This morning I woke up and read an e-mail from the N.D. Dairy Coalition filling me in on the news that there has been another disturbing video released from the group 'Mercy for Animals' showing a New Mexico Dairy inhumanely treating their dairy cows and calves. I read the article stating that there "shows workers punching, kicking and whipping cows and shocking their genitals with electric prods, tossing calves into truck beds, using heaving equipment to force sick animals into confined spots and committing other types of abuse.."
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2014/09/17/cheese-animal-cruelty-dominos/15774569/
As a dairy farmer, this is not the first time that I have been told about "undercover videos" on dairy farms showing inhumane treatment and downright cruelty. I very, very vividly remember the first time I ever saw one of those videos when I first married into my husband's dairy farm family. It was about 10 years ago and my husband told me very solemnly to "come look at this" on the internet. What I saw in 5 seconds had my stomach rolling, tears streaming down my face, my heart hurting, and a rage towards the person that was inflicting pain on a calf that I wanted to reach through the computer, grab the stick out of his hand and do to him exactly what he did to the calf (Now that is NOT the correct thing to do because that won't solve anything but doesn't part of you want to give them a piece of their own medicine?!?)
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| This is one of my calves on my dairy. Adorable. Who would hurt want to hurt her!?! |
There are so many emotions that go through me as once again there is another video released. So let me speak from the heart and address a couple issues that I have the most problem with coming from a dairy farmer perspective:
1. I understand that this is an undercover video, but how in the world can the person that is "filming" this footage stand by idly and watch this abuse take place and NOT INTERVENE and STOP IT!!! What the heck are you trying to prove by having abuse after abuse footage and allowing an animal to be hurt for the sake of filming a video? Are you taking the stance that "it is for the bigger picture"? Well, what about THAT specific cow? What about THAT calf? Where is YOUR so-called "mercy" that you preach so highly of yourself and your group??? All life is sacred and should be protected. Where were you to stop the mistreatment? Why didn't you be the voice for that animal and stay "STOP!"
2. Could this video possibly be a set-up where the cruelty was "staged"? I have been to many dairy farms and I have never and I mean never seen cruelty or inhumane acts such as depicted in this video. Would this "Mercy For Animals" do this just to advance their own agenda? Something to consider...
3. As a dairy farmer we stand firmly on we don't condone or allow any mistreatment of animals in any way shape or form on our dairy farm. But, I do have to say, there are times that to a non-farm person that it may seem like we are "hurting" our animals. There is a great Blog by a fellow dairy farmer, Dairy Carrie, addressing that issue entitled "Sometime We Are Mean To Our Cows" :
http://dairycarrie.com/2013/12/09/cowabuse/
This is definitely worth the read and will give a different perspective from the dairy farmers side. But, let me get this straight right off the bat: WE ARE NOT ABUSING OUR ANIMALS! There are times on a dairy farm that we have to do things such as lift a down cow, that from a non-farmer can look cruel and inhumane, but it isn't. Read her blog, she does a fantastic job of explaining it. Just to reiterate, lifting a down cow and whipping them with a chain aren't even close to the same thing, obviously, but really scrutinize whether they are trying to intentionally hurt or help the animal.
4. Dairy Farmers you need to do everything in YOUR power to make sure this is not happening on your farm! Now I understand you can't be at your farm 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we need to trust our employees to make sure that they take care of not only your animals, but your farm when you aren't there. But there are certain steps you can take to make sure you hire the best employees, to your knowledge!
Such As:
A. We have Cameras all over our farm! We have 14 different cameras set-up all over our farm from the calf barn, to the cow barn, to the feed area, to the offices, the shop, etc. It is DVR recorded so that if there is ever an issue, we hit the rewind button and can see exactly what happened because WE HAVE IT ON TAPE! It is also recording nonstop so we can hand the tape over to the proper authorities if needed (and we pray that we won't have to). But our employees know that we can see them at all times. Also, another feature is the cameras are linked to our phones so even we aren't there, we can jump on our phone and watch in 'real time' what is exactly happening right now! So fellow dairy farmers, if you don't have a security system/cameras, get one!
