. BNI Foundation,

78. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America

79. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

80. Endometriosis Association

81. Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

82. Huntington’s Disease Society of Americ

83. Lupus Foundation of America

84. National Multiple Sclerosis Society

85. Project A.L.S

PARALYSIS

86. American Paralysis Foundation

87. Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation

88. Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association

89. Miami Project to Cure Paralysis

90. Paralyzed Veterans of America

PARKINSON’S DISEASE

91. American Parkinson Disease Association

92. Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

93. National Parkinson Foundation

94. Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Inc.,

STROKE

95. National Stroke Association

VETERANS:

96. Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association/Paralyzed Veterans of America

Stop HSUS With The Truth. Got 50?

2009-04-25T14:23:00.006-05:00

Stop HSUS With The Truth. Got 50?

Dear Editor,

I’d like to thank Tom Miller for his Advance Yeoman Ag Update 3/4/09, discussing California’s Prop 2. Scientific studies show that it would cost well over $500 million (a conservative estimate) to convert to PRE-Prop 2 standards for organic or cage-free standards - which would be a suicidal business move to satisfy the 5% of consumers who buy cage-free eggs.

But wait - it gets worse. A literal interpretation of the language of Prop 2 requires each chicken to have 5.4 square feet of space, which means that even existing California “cage-free” and organic egg-producing systems will be illegal. A scientific Promar study concluded that (on top of farm retrofitting costs), compliance with Prop 2 would increase costs to produce each egg by OVER 76%. Prop 2 was never intended to give chickens “ a little more freedom.” It was designed to destroy farmers.

In case anyone had any doubt about the true agenda of HSUS, stop and think about this. California already had stacks and stacks of cage-free eggs in every major grocery store chain in the state - sitting there waiting for anyone willing to pay more for them.

The deceptively-named “Humane” Society of the United States (HSUS) has declared that they plan to take this Prop 2 “victory” to states nationwide.

But I know a way to stop them. We can do it together. It’s called, “Got 50?”

The HSUS strategy is simple and frighteningly effective: incrementally divide and conquer. They started with ballot measures outlawing hog gestation crates in Florida and Arizona. There were very few hog farmers to fight back in these states, so the HSUS emotional, deceptive ad campaigns were a slam-dunk. Like shooting fish in a barrel, as my dad would say.

Once HSUS had the so-called “anti-cruelty” Arizona and Florida laws under their belt, they lined California up in their sights - and proceeded to destroy the future of the “California egg industry”. This “industry” is comprised of about 30 farms/companies - nearly all family-owned. One that I know of is a 7-generation family farm, passed down with love and care to each succeeding generation - until HSUS wiped out their future.

By the way, my dad is a hog farmer - so I know the truth about what HSUS convinces voters is an “anti-cruelty” measure. Gestation crates are designed to PROTECT little piglets from getting accidentally crushed to death by their mothers!

The “animal rights” (AR) movement, led by HSUS, and People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are out to destroy American farmers and replace us with a vegan society. They’ve been very clear about this goal. “Humane” Society of the United States Manager JP Goodwin declared, “My goal is to abolish all animal agriculture.” HSUS President Wayne Pacelle has stated, “One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals.”

Bruce Friedrich, PeTA's director of Vegan Outreach said, “Of course we're going to be, as a movement, blowing things up and smashing windows ... I think it's a great way to bring about animal liberation ... I think it would be great if all of the fast-food outlets, slaughterhouses, these laboratories, and the banks that fund them exploded tomorrow."

How can farmers save themselves? The same way we always have. The entire farming culture is built on us being there for each other. We have a long history of standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the face of adversity. It is this tradition that has always saved us. It is this instinctive sense of teamwork and unity that can save us now.

I’m asking my friends and fellow farmers to start today, with something called “Got 50?" It’s a goal of telling 50 people the truth about the animal rights movement. The National Animal Interest Alliance has a page of quotes from AR leaders:. http://www.naiaonline.org/articles/archives/animalrightsquote.htm

Please take a few minutes, and go read these quotes. I guarantee some of them will shock you. Please - tell your family, tell your neighbors. Use your email address book. Tell your friends at church. Knowledge is power. The AR movement has gotten this far on sheer deception. We can stop them in their tracks with the most powerful weapon of all. The truth.

(NOTE: The above Op-Ed was submitted to her local newspaper as part of the Kentucky Soybean Association Public Awareness Campaign. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to submit a Letter To the Editor or Op-Ed to your paper.)

Your Friend in the Fight,

Tina Perriguey

TPerriguey@GMail.com

Twitter at SaveUSAFarmers

The Farmer and the Dog Breeder.

