Wake up at five, feed the cows, set the water and make it to school by eight. This was a typical morning on the small farm I grew up on. Located in the heart of the Magic Valley near the tiny town of Kimberly, my family raised alfalfa hay and I had a few steers on the side.
I’ve been involved in agriculture all of my life. For me, as well as most every farmer and rancher, it’s not a career or a hobby — it’s a way of life. I may be at college and for the first time in my life living within city limits, but that way of life is still at the center of everything I do. From this perspective, I offer the following observations.
Idaho Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter recently signed S.B. 1337 into law which, among other things, makes it a misdemeanor offense to “make audio or video recordings of the conduct of an agricultural production facility’s operations.”
Animal rights activist groups, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society of the United States, have filmed livestock producers treating their animals “cruelly.” I cite that as a quote because PETA’s definition of cruelty can sometimes be ridiculous.
In some cases, genuine animal cruelty was occurring, but more often, accusations were a direct result of people not understanding why we do what we do. As an agriculturist, you would presume me to be a fervent proponent of this legislation. The truth is, I would have preferred it to fail.
Idaho dairies, or any agricultural production facility for that matter, are already protected by private property laws. If somebody is secretly filming me in my living room during one of my not-so-finest moments, I can ask them to leave. If they refuse, then I am able to call the police to have them forcibly removed or, in the true spirit of Idaho, ask again with my trusty 12-gauge at my side. The same goes for the dairy, beef, poultry, sheep and pork industries. To me, this addition to the Idaho Code is redundant and harmful to the agriculture industry.
As a consumer, my initial reaction to this law would be “what are they trying to hide?” It’s a fair question and the answer should be — and most often is — nothing. I’m not saying animal abuse isn’t out there — it is. True cases of cruelty, however, are few and far between, but the media pounces on any opportunity it can to get a profitable story.
Picture a blank sheet of printer paper. Now take a marker and put a small black dot anywhere on the paper. Of that paper, 99.9 percent is completely pure, white, without blemish, but what is the one thing everyone will focus on? For this metaphor, we’ll say the paper is the agriculture industry on the whole, and the black dot represents the operators who are truly cruel to their stock animals.
The vast majority of the industry respects, cares for and even loves their animals. I did. To me they were precious. The media, however, only reports the bad because bad sells.
My fellow producers will agree with me, when I say there is a major disconnect between producers and consumers in agricultural terms. Why then would we support legislation which continues to build the barrier when we should be working to bridge the gap?
To me, we should embrace the public with open arms, including the ones wielding video recording devices.We shouldn’t push them away, but invite them in and help educate them. They may accuse us of abuse when they see things they don’t understand, presenting an opportunity to clarify things for them. Castration, pregnancy checking and herding techniques are foreign to most people — let’s take the opportunity to tell them our story and explain these practices.
The bill is now a law. Nothing I, animal rights groups or agriculturists do can change that now, but just because there are now specific ramifications for trespassing on agricultural grounds doesn’t mean producers have to close their gates forever. Let’s open them up. If we do, will you come and learn?
Tanner Beymer can be reached at [email protected]