Think the school lunch program is “old news”? Think again! Last Friday The Des Moines Register ran an article by Christopher Doering detailing how U.S. Secretary of Ag Tom Vilsack defends new school nutrition guidelines.

The USDA, since 2010, has been phasing in new nutrition guidelines for school lunches to address the childhood obesity epidemic and to help those at risk of going hungry. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires lunch programs that receive federal dollars to provide healthier meals. The latest sets new limits for calories, increases whole-grain requirements and lowers sodium levels.

Vilsack “lashed” out at critics of the program for playing politics with our kids, but this is no real surprise and “playing politics” has become the standard argument whenever Congress disagrees with the current Administration. President Obama has even accused our founding fathers of setting up Congress wrong, claiming the Senate should have representation like the House. Think about that one for a couple minutes!

Before I digress too much, let’s take a closer look at Secretary Vilsack’s comments. He says, “I don’t believe that politics and politicians should trump good policy and policy that’s established by experts when it comes to the future of our children.”

Vilsack makes quite the emotionally-charged statement, but fact is, new school guidelines are being criticized by more than politicians. The School Nutrition Association claims over 1 million fewer students are eating school lunches! With fewer students eating the lunches, schools are having trouble covering the costs.

Last week in The Hill, a representative for the School Nutrition Association is quoted as saying 1,445 schools have dropped out of the program since the standards went into effect as costs mount. A House spending bill approved by a subcommittee last Tuesday would force the USDA to give a temporary waiver to school lunch programs that can show they were operating at a net loss for the last six month.

Not only are they operating at a loss in many cases, but schools are having trouble finding some of the required foods. The USDA has confirmed that schools could not find whole-grain pastas that did not fall apart in the giant cauldrons used to prepare school meals, which prompted an announcement last Tuesday by the USDA that it would allow schools to obtain a two-year delay in implementing a whole-grain standard coming into effect.

“The first lady has from day one made the health of our children a top priority, and that means keeping the pressure on to ensure that school nutrition standards already implemented by 90 percent of our schools stay intact,” says White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

“Michelle’s meals turn off kids.” That’s why I’d like to raise these questions:

• Did the experts take food costs and sources into consideration when they developed the new guidelines?
• What about taking regional differences into consideration? There are food items available in larger markets than in rural areas, for example.
• Did anyone think about the alternative to eating school lunch might simply be to skip lunch altogether?

Let’s remember that many low income students receive most of their nutrition at school. Even if they do take the lunch, how much of it are they throwing away? Placing “nutrition” on the plate doesn’t ensure that kids are going to eat it. Kids are being hurt by hunger!

Vilsack’s experts may be experts, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have something to learn!  They need to humble themselves enough to listen. I’m always amazed how much I learn when I listen, but this administration and Sec. Vilsack are doing a very poor job of listening. I strongly feel this IS all about politics and saving face on their part. Let’s make school lunch rules about kids, not politics! Contact your legislators.

Related Posts:

• New School Lunch Regsc, One Hot Potato
• The Quest for a Balanced Diet
• Act Now to Restore Sense to School Lunch Program

America’s “Win All, Lose All” Position Has Led to Invention & Innovation

“Freedom of choice” has been the American Way ever since our forefathers fought – and won – freedom from Great Britain. Little by little, however, our freedoms are being threatened. Obamacare is one case in point.

Believe me, I’m not trying to politicize this issue. I would oppose this U.S. healthcare law regardless of who authored it. As one Iowa congressman wrote, “… the law is not the common sense path our nation should be taking on much needed health care reforms.” It creates instability, restricts patient choice and explodes costs that will hamper the economy. Even the presidents of three of the nation’s largest labor unions, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, released a letter to Democratic leaders in Congress warning that Obamacare would “shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40-hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class.”

Such comments were made before Obamacare became the law of the land. Now we’re seeing how much American’s freedom of choice is being restricted. “We have to break people away from the choice habit that everyone has,” said Marcus Merz, chief executive of PreferredOne, one of the largest Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) in the Upper Midwest.

What’s even more disconcerting to me than limited American’s ability to choose the healthcare plan that best suits their needs is how our government is paying to deceive us! Just last week I watched a video of a worker given a huge government contract to basically do nothing. While she was hired to sign up people for health insurance, she said most days she and her coworkers just sit around talking. They’re told to look busy when inspectors come in to ensure taxpayer money is being spent correctly. They pretend to type, look busy and put on a good show. Talk about government waste at its finest!

When government takes over a business like they have health insurance, the efficiency disappears. That’s just plain economics, and I don’t need a degree to understand.

