Rush on organics

I've emerged from producing our first issue of 2008. It's going to be a good one. Watch for it in your mail box on Jan. 2. We'll be doing 18 issues for our readers this year. In my editorial this issue, I give readers 18 reasons why they should read Issue 1. If you know the 18 reasons, you may be able to win $180. Watch for more details to be forthcoming.

Last week one of our readers told me about a conversation she heard while listening to Rush Limbaugh's radio program. Limbaugh's topic of the hour was food sold under the USDA-certified organic label.

Here's a link to the radio program transcript:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121207/content/01125109.guest.html

Here's what Rush had to say about organic milk:

Rush Limbaugh: "I've never done a side-by-side taste test of organic broccoli versus nonorganic broccoli. I've done side-by-side taste tests of organic milk, and I cannot taste the difference. I can not."

Limbaugh later says that in his opinion it's OK for consumers to buy products labeled as USDA-certified organic as long as they know that there's no safety or nutritional difference between organic and non-organic foods.

It's a middle-ground philosophy that all dairy producers could benefit from talking about.

—dairyeditor

Pro-activity

I recently received the following letter from Jon Wheeler, a producer here in the Northwest. Today I've posted excerpts of his letter to the editor. I believe the following letter was also submitted to newspapers and other media outlets. These topics are ones I think all dairy producers need to be talking to their neighbors, friends and community members about.

"All milk is produced naturally by cows. Milk is produced by animals as part of a natural biological process. All milk has hormones. It is an undisputed fact that all milk contains scores of hormones, the natural consequence of being produced by a mammal. Be an intelligent consumer and protect your right to make choices based on facts rather than emotions triggered by marketing campaigns. There are a few simple things to remember when you are standing in front of the dairy case.

"All milk is subjected to the same rigorous testing before it can be sold. The tests ensure that all milk is pesticide and antibiotic free. All milk is rbST-free, as cows supplemented with rbST produce milk without rbST in it. In the United States of America:

"ALL MILK IS MILK.
"ALL MILK IS SAFE.
"ALL MILK IS NUTRITIOUS."

Thank you, Jon, for your pro-activity.

—dairyeditor

To contact Jon Wheeler, e-mail him at wheelrjb@aol.com

Hungry for milk shakes?

The rage in the young teenage crowd is a website known as Miniclip.com. The site allows kids and teens to play free Flash-based video games online. Here's one of the games my younger brother-in-law showed me.



http://www.miniclip.com/games/milk-shake/en/

The game allows you to be the driver for a milk home delivery service. The goal is to deliver as many unbroken bottles of milk to customers while weaving in and out of busy traffic. After playing it once, I'd have to say it's addictive.

Examples like this show that dairy has a lot of "good will" built into its image. Producers in the past have built that good will. We're all grateful for that gift. However, we can't ride the enthusiasm of the past alone. Young producers must help share the benefits of dairy with today's consumers.

Share this link with your children, friends and colleagues, especially any adolescents you know. They're the group that will influence how much milk is purchased in the upcoming decades. Playing games like this one will put them in front of milk's image, and hopefully give them a positive (fun) experience with our industry's primary product – milk.

-dairyeditor

Positive young producers in SLC

I'm back from Salt Lake City and the DFA Mountain Area Young Cooperator's annual meeting. This group of young producers who are between the ages of 25-45 were impressive. The conference attendees had so much enthusiasm. They were open to new ideas and shared many of their questions and opinions.

Thursday night I had dinner with a young producer from central Utah. During our conversation, this dairyman said he had a business degree but probably wouldn't get to use it because he was a dairy farmer. The other guests at our table couldn't have disagreed more. Eventually we convinced him that one day he'll be able to use his business training to help improve his dairy. The producers I met with were bright and positive about their future in the dairy industry. It was an honor to be amongst them.

Although the group had some bold and creative ideas, they were also pious. They respected the legacy of dairying their parents had left them or the lessons they were still learning from them. Any industry analyst or commentator who has met this group would feel comfortable predicting that for the next 40 years U.S. dairy cows will be well cared for and more efficient.

-dairyeditor

Don't let them take that away

In June 2006, I wrote an editorial in Progressive Dairyman touting what I thought could never be taken away from the dairy industry – its iconic image of black and white Holsteins and wholesome dairy products. The title of the editorial was "No, they can't take that away." However, unless the dairy industry, and most importantly dairy families, don't stand up to defend dairy products and more importantly their livelihoods as caretakers for the cows that produce the milk to make those products, I might just be proved wrong. Has dairy's Doomsday arrived? No. But to think that it never will is ignorant. There are plenty of other sites on this World Wide Web that would try to convince others milk is not safe to drink, that dairy producers don't care about their cows and that dairy production harms the environment. These arguments are false.

One of this blog's purposes is to dispel such rumors. All of us have something we can do to help. If you're interested in joining in, leave a post saying, "We’re proud to dairy."

This week I'm talking to a group of young dairy producers and their spouses about how to make others just as proud of dairy as we are. I'm sure, like you, they'll have lots to share.

-dairyeditor