MOFB’s Cut to the Chase: Modern agriculture: a real cause for celebration

Everyone likes the smell of bacon, ham or pork chops, as long as the smell comes from their plate. Whether good or bad, Americans are so accustomed to having safe and affordable food they rarely consider its source. This is National Agriculture Week, a great opportunity for all Americans to take a moment to consider everything that went into getting that chop to their dinner plate.

Today’s agriculture producers wear many hats. Not only are they good stewards of the land and environment, they also lead the way in technological advancements, food safety, animal care and generating a good economy. I should know. Not only am I a hog producer, but I also have five generations of farming flowing in my blood.

As farmers, my husband’s and my livestock’s well-being comes first. Our facilities are designed to isolate our herds to protect their health and safety. This controlled environment allows for monitoring the animals’ health while protecting them from weather extremes and predators. Sows are kept in stalls to protect them during their pregnancies, and to prevent them from rolling on top of their piglets and injuring them.

Each sow is given a bath prior to giving birth in a room where the temperature is maintained at 70 degrees for comfort. Special heat lamps are hung over the birthing stalls to provide added warmth for the newborn piglets. A birthing attendant monitors the birthing process and provides assistance to the sows.

All our workers are Pork Quality Assurance Level III certified to emphasize good management practices in the handling and use of animal health products. All truck drivers are Trucker Quality Assurance certified to encourage dedication to transporting and delivering the highest quality, safest product possible to remain competitive in U.S. and world markets.

Like most producers, we try to boost our local economy by only purchasing grain within our community. As good neighbors, we go above and beyond federal standards of managing manure by treating it and applying it into fields using a technique called knifing, which incorporates the fertilizer into the soil and helps further protect water quality. We also give some to other people to be used as fertilizer.

Farmers and ranchers are the first environmentalists, maintaining and improving the soil and natural resources to pass on to future generations. We test our soil, water, and even manage our nutrients so they are applied in the safest manner for the environment.

Because of technology, U.S. farmers are producing not only more food, but higher-quality food at a lower cost to consumers. Your family derives health and nutrition benefits from modern changes in farm production, like less fat in meat. Consumers demand high-quality, lean and flavorful meat at a fair price, which we provide because of modern technology. We are more efficient today than at any time in history.

So, the next time you bite into that juicy pork chop, remember it wasn’t hatched on your grocery store’s shelf. Because of modern agricultural practices, as well as the best producers in the world, we have many great reasons to celebrate March 18-24 as National Agriculture Week.

(Chris Chinn, a hog producer in Clarence, Missouri, is chair of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmer and Rancher Committee.)