B. Make sure when you hire a new employee, have specific protocols that you have in place so that they know exactly what your farm stands for! We have a very in-depth hiring process that we go through with a new employee. Our farm has over a 30 page 'New Hire Protocol Book' with multiple things that the owner and the new employee will go through step-by-step. The owner will explain each page, the new employee will ask any questions or concerns, and then they will both SIGN and DATE each page saying they understand and accept full responsibility! The first is a 'Code of Conduct' which states specifically what the rules and regulations are on this farm such as our ethics, morals, and character that we expect from EVERY employee. Then we go through our dairy farms' Mission Statement and why we are dairy farmers and we expect them to represent and uphold that at all times. Next is a 23 page Handbook that further discusses the rules, regulations, behavior, reprocussions, disciplinary action, etc in detail. Lastly, our farm specifically addresses humane treatment of animals. It is a program called "See It, Stop It" that boldly states that there will be no unethical, cruel, or inhumane treatment of animals or towards other people allowed on our farm PERIOD. It also states that if you see or witness any inhumane treatment and do nothing to stop it, you are JUST AS GUILTY as the person who committed the act! Obviously the person that was filming the undercover video for 'Mercy for Animals' didn't have to sign this type of contract because in ours it says that both parties will be prosecuted to the fullest extent! Then lastly spend time training, educating, and coaching your employees not just when they are new, but continually! Each one of these steps are in-place to protect the farm, the animals, the employees, and also my family.
C. Conduct background checks, references, and past employers of your employees! Do your research on anyone wanting to come work on your farm. My family lives right next to the dairy farm so I am very protective of anyone who sets foot on it let alone work here. All my employees know this and some are just as protective of our dairy, if not more, than we are!
5. Owners: stay involved on your farm! We are constantly at our dairy at all hours of the day and night "just checking on things". My husband is the person on-call when something goes wrong and so there are many times at 2 a.m. he is over there fixing a motor, I.V.ing a down cow, or whatever emergency has come up. Don't just stick your head in the sand and rely on your employees to do everything. Lead by example!
6. Have employee meetings. Every 2 weeks on 'pay day' we have employee meetings where we sit down, have lunch together, and discuss any new rules, regulations, concerns, problems, etc that could have come up since the last meeting. This is also a great time to do training, educational videos, or discuss new protocols. On our farm, we see our employees as an extension of our family and we treat them as such. They are not just our employees. They spend a significant amount of time at their jobs so we value them as people and individuals.
7. Defend your farm with a fierceness! Each one of our employees knows what we stand for, what the rules are, and why we do what we do. They know what we expect of them and how they are suppose to conduct themselves and their behavior. I hope and pray that each of our employees have the same moral character that we as the owners do. God gave us the responsibility to protect, defend, and care for over 1200 animals. That is an immense responsibility and I cannot and will not look at that lightly, EVER! Being a dairy farmer is in every fiber of mine and my families being. It is who we are! These aren't just animals to me, they aren't my livelihood, they aren't how they make our money..they are part of my family! When they hurt, we hurt for them. When they are sad or sick, my heart feels for them. When they are happy and enjoying life, I feel the exhilaration with them. And not just our animals but all animals as a whole! Being a farmer is an amazing life, but with great blessings comes great responsibility.
8. Last I pray for the farm that was filmed during this "undercover video". I pray for the people committing the cruel acts, I pray for the owners, I pray for everyone involved that justice will be served. Most importantly I pray for each and every animal that was hurt, in pain, scared, stressed, helpless, or abused by the making of this "undercover video". Please understand there are over 47,000 dairy farm families that work hard every day to provide a safe, protected environment for their animals! Sadly when these videos come out, people question the integrity of not just dairy farming but all farms in general. Finally may we all treat each other and our animals with the same love and respect that we want to be shown in return.
Running a full marathon (26.2 miles) may seem hard to most people, but let me ask you, is it harder than going through boot camp? Or boarding that airplane that will take you overseas to war? Is it harder than watching a fallen comrade take their last breath as the medics frantically try to save them? Is it harder than a soldier finally taking their first step in a prosthetic after stepping on an IED? A marathon is nothing compared to what our Veterans are asked to endure every day and the wounds and memories that they carry with them can leave such deep scars that many of us civilians have no comprehension and never will.
On November 11th, we celebrate Veterans Day to say ‘Thank You’ to all military that has served and are currently serving. We thank them for their decision to sign up for the military. We thank them for going to fight for our freedom. We thank them for time lost from their precious families. We thank them for the trials they bring home with them from war both physical and emotional. We thank them because they chose to defend our country’s freedom regardless of the consequences that might follow. They don’t ask for recognition or tributes. So how can we really say ‘Thank You’ to our Veterans? How about we actually start saying it whenever we see a Veteran? How about we stand-up for them? How about we donate to Veterans funds and programs? How about we even go as far to volunteer or start a foundation to help them once they have returned from war? Whatever you do, just do something! Their service is not in vain and it is up to us civilians not just to tell them, but to show them every day. For a very wise leader of this amazing country once said:
