It was for this precise reason that William Brown wrote "American Colossus: the Grain Elevator 1843 to 1943" (Colossal Books, 2009). People depend upon grain every day, and yet have no idea that a grain elevator is, does or looks like.

Garrick you bring up a great point! So often we react to what happens in the marketplace and change policies/regulations to meet our current needs, without considering what will happen in the long term. The reality however is that everything surrounding agriculture is dynamic and changing. Maybe the best route is to begin with the end in mind! What does the dairy industry need at it's core to be successful? Here are a few statements that I thought may resonate with dairy farmers and consumers alike:

1. Dairy Farmers are committed to developing a flexible system that will adapt to the opportunities and challenges of fluctuating markets.
2. Dairy Farmers are committed to producing high quality dairy products that are safe and nutritious.
3. Consumers will have confidence in all dairy products produced in the United States.
4. Dairy Herds will be managed with a focus on animal husbandry and environmental stewardship.
5. Consumers will have a variety of dairy products to choose from in order to meet their individual needs and preferences.
6. Elected and appointed officials will understand the connection between family farms and our rural communities
7. Retailers and consumers will demand that dairy products be produced in the United States and that farmers are paid a fair price.
8. Emphasis will be placed on using American made dairy products before looking at imports from other countries.

By starting here, we have a framework for managing more toward what we want. Are these statements possible? I would like to think so. Once a defined set of values is set, we can start to use our creativity to figure out 'how' we are going to move forward.

This just re-enforces what we learned in New York, we might be talking, but much of the American public doesn't understand what we are saying. At least he did speak English, the last time I tried to give directions to a truck driver to help him find a local flower mill, he could not speak English, I don't know where he ended up.

Heath, you do a good job pointing out some of the challenges facing the dairy industry. While I agree we need make some changes, we need to be careful in making those changes, because as we see today once a system is in place it is very difficult to change. Whatever changes we make will be with us for a long time. I hope in our haist to change the dairy industry we don't create more problems than we solve. This issue is a difficult one to deal with, because it is so hard to get dairyfarmers to agree on the direction we should take. If it were easy to solve, it would have been solved months ago.

You can find a farm or lot near your home or office by entering your zip code at: www.realchristmastrees.org.

I am an American living in France, my husband raises beef. It is just as bad here if not worse for dairy farms, they are losing up to 5000 euros a month, it's a nightmare. So the quotas aren't helping either as the coops are just buying in cheaper milk from elsewhere. If that can help on the decisions to be made. Should European and American farmers by pass the multinationals and start working together outside the existing structures? Another idea I pray God for a soltuion for all of us.

And already the global market is picking up since Thraen's paper. I heard on the radio yesterday morning that car sales in China were up 72% in October over one year ago. GDP is targeted to grow there by 8% in 2009. They've already achieved 7.7% for the first nine months. What kind of implications does this have for our dairy exports and thus milk price?

You've done a really good job capturing what we in the dairy biz are suffering through right now. Both the financial and emotional strain keep building with each passing poor milk check and bank statement.

I think that it is amazing that people think that the only ones hurt by horse slaughter's being banned are big greedy corporations. I Just wanna say thanks to all of yall that voted to ban horse slaughter because it put my family out of business.Now the money I had saved for college is going towards paying to keep our horses that we cant sell from starving.We weren't selling for slaughter but without the meat man at the sales there are no bidding wars anymore.Noone wants to pay much for a horse and now they don't have to.I can remember when a green broke colt would cost at least $200 now you are lucky if you get $50.So again Thankyou for taking away our jobs in an economy that makes it impossible to find another one.

We are being watched all the time. What do people think about our industry when they visit or even just drive past our farm?

Great point Ana. Although it is hard to get a group of farmers to all agree on one thing, this should be where the discussion should begin. We are facing probably one of the most challenging times that American agriculture has ever experienced, and we will need to stick together if we want to protect our livlihood. Unfortunatley this is going to be an uphill battle as farms are going out of business every day. As we lose farms, we also lose a part of our voice. Now more than ever we must come together as a unified voice for agriculture.

Amen Ana - Well said. Each bit of land is different and requires different management. On our farm each field is different. I am grateful for both big growers & small growers, conventional and organic because they all bring different and valuable practices, ideas & products to the table. One thing all of us have in common though is this quote from Ben Franklin, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." The strength of American farming has always been its diversity. I hope we can work together because I sure like eating safe American grown food. All that said, maybe it just comes down to what I tell my kids when they bicker and forget they are all part of the same family - BE KIND OR ELSE!

I don't catch T.V. that much other than the History Channel. It does seem "Reality T.V." does rely on lots of "Drama", real or contrived from what I have seen. Not sure we (ag.) have enough on a consistant basis for ratings. Other than the cuss words I use when the grease gun loses it prime. There is the show with the pumpkin farm and the unique family that runs it. I saw a time or two but it doesn't hold my interest and I am even in a similar business. What we (ag.) does need is more bloggers and people using Social Media on a regular basis to convey the reality of daily life. People do seem to like and follow that. Heck I found this article via a Tweet!

Can I fınd a "grocery story"near me?

Well said,Ana! Just last week I commented on an article about small ag groups against "modern ag". A member of the small ag org replied back accusing my family of drinking too much "coporate ag kool-aid", which is far from the truth. I quickly responded back, explaining our operation and our passion for agriculture, It seems funny that I was defended our livelyhood to another member of our industry! You are right, "United we stand, divided wew fall".

Great post Garrick. It's true. Just like with health care reform, we've got to be able to show people how cap & trade will impact them financially, personally. They're so far removed from the farm they don't seem to notice the problems that come with losing farms. Maybe they will when food costs more?

Exactly! I was completely taken back by CSI's image they portrayed of agriculture and the people in ag. Just not right!

Chris, you have inspired me! I visited with our physician the other day when I had the girls in. I was greatly surprised on the information or lack of information they have on animal agriculture.

I watched a video this weekend on Youtube about hormone levels in beef, I wished I had seen it prior to visiting with my physician. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEaF4OG2t2A It really has great information regarding the hormone levels found in food, it also points out that everyone needs hormones to live. Check out these facts: a garden salad has 1200 nanograms of estrogen, 1 Tablespoon of Soybean Oil has 2800 nanograms of estronge, 1 BEEF FILLET has 1.89 nanograms of estrogen. And for women on birth control, the average birth control pill has 34,000 times more estrogen than a fillet of beef.

Yes, it is sad how mis-informed some of our doctors are. I recently debated the safety of gmo crops with one. His theory was that in 30 years they would prove them unhealthy. I explained that I work with the scientifically based information available now not what may be found in 30 years. It should also be noted that we don't have the benefit of a co-pay on our livestock medicine so we pay the entire cost of the prescribed medicine. Thanks for representing us so well.