I have always believed there must be risk for a business to succeed. To succeed big, there must be big risk. There should be the possibility to lose it all because that makes the drive to succeed much greater. “Necessity is the mother of all invention.” The goal of success leads to innovation, too. People have an incentive to try new ways to improve efficiencies and improve their lives. This drive to succeed has made our country great. However, the comfort of everyone being “comfortable” was not a part of making this country great.

The post office is another example of government waste and inefficiency. When there is unlimited tax money to spend – money that wasn’t earned, borrowed or associated with any risk – there’s no incentive to make the business lean.

My trip to Ukraine made it very clear how a country can change by a little push from free enterprise. Where there was risk and effort, that country was making much progress in agriculture. I’m really hoping the current crisis, including protests against corrupt government leaders who have mismanaged the economy, doesn’t ruin all the progress that has been made. Government intervention can undo overnight what it takes a life time to build.

Another example of government intervention being showcased on a morning radio shows is government-owned resorts. Why are we letting government parks and cabins compete with private enterprise? Some of these parks have been made to be super nice, but at what cost to tax payers? Does this resort property pay property taxes? It’s my contention that taxpayer money is being used to create resorts that will take money away from private enterprises, yet private enterprises return a large portion of that money to the U.S. Department of Revenue in the form of taxes.

Government agencies should not be making rules and regulations that control business. Unless America remains “government of the people by the people,” what is happening in Ukraine can and will happen here! We must remain watch dogs for government control.

What’s happening in health care is happening in many other areas of business. Look at banking, investments, and my favorite… agriculture! New water rules by the EPA are a blatant grab for control. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed the rule in March to clarify which bodies of water — such as wetlands and streams — come under the agencies’ authority to protect under the Clean Water Act. Basically, they want to control every drop of water.

We can’t farm without water. If you don’t believe me, just talk with a California farmer suffering from drought. Water is needed to produce everything from milk, beef and wine to some of the nation’s largest fruit and vegetable crops, including avocados, strawberries and almonds. Because California accounts for one-third of U.S. vegetable output and two-thirds of fruit and nut production, lack of production will increase retail prices. Retail tomato prices jumped 10 percent in the 12 months. U.S. retail prices for beef, bacon, lettuce and broccoli posted double-digit gains last year.

Giving the EPA control agriculture gives the U.S. government control of FOOD! Many governments in this world control their populations by controlling the food supply, and we’re having a huge discussion about food in this country. Consumers want to know where their food comes from and how it’s grown. If we are not careful, you might not have any say about your food. Government control can come a little at a time. Freedom can slip away very silently.

Preserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! Stay informed about the issues. Research political candidates. Exercise your right to vote.

My wife, Janice, and I have been looking through family photos and gathering material to make a historical video for our grandson Zach’s high school graduation present. Seeing all of these old pictures made me reminisce about my farming career.

Growing up, I have fond memories playing with one of those little red wagons. I also remember spending my fair share of time doing chores. Multi-generations were involved on the farm, and I remember learning from my grandfather Jake. Mom had a chicken house full of laying hens that earned grocery money for our growing family that included seven kids. Gathering eggs in a wire basket was something we all learned at an early age!

In addition to fresh eggs, we drank milk from our cows. We also ate home-raised chickens, beef from our own cattle and pork from our hogs. That’s the way it was done.

Farming required lots of manual labor from lots of family members because we didn’t have modern technology! Plowing the ground black was somewhat a source of pride as you were considered doing a bad job of farming if there was a corn stalk showing after you plowed! We spread lots of manure, usually close to the barns because it took too much time with slow tractors to haul it to fields that were further away. No manure management plans were written. We needed lots and lots of tillage to control weeds because there weren’t herbicides and pesticides.

Sounds great… right? Not so!

Even though we used very few chemicals, the wildlife populations were scarce on our farm compared to now. We had more fox and jack rabbits, but I can only remember one deer as a kid.

I also remember seeing so much soil erosion, and black dirt filled the air when the wind blew. Soil filled the ditches, which needed to be cleaned. Each spring we’d have to plow the dirt “drifts” away from the fence rows, and we’d have to fill in gullies that washed through the fields. Yields were pitiful compared to today, too!

Do we want to talk about livestock? The weather was harsh and housing conditions were crude by today’s standards, so I don’t think we even need to go there!

I will say, however, that we thought we were doing a great job of raising food back then. Each year we implemented new ideas, and we got better! Agriculture has continued to evolve. Fast forward to today, and we’re even better. Of course, we’re not perfect but we are better than we were 50 years ago. And you can bet that every year we will continue to get better and better at raising food!

