Two Maids a Milking

Check out Amy and Liz Kelsay's blog with highlites of their lives on a dairy farm.
www.twomaidsamilking.blogspot.com

E15 Pretty Good Stuff

Growth Energy reaffirmed its steadfast support of E15, pointing to facts and extensive testing instead of relying on misinformation and inaccurate data. While critics are entitled to their own opinions, they are not entitled to distort the facts on the performance and reliability of E15. The truth is that E15 is better for the environment, reduces our dependence on foreign oil, provides consumers savings at the pump and has definitively proven its reliability under some of the most demanding conditions. “The continued campaign against E15 has been one that is filled with misinformation and misleading data,” stated Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “The reality is they are completely dismissing the fact that E15 is the most tested fuel to date, with extensive testing done by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, with results showing no significant difference between gasoline without any ethanol and an E15 blend.”

In examining the recent study of today’s Coordinating Research Council there is a fundamental flaw in their conclusion as they failed to use a baseline of E10 in their engine testing. E10 makes up virtually our entire nation’s gasoline supply. This fact alone invalidates their study, rendering all of the data flawed.  Buis continued, “The EPA tests were much more thorough, testing more engines for longer periods, and for 120,000 miles and the results were consistently clear – E15 did not produce any negative effects. If that is not enough, consider the fact that NASCAR has run close to two million miles on E15 in some of the toughest engine conditions imaginable with no problems whatsoever. As a matter of fact, their extensive use of E15 has shown the benefits of increased horsepower and performance. “Most concerning of all, is a resistance by groups to end our addiction to foreign oil by refusing the American people the voluntary choice of E15 in a free market. While the large oil companies continue to espouse their support of a free market, they have put roadblocks up at every opportunity to prevent the free choice they claim to champion so dearly,” Buis concluded.

America’s continued addiction to foreign oil and the whims of OPEC affects our energy security and prices at the pump, while failing to acknowledge the reality that we must adopt a comprehensive energy strategy; by accepting the status quo, Americans will not only be denied a choice, but it would display a dangerous message to the world that the United States is not serious about true energy security.

Handling Beef Cattle "BQA" best practices

BQA handling practices impact quality

Cattlemen have long recognized the need to properly care for their livestock. The checkoff’s Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program develops tools based on sound animal husbandry practices and decades of practical experience and research, which is known to impact the well-being of cattle.

Besides animal health protocols, BQA encompasses cattle handling and facility design, which can greatly impact beef quality and ultimately the profitability of producers. BQA offers training videos on cattle handling and facility design from Dr. Temple Grandin and other low-stress cattle handling experts.

Here are some samples of BQA YouTube videos that feature cattle handling tips and facility design plans:

• Permanent facility design, featuring Dr. Temple Grandin, Colorado State University
• Handling systems for small operations, featuring Curt Pate, South Dakota cattleman
• Cattle handling during weaning, featuring Dr. John Maas, University of California - Davis
• Cattle handling tips for moving bulls, featuring Dr. Ron Gill, Texas A&M University

For more BQA videos, visit the National BQA YouTube channel.

