How do farmers care for their animals? If you turn to the nightly news you will not see an accurate image of how farmers care for their livestock. Once again a major news network has aired an emotional video and story concerning animal care on farms. I have said it before and I will say it again, bad actors need to be punished for abusing animals. I do not condone animal abuse nor does any farmer I know. The alleged abuse that was showed on a dairy farm on ABC last night is not typical of how animals are cared for today. The person shown hitting or kicking the animals needs to be held accountable for their actions.

I am still troubled by the media only showing video of farms where alleged abuse takes place while choosing emotional words to describe what viewers are being told to see. Why don't they show all the farmers who are caring for their animals the right way so society can see the real picture of how animals are cared for? These videos are not typical of how farmers and ranchers protect and care for their livestock. It doesn't matter what size or type a farm is, farmers know healthy animals produce healthy food. We eat and drink the same food as do you, the consumer. We want our children to have healthy and safe food. This is why my husband spends more time with our animals on a daily basis than he does with me or our children. This is why when it is three degrees below zero outside my husband is out in the cold weather checking on our cattle or checking to make sure our hogs are comfortable inside our heated barns.

Just last night, my husband missed our daughter's basketball game because our livestock needed his attention. While he was checking on the pigs and cattle, our daughter scored her first ever three point shot at the age of 12. Where was her daddy? Outside in 15 degree weather checking our cattle and looking for a missing calf. He wasn't on the bench cheering her on next to me. Was our daughter disappointed? Sure, but she knows the livestock come first because she also knows healthy animals produce healthy food.

So why aren't stories like these on the nightly news? Because sensationalized stories increase viewers, not the truth.

I'm tired of farmers being painted with a broad brush. The type or size of farm doesn't impact the quality of animal care. What impacts animal care is the farmer and the tools available to him to make his animals comfortable. Thanks to technology I no longer have pigs on my farm born outside in freezing temperatures where they freeze to the ground. My pigs are in heated barns where they are not exposed to predator attacks, disease or the weather. Our family has borrowed a lot of money from the bank to make our animals comfortable inside our barns because it was the right way to protect our animals. Everything we do for animals is to protect them and keep them comfortable. And we do it even when it means missing our daughters first three point shot ever. Too bad ABC didn't tell that story on the nightly news.

Here is a video I just found on the dairy industry from Utah State Veterinarian Dr. Bruce King.