Biosecurity and Disrobing Insecurity

Heather Lilienthal at the Patterson's hog operation

I’m following the H1N1 flu situation this week, working to provide solid information for our farmer members. As I do that, I can’t help but think about the biosecurity measures that farmers already have in place to help combat such issues.

So I thought I’d share the story about how I found myself naked in a hog house last December.

Farm Bureau photographer Joe Murphy and I had showed up at Klinton Patterson’s north central Iowa hog operation to interview him. We’d braved the winter weather and the snow-covered roads to get to him. We were bundled up in our winter gear and farm-ready clothes, but it wouldn’t be long before they’d end up in piles next to shower stalls.

“Women to the left, Joe straight ahead!” Patterson barked the orders to us and we simply did as we were told.

I’ve been covering ag for a few years. I’ve had to change shoes, step through foot/shoes baths, don coveralls and even change clothes. But, as I stood in a small room facing a strange shower, I hesitated. I hadn’t had to do this yet.

I could hear the farmer give Joe directions in the room next to mine, but couldn’t make them out. I had a few questions: did I need to wash my hair?, what would I wear?, did I REALLY need to do this? I called out to Patterson in a very pathetic voice.

“I’m not gonna come in there and help you!” he hollered. He was already behind schedule today with a broken-down semi-truck and I wasn’t about to make his day worse.

I stripped and stepped onto the orange waffle mat in the shower stall. I took the fastest shower of my life. On the other side of the shower was another small room with laundry baskets filled with towels, shirts, pants, and socks.

I grabbed sweat pants that I could hardly pull up past my hips, a torn “Good Ol’ Boy” John Deere shirt, a flannel shirt two-sizes too small and long, gray socks. (See my profile pic for proof!) I stepped into blue rubber boots, grabbed my notebook and pen and went to work.

After spending an hour visiting each production area, it was time to go. Now, I was ready. Disrobe, shower, dress. No problem.

A few weeks later, I interviewed the outgoing president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association at his farm near Nevada. When it was time to snap his picture, I asked if we could be near the hogs and joked about my shower initiation at the last hog barn.

He wasn’t amused. “That’s what I’d make you do,” he stated.

It’s just one way hog farmers have strengthened already-tight biosecurity measures in their operations. They enforce strict sick leave policies for their employees and limit visitors. Honestly, I think most farmers would love to parade people through their barns to show them what they do, but it’s simply not practical unless every protocol, from showering to proper gear, is followed to a ‘t.’

In Iowa, we’re lucky to live near farmers who use the latest in technology and research to keep their farms, families and communities safe and healthy. I am always ready for a farm visit to come up. My trunk contains a “farm kit,” consisting of jeans, shirt, boots and hat. Maybe I’ll add shampoo and conditioner to it for my next hog house visit.

Written by Heather Lilienthal
Heather is an Ag Commodities Writer for the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Serving Everybody

I accompanied my daughter to our local Department of Transportation office last weekend so she could get her drivers’ license. Frankly, I wasn’t looking forward to the trip. A visit to the DOT driver’s license office, I figured, could only mean three things: waiting in long lines, struggling through confusing instructions and dealing with cranky workers who would not care a wit about one of the biggest days in the life of a 16-year-old.

I have to admit, I was wrong on all three counts. The lines at the driver’s license office moved efficiently and the instructions were all pretty clear. But my biggest surprise was the attitude of the staff. They were friendly, conscientious and very helpful. The workers seemed very ready and willing to serve their customers, which included an extremely wide range of folks of every age and ethnicity who arrived that Saturday morning with an extremely wide range of needs.

The folks working at the driver’s license office, I think, have a lot in common with today’s farmers. American farmers, like the DOT workers, are being asked to serve an extremely wide range of consumers both in the United States and around the globe. And those consumers are demanding an ever-expanding variety of foods.

Are farmers responding to the changing consumer demands? You bet they are. Traveling around Iowa I’ve visited with several farmers who have started raising meat goats to serve a growing market. Others are planting specialty soybeans which produce healthier oils. And many farmers I’ve talked with are returning to some old ways, like raising hogs outdoors, because there is a segment of consumers who want pork raised that way.

When it comes to safe and affordable food, Americans have never had as many choices as they enjoy today in the supermarket, the farmers’ market or at restaurants. But there are some activists who seem to want to change that. They are pushing for rules and referendums that they claim will help farm animals. But their long-term goal seems to be placing burdensome and expensive regulations on the way farmers care for their livestock that don’t always results in better care. That would raise costs, reduce production and, in the end, limit customer choice. It really seems like a recipe to advance the goal of many of these activists—forcing more people to adopt a vegan diet and lifestyle and swearing off meat, milk and eggs, not to mention leather belts and wool sweaters.

If these people want to be vegan, that’s their right and farmers will serve their needs. But farmers want the chance to serve everyone else too, with a wide variety of safe and affordable food.

To read more about the value of consumer food choice go to www.consumerfreedom.com

Written by Dirck Steimel
Dirck is the News Services Manager for Iowa Farm Bureau.