Putnam Co. Election Results

Putnam County election results

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

County Commissioner Dist. 1(R) (4,664 total votes)
David E. Berry -- 38.96 percent (1,817 votes)
Jake Zaring -- 36.49 percent (1,702 votes)
James Rodney Fenwick -- 24.55 percent (1,145 votes)
(D) (578 total votes)
Jeffrey Oliver Blaydes -- 100 percent (578 votes)
County Council At-large
(R) (12,408 total votes -- each votes for 3)
Gene R. Beck -- 64.11 percent (2,652 votes)
Larry L. Parker -- 61.23 percent (2,533 votes)
Phillip J. (Phil) Gick -- 54.24 percent (2,243 votes)
Stephanie Summitt-Campbell -- 52.5 percent (2,172 votes)
Tina L. Fogle -- 46.68 percent (1,931 votes)
Ty Hampe -- 21.21 percent (877 votes)
(D) No candidate filed
County Commissioner Dist. 3
(R) (4,005 total votes)
Donald K. Walton -- 100 percent (4,005 votes)
(D) No candidate filed
United States Rep. District 4
(R) (3,922 total votes)
Todd Rokita -- 100 percent
(D) (602 total votes)
Tara E. Nelson -- 59.14 percent (356 votes)
Lester Terry Moore -- 40.86 percent (246 votes)
State Senator District 24
(R) (2,539 total votes)
Connie Lawson -- 100 percent (2,539 votes)
(D) (343 total votes)
Charles Albert Bender -- 100 percent (343 votes)
State Senator District 37
(R) (1,731 total votes)
Rodric D. Bray -- 53.55 percent (927 votes)
Ryan Goodwin -- 46.45 percent (804 votes)
(D) (230 total votes)
Jim S. Cahill -- 100 percent (230 votes)
State Rep. for District 44
(R) (4,128 total votes)
James (Jim) Baird -- 100 percent (4,128 votes)
(D) No candidate filed
County Auditor
(R) (3,868 total votes)
Lorie L. Hallett -- 100 percent (3,868)
(D) (564 total votes)
Wilma Phipps -- 100 percent (564 votes)
County Treasurer
(R) (3,929 total votes)
Sharon Owens -- 100 percent (3,929 votes)
(D) No candidate filed
County Coroner
(R) (3,849 total votes)
David R. (Dave) Brown -- 100 percent (3,849 votes)
(D) No candidate filed
Precinct Committeeman Fox Ridge
(R) (126 total votes)
Joan P. Billman -- 50.79 percent (64 votes)
Douglas Nally -- 49.21 percent (62 votes)
Precinct Committeeman Cloverdale 1
(R) (169 total votes)
Pat McFadden, Sr. -- 56.80 percent (96 votes)
Audra Vickroy -- 43.20 percent (73 votes)
State Convention Delegates
(R) (42,469 total votes -- each votes for 12)
H. Keith Berry -- 3,378 votes
Marsha S. Carrington -- 2,769 votes
Gerald E. Ensor -- 2,796 votes
Donald K. Walton -- 2,739 votes
Darwyn Nelson -- 2,605 votes
Richard Coffin -- 2,604 votes
Sherrie Fenwick -- 2,480 votes
Joan P. Billman -- 2,369 votes
C. Jane Snellenberger -- 2,192 votes
Jennifer J. Coletta -- 2,173 votes
Carol Sweet -- 2,129 votes
Charles Hendrixson, III -- 2,082 votes
Clyde Flynn Coulter, Jr. -- 2,042 votes
Kevin D. York -- 1,986 votes
Matthew A. Manzano -- 1,963 votes
Dan G. Snellenberger, Sr. -- 1,888 votes
Michael Trisler -- 1,558 votes
Elizabeth N. Suddarth -- 1,380 votes
Joshua M. Snellenberger -- 1,336 votes
President of the U.S.
(R) (4,636 total votes)
Mitt Romney -- 61.58 percent (2,855 votes)
Ron Paul -- 17.08 percent (792 votes)
Rick Santorum -- 13.83 percent (641 votes)
Newt Gingrich -- 7.51 percent (348 votes)
(D) (537 total votes)
Barack Obama -- 100 percent (537 votes)
United States Senator
(R) (4,923 total votes)
Richard E. Mourdock -- 59.80 percent (2,944 votes)
Richard G. Lugar -- 40.20 percent (1,979 votes)
(D) (569 total votes)
Joe Donnelly -- 100 percent (569 votes)
Governor
(R) (4,208 votes)
Mike Pence -- 100 percent
(D) (547 total votes)
John R. Gregg 100 percent (547 votes)

