Well, it happened again.
It’s happened before and I didn’t want it out in the open.
We’ve been accused of having a beautiful farm.
They say our CAFO farm doesn’t look like a factory at all. They checked out the back rooms, watched from a distance and never saw a board, a poking stick or pitch fork used on the cows on the place.
Another claim that was issued is that the farm is clean and the animals are well cared for. They were shocked when they saw a nutritionist and our herdsman colluding together about the best recipe to feed the cows. They were concerned that the alleys were cleaned more than once a day – thought that may be an inconvenience to the cows.
And when they saw the freshly trimmed hooves they were aghast. How can this be?
They all just stood there with their mouth slack jawed while watching the milkers whistle and cajole our cows into the parlor.
And the fact that there was laughter coming from the farm in different locations was a hard concept for them to comprehend.
The kicker that just about sent them over the edge was when they saw us working WITH the employees. The blood drained from their faces when finding the crock pot of chili in the work room.
One of the employees had the audacity to pull them aside and tell that periodically they find gift cards in their check – for no reason!
Once that first employee spoke others did too. They told of the personal loans, of getting help fixing their cars, helping the kids in school. It was embarrassing to us.
The shame has just overcome us to the point that me must speak up and admit it.
We are a CAFO farm that cares for our employees, our critters and our land. We work long exhausting hours to accomplish this and do a great job.
We would apologize for the disappointment to the critics of large farms but we’re too busy dropping off donuts to the night crew.