2009-04-25T13:37:00.003-05:00

April 24, 2009

The Farmer and the Dog Breeder.

One day this farmer is walking down the road when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out.

A doctor passes by and the farmer shouts up "Hey you. Can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm stuck down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a friend happens to walk by. The farmer calls out "Hey Dave, it's me - can you help me out?'" And Dave jumps in the hole.

The farmer says "Have you gone stupid? Now we're both down here." Dave says "Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out."

American farmers are navigating treacherous and unfamiliar territory - a landscape of deception, emotional propaganda and legislative land mines. But there is some good news.

Responsible pet owners and breeders know this terrain all too well. It's a battlefield we've spent years on. And we know the way out.

The truth really will set you free.

If you're a farmer, please know this. The "animal rights" (AR) movement, led by the filthy rich, terribly powerful “Humane” Society of the United States (HSUS) is out to destroy your lifestyle, your income, your legacy. Don't take my word for it. AR/HSUS leaders have declared repeatedly that their goal is to abolish all animal agriculture.

There are those who might assume that soybean and corn farmers are safe from the attacks upon those who raise chickens, hogs and cattle. Indeed, the systematic destruction of U.S. animal agriculture may seem far removed from crop farming. Until you do the math. Over 75% of the soybeans produced in the U.S. go to feed the above-mentioned animals. (I don’t know the numbers on corn, but would welcome a posted comment clarifying this.)

2/3 of our land mass is incapable of producing affordable row crops. However a great deal of that land is fine for growing animals for food. Clearly, vegetable and animal agriculture are mutually dependent.

So when you look closely, it’s all kinds of American farmers who are facing the fight of their lives. Some of these farmers are acutely aware of the danger they face. Some are in denial. Still worse, others are indicating a willingness to try to bargain with/placate the enemy (HSUS). To any in the last category, I would like to mention Winston Churchill's observation, "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping he will be eaten last."

It's almost inconceivable that in a time of skyrocketing world hunger (the number of malnourished people worldwide shot up by 40 million last year) - American farmers are being wiped out by a vegan-led movement whose views differ radically from that of almost everyone on the planet. And yet, here we are.

The future of hog farmers in Arizona and Florida, egg farmers in California? Wiped out by multimillion dollar, incredibly deceptive “Humane” Society of the United States ad campaigns. When you consider that it's fellow Americans who are destroying our farmers, in the name of "morality", one thing becomes clear. It’s time to stop the madness.

I know this is planting season, and American farmers are incredibly busy. But while some of you are planting seeds, and others are taking care of chickens, hogs and cattle, the “Humane” Society of the United States is planting the seeds of your destruction.

How can you stop them? With the truth. Please see the following Op-Ed. “Got 50?”

Your Friend in the Fight,

Tina Perriguey

TPerriguey@GMail.com

Twitter at SaveUSAFarmers

Your Friend in the Fight

2009-04-16T12:16:00.001-05:00

This is my first Blog post linked to the Kentucky Soybean website, and I hope it's the beginning of a beautiful and powerful relationship. If you’re a farmer reading this, you’ve probably heard of California’s Proposition 2. If you just heard an alarm go off in your head, that’s a good thing. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is drunk with power, high on the passage of Prop 2 - a law that will likely wipe out the California egg industry. By the way, I know one of those farmers who are now contemplating the extinction of their lifestyle and income. She’s smart, super nice, hard working, dedicated. She’s the 7th generation of her family farming tradition. Very little hope now of the 8th generation getting to carry on their heritage.

HSUS has declared they’re taking this “victory” to other states nationwide. I’m not a farmer, so I won’t claim to know what’s on the Top 5 List of things that farmers worry about. Truth be told, what I don’t know about farming would fill the Grand Canyon. But I do know the animal rights movement, and I’m here to tell farmers this. If HSUS isn’t on your Top 5 List of concerns, I suggest bumping something else off. (By the way, HSUS has a dizzying list of subsidiaries and shadow groups - to be named later.)

When Jaime Vincent suggested that I start a Blog on the Kentucky Soybean website as part of our newly launched Public Awareness Campaign, I thought it was a marvelous idea. I then realized I needed to introduce myself. Turns out that’s not as easy as it sounds, especially when your life has been somewhat unconventional.

I’ll start with this. I love farmers, and I am fiercely protective of those I love. It’s no accident that my dog of choice is the working German Shepherd. Ever see that joke, “How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?” German Shepherd: I’ll change it as soon as I’ve led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven’t missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation.

