We made a quick pit stop in the town of Lindy. The town officially has a whopping population of 14 people, but there are really only eight people who live there, according to the town’s Lutheran pastor, Kelly Pedersen.
We visted Pastor Kelly’s church, Good Shepherd, which recently added on to its sanctuary and fellowship hall. The church even raises its own cattle. Last year, the church raised 50 cows, making a profit of $10,000! Whoever said that all rural churches are dying or lacking innovative forms of ministry needs to see some of the churches that we’ve encountered on this trip.
We had a great time attending a cattle auction in the town of Verdigre. More so than ever before, our attempts to blend in with the locals were foiled. We joked that everybody turned their heads, including the cows, to look at us when we entered. I’m not sure what it was, but I think that Sally’s rainbow scarf gave us away.
Here's a little video of the cattle as they are being prepared for the auction. The sounds and the smell were intense as I prepared this video. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I wasn't able to bring you the smell, but you can at least hear how loud it was out in the yard with thousands of cattle.
And here's a little snippet of the auction in progress.
We received a wonderful tour from the owner of a local feedlot, the home of 7500 head of cattle being fattened up for eventual slaughter. The owner of H&H Cattle gave us great insights into the meat industry. In a previous post, I mentioned the debate regarding whether cows should be grass-fed or grain-fed. The owner made a good point that, as long as we demand beef on a year-round basis, we have no option but to raise cows on a diet consisting primarily of grain. There is simply no grass for the cows to graze from September to May, so unless we change our demand for beef, it will be difficult to eliminate corn and other grains.
We also had the chance to step aboard a John Deere tractor. Talk about rolling in style! This thing is fully enclosed with A/C.
BTW, check out this picture from the feedlot. It's an interesting juxtaposition to see this huge mound of distiller's grain, the byproduct of ethanol, a controversial source of energy, against a backdrop of wind turbines, another emerging and controversial source of energy.
We ended the day by attending a high school basketball game in the town of Wausa. Sports are an integral part of the culture in rural towns, providing activities for the youth and a social venue for the people to gather. The women’s varsity team pulled off an exciting win against Coleridge, once again the home of our very own, Phil Hefner.
6 comments:
Matt, I was struck here by two things and I think they're a little related.
1) Your mention of Mr. Herzog's comment at the feedlot regarding the diet of beef cattle, and our demand for them made me think. What would it look like for all of us American meat-eating folks to demand less meat? (Or maybe even just less beef) What would it take to make that happen? What kind of a groundswell of ethical outrage would be required? I don't have any answers, just mentioning what your post made me think.
2) The comment about the juxtiposition of the distiller's grain and wind turbines also made me think. Except, it made me think twice. First thought: "at least people are trying to find new energy sources." After that thhought kicked around for awhile, it became joined by "but what if we find out that one of the things we've tried isn't working? What happens to all the time and money we've spent on it? What happens to all the jobs that were created by that energy source?" Again, no answers, just thoughts.
Go Wausa Vikings!
One issue that struck me about H&H Cattle was the care with which the operation was run. There were a number of details that were attended to with such attention that it demands acknowledging them.
Though it was a large operation, the full time staff was only eight people, each of whom had a certain responsibility. The diet that the cattle were fed was the responsibility of one man. He paid close attention to what the cattle were eating, a diet broken down into 10 steps, each containing different components based on the age of the cattle eating it. To juggle all of this information and to do it well says a great deal about this operation.
One person was in charge of maintenance of all the equipment; the place could not have kept up with the heavy demands of the equipment if he had not attended to them. The list goes on.
As a closing thought I would like to leave a sentiment that Mr. Herzog gave when discussing the end product he took to market. He stated something to the effect of; if we wouldn't eat it, we won't sell it. He took great care to run his operation well and was very proud of his product.
If all business owners would run their businesses with such care.
In response to Dom's comment, I really believe that any good future for our country's major farming/ranching areas involves less meat consumed by the full population.
This seems counter-intuitive, since each burger we buy sends money toward rural America. The money isn't helping these communities in the ways that they long for, however. America's huge appetite for meat is putting pressure on family farms to sell out to larger farms who can produce food in greater quantities more cheaply. When the families leave, the towns shrink down as well. Meanwhile, workers in the cities are now competing with an extra group of people for jobs since small farmers need to come to the cities for work.
To me, the best food system involves smaller farms and more expensive meat (significantly more expensive). Personally I would be happy to pay double the price for my beef if it meant more family farms in operation and less competition for working class jobs in the city. Meat has been a special food for festive occasions throughout most of history. I think we have made a mistake in changing that.
I really appreciated the trip to see the wind turbines, where the very wind that blew the latest snow storm into drifts closing highways, provides 3,000 kilowatts of energy per hour from each turbine. Is this less controversial than other methods of meeting energy needs? According to our tour guide, “The only cost involved in installing a wind turbine is the initial cost of a land and equipment and the cost of maintenance. The energy comes free and there is no other fuel needed.” However he did add that it would likely be twenty years before the investment would begin to pay back. Environmentally wind turbines can provide an uninterrupted power supply, but I understand they are really useful only if the site for installation is at least one acre and the average wind speed does not fall below 16 miles per hour. While I never personally encountered a different point of view regarding wind power, I might wonder about concerns that could arise regarding the use of what could be productive farm land for wind turbines.
I was struck by my lack of knowledge for the beef industry. When I use to buy meat at the super market I really did not give much thought to the journey that the meat went on before it reached my dinner table. This trip really provided a perspective on beef that I did not have. I am grateful for the touring of the small cow/calf operation, the Tyson plant, the auction house, and the H&H Cattle feed lot. All I kept thinking was, “Everyone should see this.” I was struck by the interconnectedness of all of the industries. In order to remain competitive, all facets of the industry need to be working together. I was also struck by the influence of consumer demand on the industry and the importance of different aspects of the industry, including strong research, innovative ways of cutting the meat, and marketing and selling strategies.
I wholeheartedly agree with Eric (and Dom, by extension) that a key component to building a sustainable society is for each of us to lower our demand for meat. As an economics major in college, it was driven into me that the economy always comes down to supply and demand.
If we demand meat, suppliers will produce more meat to satisfy our demand. If our demand as a nation for meat continues to swell, the economy will have no choice but to move in the direction of squeezing out small family farmers in favor of large corporate farmers. Smaller farmers can't efficiently and profitably produce at the level that is demanded, so they go out of business, while larger farmers, due to economies of scale, can produce the same amount of meat but at a much lower cost. The net cost to society is lower prices on meat but higher unemployment because people have lost their small farms.
If we as consumers make a personal decision to voluntarily reduce our demand for meat, the meat suppliers will have no choice but to cut production, or else they will go out of business. This tilts the balance in favor of smaller farmers, who now have the ability to compete with the larger farmers. In addition, we can be mindful of where we buy our meat from. If we demand less meat and choose to buy directly from smaller local farmers, we can work toward establishing a sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all, for which the ELCA advocates in its social statement on economic life.
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