© Copyright 2012, Greencastle Banner-Graphic

2012 Primary Election Candidates

Election Office Candidate Party US PRESIDENT NEWT GINGRICH REPUBLICAN US PRESIDENT RON PAUL REPUBLICAN US PRESIDENT MITT ROMNEY REPUBLICAN US PRESIDENT RICK SANTORUM REPUBLICAN US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA DEMOCRATIC UNITED STATES SENATOR RICHARD G LUGAR REPUBLICAN UNITED STATES SENATOR RICHARD E MOURDOCK REPUBLICAN UNITED STATES SENATOR JOE DONNELLY DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR MIKE PENCE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR JOHN R GREGG DEMOCRATIC UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE - DISTRICT 4 TODD ROKITA REPUBLICAN UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE - DISTRICT 4 LESTER TERRY MOORE DEMOCRATIC UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE - DISTRICT 4 TARA E NELSON DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR - DISTRICT 24 CONNIE LAWSON REPUBLICAN STATE SENATOR - DISTRICT 24 CHARLES ALBERT BENDER DEMOCRATIC STATE REPRESENTATIVE - DISTRICT 044 JAMES (JIM) BAIRD REPUBLICAN COUNTY AUDITOR - PUTNAM COUNTY LORIE L HALLETT REPUBLICAN COUNTY AUDITOR - PUTNAM COUNTY WILMA PHIPPS DEMOCRATIC COUNTY TREASURER SHARON OWENS REPUBLICAN COUNTY CORONER DAVID R (DAVE) BROWN REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 1 DAVID E BERRY REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 1 JAMES RODNEY FENWICK REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 3 - PUTNAM COUNTY DONALD K WALTON REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 1 JAKE ZARING REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 1 JEFFREY OLIVER BLAYDES DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COUNCIL AT-LARGE GENE R BECK REPUBLICAN COUNTY COUNCIL AT-LARGE TINA L FOGLE REPUBLICAN COUNTY COUNCIL AT-LARGE PHILLIP J (PHIL) GICK REPUBLICAN COUNTY COUNCIL AT-LARGE TY HAMPE REPUBLICAN COUNTY COUNCIL AT-LARGE LARRY L PARKER REPUBLICAN

Standing Up for Agriculture

Bullying the Farm Kid 5/4/2012 8:35:41 AM Laurie Johns

It’s a parent’s nightmare; seeing your child bullied for standing up for his lifestyle or what he believes.  When your child is targeted or ridiculed by another child, you see it as an opportunity for intervention; teach appropriate behavior so each child comes to appreciate their differences while hopefully becoming more respectful adults. 

But, what do you do if your child is bullied by an adult, an adult who disagrees with your child’s lifestyle or pokes fun at his passion?  That’s what happened to Jamie Pudenz at the recent FFA Convention in Ames. 

Jamie, a shy farm kid from Carroll, is one of those rare finds; a teenager who works hard, doesn’t complain and speaks glowingly about his parents, his teachers, his fellow students.  He sets the bar high for himself and constantly strives to push himself.  His passion for the land and livestock is the very quality you hope all future farmers possess.

FFA Advisor Kolby Burch says when this football-playing  junior takes on a new project, he tackles it with the seriousness of a preacher preparing for a Sunday sermon.  It was quite a challenge for him to enter the FFA Public Speaking contest.  His entry, “Unveiling the HSUS and the Need for Animal Agriculture,” was written with passion.   He spent months preparing and practicing out-loud.  He sailed through preliminary contests, but took the stage at state, knowing it was a controversial subject for a wider audience. “I knew going to the state level, I’d face resistance; I put it in the back of my head, just went to the front of the room, took a deep breath and got started,” said Jamie. 

According to the rules, the purpose of the FFA Public Speaking event is “to develop agricultural leadership, communication skills and promote interest in leadership and citizenship by providing member participation in agricultural public speaking activities.”  While the rules state that judges don’t need an ag background, they should all be ‘competent and impartial.’  Normally, judges are chosen well in-advance, but because of a scheduling snag, a last-minute FFA alumni from Illinois became the third judge. 