I’ve been fighting the “animal rights” (AR) movement since 2005. Back then, my life was mostly about training working German Shepherd Dogs - many of them preparing for a future as police dogs. (I started training dogs professionally in 1996 - before that I had a career in the horse business. Throughout my adult life, I’ve also worked as a writer, with many articles published in various magazines. During the 2008 California election campaign, while HSUS was promoting Prop 2, I was working full-time on a Congressional race.)

Anyway, back to 2005... I began to notice more and more “breed-specific-legislation” (BSL) being enacted in different states throughout the country, and it worried me. BSL includes mandatory spay/neuter (MSN) of dogs deemed “dangerous” - pit bulls always top the list, but the lists of named breeds targeted were growing longer, and in some places German Shepherds were named... These laws seemed to always be driven by AR groups, and I saw a pattern emerging. I had a strong suspicion these emotion-fueled laws were the tip of the iceberg.

Toward the end of 2006, I began writing articles warning about the danger. What I didn’t know at the time was that the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky was about to make all my dire predictions come true.

In January of 2007, Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson signed into law the most draconian, unconstitutional piece of anti-pet legislation anyone had ever seen. Reading the highlights of the 91-page ordinance was painful in a visceral way- a lot like watching someone tear up the Constitution and then set it on fire.

What made it even more scary was that this could happen in animal-loving Kentucky - home of the Kentucky Derby and the annual Rolex Kentucky 3-Day-Event. If such a terrible law could happen here, it could happen anywhere.

This fight is the good news/bad news deal. The bad news is that the AR movement has gained an awful lot of traction. The good news is that they’ve gained nearly all of it by operating on lies and deception. We can stop them in their tracks with the truth. Percentage-wise, very few people in our country have a clue as to the true agenda of the animal rights movement. Exposing the truth? That’s my job, but it’s yours too. (See “Got 50?”)

Back to trying to introduce myself... My love of horses led to my love of farmers. My family lived in a nice home in the suburbs, definitely not farm country - there was a golf course across the street. But, thank God, my dad and I shared a love of horses. So my parents indulged me by driving me out to the country for weekly horseback riding lessons. We started with Western to “get my feet wet”, but quickly transitioned to English and hunter/jumper riding.

The things you remember vividly are the things that touch your soul. I was five years old the first time I sat a horse at a canter, and I remember every detail like it was yesterday.

What genetic and environmental forces shape us? Hard to figure. That golf course across the street that my parents loved, and that Tiger Woods would have loved at the same age as me? I saw it as a big wasted space. LIke Tiger Woods, I handled a golf club at a young age. And that’s where the resemblance ends. I gutted it out for one summer. I had no talent, and spent the entire time on the greens thinking it was ridiculous to have such a wonderful cross-country course with no fences or horses.

When I was 12 years old, my parents made a decision that was to shape my future in almost every way. They bought a small horse property and my first horse, and we moved to my version of heaven. But like everything, it came with a price. We didn’t just move a few miles away. We moved from Indiana to Michigan, and left an entire life behind. Friends, school, neighborhood - many of the things that help a 12-year-old girl feel anchored in life - all left behind.
What I didn’t know was that God was sending me something like an angel to help navigate the uncharted territory of this strange new land. She rode up on horseback the first day, as we were unloading furniture and boxes. Her name was Debbie. She lived a few miles away, and just wanted to introduce herself. Debbie was in her early twenties. She and her husband were farmers. They lived right next door to her parents, who were also farmers.

Debbie took me under her wing like a big sister. She introduced me around the horse show circuit, she hauled my horses to shows. She coached me and mentored me. Once she realized I could really ride, she put me in the saddle on top of her best Quarter Horse gelding. Getting off my young filly and onto him was a lot like going straight from a Volkswagen to a Ferrari. Looking back, I think that was the day that led to a career galloping racehorses on the track. That was also the day that led to countless miles racing cross-country courses - flying over jumps, walls and water, on top of Thoroughbreds who outgunned even me in their love of speed and defiance of gravity.
Debbie was, in every way, a loyal and generous friend. She encouraged me and tested me. She helped me find out what I was made of, in the only way this can be done. She pushed me past my limits. Debbie, her husband, her parents and the other farmers I knew in my formative years - they all shared the same characteristics. They were the people who expected you to do your very best. They were also the people that you always knew you could count on.

We’ve all heard that expression. “He’d give you the shirt off his back.” I’ve always been sure the first time someone said that, they were talking about a farmer.

Next post topic: “Got 50?” How to protect USA farmers from “animal rights” activists.

Your Friend in the Fight,
Tina Perriguey
TPerriguey@GMail.com