Putnam County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting

The Annual Farm Bureau meeting was held Tuesday night at the County Fairgrounds Community building. Highlights of the meeting included the election of Steve Cash as the new County President, keynote speaker Megan Ritter discussing current legislation, a successful Silent Auction to help support the FB Young Farmers, and the discussion of 5 policies that will be presented to the State FB Policy committee. Next up will be the District 5 Spring meeting at Thorntown on March 6th and Ag Day coming up on March 10th. Be sure you pick up a Banner on Thursday March 8 for a copy of the Ag edition.

PETA saves 24 pets in 2011

PETA Killed 95% Of Pets In Its Care In 2011, Watchdog Group Charges

by Amanda Radke in BEEF Daily

Feb. 28, 2012 5:51am

• RSS

PETA focuses more on fundraising than saving animals.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an organization known for its uncompromising animal-rights positions, killed more than 95% of the pets in its care in 2011, charges the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF). Is this what PETA, an organization of self-proclaimed animal lovers, calls “caring for” and “saving” animals?

The documents, obtained from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, were published online by CCF, a non-profit watchdog of nanny-state groups. In fact, CCF says 15 years’ worth of similar records show PETA has killed more than 27,000 animals at its headquarters in Norfolk, VA, since 1998.

CCF reports that PETA killed 1,911 cats and dogs last year, finding homes for only 24 pets. By the way, PETA has a $37-million annual budget. Read more about it here.

This signifies all the empty promises made by PETA to all the folks who generously offer their hard-earned money to help save animals. At a time where local animal shelters have a hard time keeping their doors open, national organizations like PETA and Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) greedily take in tens of millions of dollars each year claiming to save unwanted pets but instead use it for salaries, pension funds and more fundraising campaigns. All of this is in an effort to abolish animal ownership, whether it be pets or livestock, destroy the integrity of personal property rights, and promote vegan and vegetarian lifestyles.

“PETA hasn’t slowed down its slaughterhouse operation,” says Rick Berman, CCF’s executive director. “It appears PETA is more concerned with funding its media and advertising antics than finding suitable homes for these dogs and cats.”

Requesting the FTC to investigate HSUS

A recent Freedom of Information Act request revealed that since December 2011 more than 120 complaints have been filed with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the Humane Society of the United States. Now, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the deceptive fundraising practices of HSUS.

Dozens of the complaints come from Americans who have given money to HSUS. HumaneWatch.org, a project for the Center contends that HSUS’s deceptive advertising helps fool the unsuspecting public. A recent analysis found that more than 85 percent of the animals in HSUS’s TV appeals between January 2009 and September 2011 were cats and dogs. According to HSUS tax returns, just 1 percent of the money donated to HSUS is sent to hands-on pet shelters.

A recent public poll determined that 71 percent of Americans believe that HSUS is a pet shelter umbrella group, and 68 percent think HSUS spends most of its money on pet shelters.

Source: NAFB News Service

Ag Day Proclaimed to be March 10, 2012

This year's Ag Day will be held Saturday, March 10th at the Putnam County Fairgrounds, Community Building. The Ag Breakfast will start at 8 a.m. with a program at 9 a.m. and the mini farm fest will begin at 9:30 a.m. till noon. Above the County Commissioners Gene Beck, Kristina Warren, and Nancy Fogle sign the proclamation to announce the Annual activity.

Farm Bureau Scholarships

Putnam County Farm Bureau Inc. Scholarship applications are due in the local Farm Bureau office at 1001 N. Jackson St. Greencastle by March 1. Applicants parent's must have been Farm Bureau members for at least 2 years for the children to be eligible. Contact the local FB office at 653-9797 for more information or go to the Indiana Farm Bureau website to download an application.

New link

growers-edge.com
Very informative site. Just go to the link and arrive at the site. Join in for free and receive extensive crop marketing information.

Dept. of Labor - Youth working on Farms

The proposed Dept. of Labor rules on youth working on farms has heard from Farm Bureau. Your advocacy on this issue certainly was a factor in DOL’s decision this week to re-propose the “parental exemption” in the child labor rule. While this is good news, much more work is needed. Even with the changes, the proposed rule would infringe on the traditional rights of family farms and unnecessarily restrict the ability of young people to work in agriculture.
Farm work has always played a significant role in the lives of youth across Indiana, whether they are milking cows on their grandparents’ farm, detasseling corn as a summer job or picking apples in the fall. DOL’s rule would have a detrimental effect on family farms and would create an even tighter supply of already-tight farm labor.