As soon as Jamie finished his speech, the volunteer judge, decked out in Birkenstock sandals, white socks, a rumpled cotton shirt and jeans, leaned forward and asked, “Is feeding cattle 100 percent efficient?”   Jamie wasn’t sure at first what to say.  “I closed my speech about livestock and how we feed them corn because they can’t be sustained on grass alone, so I told him we feed them out and it’s much more efficient.  But before he let me finish he said, “No, you’re completely wrong.” 

He then proceeded to berate Jamie on how animals are meant to be raised on pasture and raising them indoors is a perversion of nature, horrible for the environment and the cause of all society ills. He then jabbed a finger at him and said, “And, another thing, you call this a ‘Works Cited’ page? Who taught you how to do a ‘Works Cited’ Page? This is a mess!” 

Jamie says he was surprised by the harsh tone and unsure of the implications of the comment, so he defended his English teacher who helped him with the ‘Works Cited’ formatting. 

FFA advisor Burch says the burly teen held his composure, but was choking back emotion after he left the room, his confidence shaken. 

Jamie Pudenz isn’t interested in a career as a public speaker or writer.  He doesn’t dream of being a politician or sportscaster.  He wants to be a farmer, just like his dad.   “We need livestock production around. If I don’t’ start talking about the threats against us now, it’s myself, my friends, my neighbors who will pay. If HSUS shuts us down, I’m out of a job. So are so many other kids like me."

I believe, as most farmers do, that consumers should have a choice when it comes to their food and farmers do their best to provide them.  There will never be a return to the days when everyone farmed the same way and consumers didn’t care for the narrative.  Consumer demand for choice should be the tie that binds Iowa’s incredibly diverse farmers together.    And, choosing one type of food production over another shouldn’t involve ‘shooting the messenger,’  whether that messenger is a consumer, a farmer or a child.  Anything less is, well, being a bully.

But, at the end of the day it seems to me Jamie can already teach a valuable lesson to those who think it’s someone else’s job to ‘do PR.’   He won’t give up.  His quest to tell the diverse story of ag is even bolder because of the resistance he met in a wider audience.   He’s ready for ‘round two.’  How about you?

Vegan book goes over the edge....

“Vegan Is Love” is the title of a new children’s book by Ruby Roth. While I grew up on innocent Disney fairytales, the Bernstein Bears, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, Roth introduces young people to the horrors of eating meat, and she goes way too far in the process.

A book review from MSN reads, “Vegans, you can abdicate yourself from the pinnacle of the food chain, but don't try to scare us off our bacon sundaes. And, please don't try to make our kids read Ruby Roth's new book, ‘Vegan Is Love,’ a gorgeously illustrated but sinister children's book that graphically depicts bleeding, slaughtered animals and describes their deaths as violent and sad. It's no wonder Roth's unsmiling stepdaughter told The Today Show her favorite food is kale. Critics say the book encourages vegan kids to see their meat-eating friends as cold-blooded killers. One thing is for sure: As far as bedtime stories go, you're better off with ‘Goodnight Moon.’

“Vegan Is Love” is Roth’s second shot at targeting children to push forward her vegan agenda. Her first book, “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals” encourages kids to avoid parks, circuses, horse races and eating meat.

I believe it’s important to educate kids about where their food comes from. Show them seeds are planted in the soil to grow vegetables. Teach them about how cattle and sheep grazing in the pasture convert grass into protein for us to eat. Tell them that bacon comes from pigs, and eggs come from chickens. Correct them when they think chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Explore farms and ranches, learn about careers in agriculture and teach them how to be confident in the kitchen. These are all important lessons for kids.

However, using fear tactics and dramatic illustrations to scare kids away from healthy, nutritious animal proteins is just wrong. What do you think about the book, “Vegan Is Love?”

Check out these children’s books that celebrate animal agriculture and show your kids how you can love animals and the planet and still enjoy meat and dairy products.

“Levi’s Lost Calf” by Amanda Radke

“Star Becomes A Mother” by Rianna and Sheridan Cheney

“Peekaboo Farm” by Charlie Gardner 

“Open The Barn Door” by Christopher Santoro

“Little House On The Praire” by Laura Ingalls Wilder