Maxwell's Silver Hammer

Maxwell farms' Unionport Nursery in Randolph County has been slammed with a second bout of TGE (transmissible gastroenteritis) plaguing their 16,000-pig nursery, the second outbreak in 5 months, reports the Starpress.com. The disease is HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS, although not a threat to humans according to the Indiana Board of Animal Health:

Denise Derrer, public information director at the Indiana Board of Animal Health said the risk of cross contamination is why the agency preaches the importance of sanitation. Operators of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) usually require visitors to undress, shower and don clothing they provide when inside a barn. Visitors must repeat the showering procedure before leaving,

The state doesn't have an accounting of every case of TGE, Derrer said, as the disease often is diagnosed clinically, rather than with a laboratory test. But Derrer confirmed it is common, and said it's not a risk for humans. (Link to full article.)

Some of you might recall the controversy in Randolph County over CAFOs and CFOs and remember Maxwell Foods from the March 3 Muncie Star Press article:

"Maxwell Foods, one of the nation's largest pig producers, filed suit in Randolph County in early February, hoping to overturn the moratorium that would have blocked its local expansion," the paper reported.

You can read more about the mess happening over in Randloph County through this excellent article over at The Bloomington Alternative. It's a long article, but well worth your time to read.

Meanwhile, Kemplog provided an excellent update with respect to the Randolph County CAFO dilemna (link here).

There's another interesting (though much older) post over at the Berry Street Beacon entitled, "NORTH CAROLINA CORPORATION INVADES INDIANA TO CONSTRUCT CAFOs"

Pause for Thought: I wonder if there is any insurance coverage for situations like this Maxwell thing? If there is, I'm guessing that companies like Maxwell Foods are driving the cost of insurance sky high for all the other CAFOs/CFOs.

Desparate Acts by Hog Producers

On the subject of "desparate acts" by the hog producing sector, it would appear that at least one large provider has finally "blinked" ...or so it would seem when reading this article:

This week, Smithfield's production arm, Murphy-Brown, said it will eliminate 40,000 to 50,000 sows from its overall herd of over 1 million sows. "There's a glut of pork out there, and with high input costs, there's no way we can add enough value to make money," Don Butler, director of government relations for Murphy-Brown, told Agriculture Online. "We must cut back. We would hope that other pork producers around the country would see things the same way and take similar action."

While the announcement sent the message that five-dollar corn and $40-hogs don't work, it sent a different concern to the hundreds of contract farmers who operate the farrowing and finishing operations that crank out Murphy-Brown pigs. Which contract farms will Murphy-Brown no longer need?

Indeed, even as the price of corn continues to rise while pork drops further, one has to wonder why anyone would even consider starting a HOG CAFO or CFO in this economic climate.

Sure, the plummeting dollar makes the price of our pork a wee bit more enticing in some foreign markets, but here at home -- you gotta think twice about getting into 'da biz, right?

Well, maybe "how it works" might shed some light onto the "why" of it all. This post by a prospective hog CFO owner is asking for help making his decision of whether or not to go into hog farming. It's quite enlightening:

The deal is that a huge hog farm will "build" me a hog barn on my land and fill it with their hogs, I have to take care of the hogs daily ect., I am also told that the big farm will guarantee me to pay off the barn. I am sure you guys know the type of deal I am talking about.

My question is, Is the hog market so bad that doing this kind of contracting makes no financial sense or is the market bad to the "small" hog farmer. Any insight is appreciated (link)

I've mentioned in the past about integrated contracts -- how it's not necessarily just the farm and/or farmer that needs to go under the microscope as the "source" of problems relating to factory-style farming. The people getting off virtually "scott-free" in all the wastes these farms can produce are the larger entities who "come bearing gifts" ...virtually bribing farmers to go big (or threatening them to get out by pulling their patronage away).

A small farmer with no customers is a bankrupt farmer.

A large farmer with contract in hand, well, maybe he'll eke out enough to feed his family and keep his land a few more years (?) ...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, CAFOs and CFOs are NOT farms. If anything, owing to their size and the sheer volume of wastes they produce (to say nothing of the water they consume daily), the closest category could be -- light industrial -- and in extreme cases, heavy industrial is more appropriate.

Sure, that's just my humble opinion, but I can assure you, it's an opinion shared by others.

In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I recently read Mr. Schellinger's official statement on the subject:

Confined Animal Feeding Operations or CAFO's represent a significant challenge to Indiana's quality of life. These enormous, largely unregulated facilities produce vast amounts of animal waste that are then released untreated into our rivers, streams and spread across our land. The magnitude of these operations means that one facility has the potential to affect thousands of people in proximity to it.

I believe economic growth and protecting our environmental quality of life are not mutually exclusive goals. CAFO's can be of economic value to Indiana if they work with the community and not against it. That means taking responsibility for the waste they produce and the impact they create.

As Governor, I would pursue a policy that regulates CAFO's under industrial zoning restrictions rather than agricultural. I would work to implement stronger oversight and monitoring of these facilities, working with communities and CAFO owners to ensure an open, fair and constructive dialogue.

Industrial zoning restrictions -- gotta love it!

Permit me to savor the thought.

Now, once they're all rezoned (to industrial from agricultural), let's take another look at them thar farm subsidies, eh?

Ball State University Studies

Since I've been so rushed for time these past several weeks, I'm writing about two topics in one today.

Ball State University Studies

First, the Ball State studies, which Seth Godin wrote about in The Star Press the other day. Not sure how long it will be up on their site, but here's the link.

I've skimmed a bit in both studies.

1. Randolph County study.
2. Jay County study.

Interesting reading for everyone on both sides of the CAFO issue. The studies were conducted by Ball State University and reflect a poor ecomonic return on Indiana's hog industry - the very industry that Mitch and his buddies have been pushing to double here in Indiana.

Seth has presented both sides of the issue, with comments from GRACE Factory Farm Project (anti-cafo), the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (pro-cafo) and the Indiana Pork Producers Association (pro-cafo).

But, surprisingly, the side of the issue understated (in my humble opinion - least represented) is the farmers' side of the issue, which includes people from both sides of the fence.

Yes, there are farmers that are anti-cafo, just as there are farmers on the pro-cafo side.

But one commenter on the above referenced article brought forth some excellent points on the farmers' side -- the comment regarding integrated corporations.

Integration and Market Power

This is an area I've also been researching lately.

Integrated marketing approach to farming is a touchy subject for most farmers. For most, to speak up could quickly result in losing important contracts. For several, doing nothing means continued farming for little to no profits.

In a way, it kind of reminds me of the illegal sweatshops you sometimes hear about. Only, in this case, it isn't the fear of immigration laws (or worse) keeping "farmers" silent. It's the very real fear of losing the farm. And it's also one of the biggest reasons some farms are forced to make the choice to "go big or get out."

We've all heard the expression, "The truth shall set you free."

Sadly, not in this case.

You see, there are very powerful corporations, and yes, government entities/key officials, that would much rather this story not be investigated to deeply. There's a bit too much money at stake.

Hint: As they say in journalism schools, follow the money.

For example, let's take this cute little corn check-off thing. Ummm, best not to go there -- right now. (I'll explain more at a later date.)

I tip my hat to the brave person who posted the integrated marketing comment. Good job. I'm wondering when mainstream press will expose the full story. Personally, I feel Big Ag has a lot to answer to. They've managed to gobble the profits at the farmers', the consumers' and the taxpayers' expense for a very long time... in my humble opinion.

Oh, by the way... coming next week - the NEW farm subsidy experiment that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES - but might make one farmer very, very happy.