tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post6943987742520901297..comments2024-02-03T07:12:06.620-05:00Comments on U.S. Food Policy: An Idaho farmer reflects on health, advertising, and the dairy checkoffusfoodpolicyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17098394318544229984noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-47428451828727671822015-10-23T03:00:22.850-04:002015-10-23T03:00:22.850-04:00Dear Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous,
First of all, I'l...Dear Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous,<br /><br />First of all, I'll have you know this: I AM a farmer. I raise calves, can and do herd, milk and sort cows and I can drive a tractor. My youngest daughter and I are raising two sows, and for the past 10 years I have raised a herd of meat goats. I also have over 20 free range laying hens of which I sell the eggs to friends and neighbors. I give tours of our farm on a regular basis and I manage the finances on our farm which much to your disappointment I will have you know is NOT a corporation. <br />I looked at your source and what it said- it must have meant that we were established in 2005 as a business as that is when my husband and I were given the rare opportunity to buy our farm, as most young people that get into farming have that opportunity only because they were born into it. As for being classified as a CAFO- yes, we are, but that doesn't mean that we aren't responsible about our manure. It also doesn't mean that my husband and I are operating our business without a conscience or that we don't care. AND just in case you were wondering, here is a bit of perspective on the number of milk cows that we have at Lampman Dairy, 250, which I explained that we had in the introduction of my article. <br />Twenty years ago when we came to our farm to work, there were 5 other dairies in the area that were our size or smaller. Now we are the only small farm left. I say "small" because since those dairies have gone out, we have gotten 4 new neighbors within 15 miles of us. None of these new dairies have less than 1,000 cows and the average size dairy farm in Idaho is almost 1400 cows, so with these sizes around me and these herd averages to compare our farm to, I feel we are a 'small' farm. <br />I am more than happy to have a conversation with anyone about our farm. I am open to questions. Conversations between intelligent caring people are what are needed in our world. However, I am not open to personal attacks, especially from someone that can only call themselves, "Anonymous". Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08855760247784214878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-51093318830340352852015-10-22T10:32:05.735-04:002015-10-22T10:32:05.735-04:00Thanks for your comment, Anonymous.
That's as...Thanks for your comment, Anonymous.<br /><br />That's astonishing! Um ... 250 cows ... I never knew. Oh, wait, now I remember, I had learned about the number of cows from my introduction to the guest writer.<br /><br />In all seriousness, the main impact of the EPA classification you mentioned is that it is accompanied by a requirement to have a plan for addressing pollution risk. <br /><br />You are very welcome to comment here! But, Anonymous, if your comments will continue to include personal attacks on guest commentators here, it would be more sporting for you to sign in please.usfoodpolicyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17098394318544229984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437268.post-10990365456753139652015-10-21T17:50:41.293-04:002015-10-21T17:50:41.293-04:00This is a most bizarre and confused set of opinion...This is a most bizarre and confused set of opinions coming from someone posing as a farmer. <br /><br />We find Lampman Dairy listed as a farm CORPORATION registered in Idaho scaled at 250 cows, and as such identified as a medium CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) by EPA criteria. <br /><br />http://www.manta.com/c/mb5h3cy/lampman-dairy<br /><br />http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/npdes/afo/upload/cafo_prod_guide_entire_doc.pdf<br /><br />Lampman Dairy is a corporate CAFO that, thanks to government protection and the Dairy Product Stabilization Act, enjoys a bonded market for every drop of milk its 250 cows can produce. Imagine an Idaho corporation with annual revenues of $250,000 quibbling over 15 cents per 100 lbs (less than 1% of gross receipts) to place unlimited volume of product reliably in a guaranteed market day in and day out.<br /><br />More puzzling is CAFO Lampman Dairy, Inc.'s CEO publicly reviling other corporations like Domino's, McDonalds, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut for purchasing her product. General Motors had to be hauled in front of Congress before it would admit it was motivated by profit to risk customer's lives and here we have Lampman Dairy, Inc. voluntarily admitting it routinely profits from the sale of dairy products that are "contributing to the obesity crisis in America, a crisis that touches so many of our families in personal ways in the form of diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease."<br /><br />Simply baffling. Presumably there is a food policy moral to the story submerged somewhere in this corporate CAFO's strange press release. It makes me distrust corporate farms like Lampman Dairy.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com