I loved growing up on the farm, but I wouldn’t go back to “the good old days.” We produce much more output (food), with much less input (herbicide, pesticides, erosion). There’s no doubt in my mind that farmers today are doing a much better job of taking care of the environment, our soil, and our water. After all, I’ve “lived” farming for 50-plus years!

While we were broadcasting live yesterday on 1040 WHO Radio at JDM Farms near Redfield in Central Iowa, Latham® dealer Michael Meyers was turning up a little dust as he finished planting corn. Around noon, he and his father were switching over to begin planting soybeans.

Meanwhile, many farmers in North Central Iowa were working ground in hopes it would be fit for planting today. We have yet to plant a seed at Latham HQ, and once we get in the field, we’ll likely have to plant around many wet spots. This Facebook post yesterday by Laura Cunningham of Skyview Farms near Nora Springs in North Central Iowa sums up the feeling of many locals:

Hear that? That’s a sigh of relief from all farm wives in the area with pent up farmer hubbies. Field work has begun, thank the Lord! Now if only we could miss this rain coming…

Today’s local forecast calls for a high of 80° with 20% chance of precipitation. Those numbers change tomorrow when a storm system is predicted to move into the area, bringing a 70% chance of rain that continues into the early hours of Friday. You can bet farmers will be making tracks, covering as much ground as possible while the skies are clear!

Giving to others, without any expectation of receiving anything in return, can be one of the most satisfying works in life. Even though I volunteer without expecting anything, the rewards have been so great! It’s hard to describe the feelings I’ve experienced while watching a child learn about life by doing a 4-H project or an elderly hospice patient enjoy one last time fishing.

The fact that fewer Americans are willing to give of their time may be leading to larger government. When I think about how much the U.S. government has grown, I wonder what society would be like with less government. Apathy grows as society decides to depend more on government and less on themselves.

Because I care deeply about what happens on my family farm, I began volunteering with farm organizations during the 1980s Farm Crisis. Times were very tough, and change needed to happen! I can tell you from personal experience that our government’s efforts at that time were a dismal failure. Huge amounts of money were thrown at problems, and often times, government involvement just making things worse.

No one understands the problem like the people living it! That’s why it’s so important to get involved at the grassroots level. Through the National Pork Board’s speaker corps, Operation Main Street, I have had the opportunity to present to groups such as the Kiwanis, Lions Clubs, and many civic organizations that I had never before heard of. The definition of a civic organization is “a structure that benefits a community.” It has been eye-opening to learn what civic groups can accomplish! One commonality between these groups, however, is the growing lack of volunteers.

Hospice also is in need of people. I began involved with this organization about five years ago. While it has been the most emotional volunteer work I do, it also has been most fulfilling.

Another area where volunteers are needed is farm organizations. Grassroots efforts lead to better representation. I have done much lobbying and have gotten to know many elected officials. What I can’t understand is why more folks don’t have a voice in “our” government! This process starts on the local level, so I started by attending our caucus in the little town near my farm where I was elected as a delegate to the county and district levels. At the district level, we developed an agenda to help us decide what candidates “fit” with our beliefs. Of course, not every delegate had the same belief system. Developing a platform definitely required compromise, but we worked together and got the job done.

It takes the involvement of many people to make a civilized society work. If like me, you prefer a volunteer society over government control and regulation, then I hope you’ll get involved in the policy making process.

I’ve farmed long enough that I sometimes wake up early. I don’t want to sleep too late because there is livestock to be fed and crops to be planted, so I have a big clock that I can read in the dark to know whether it’s really time to get up or try to go back to sleep. When I saw 2 AM on Monday morning, I turned on 1040 WHO Radio where I can usually be lulled back to sleep by the “Coast to Coast” program.

But last night, I experienced a living nightmare when I heard the voice of Wayne Pacelle, President/CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Nothing makes my blood boil faster than that smooth talker! Janice even woke up and tried to convince me to shut off the radio and go back to sleep, but I was wide awake as I listened to the same old sound bites and misinformation Wayne always shares.

What was different about this program, however, was the admissions that activists go under cover. Not only Cody Carlson admits to, but he’s very proud of lying his way into animal operations. He looks for ways to come up with footage that will make an operation look bad. He even shares how he spent weeks filming to get some video to take public!

Also on the program was HSUS public policy director, Matthew Dominguez, who railed against laws that are meant to keep undercover, doctored up videos from inflaming fear about livestock operations.  There was so much hype and untruths by these three men, and the program host just keep egging them on about factory farms!

The first caller to the program wanted to hear from farmers. George Knapp, the host, answered this question by saying there is no way a farmer would come on his show to debate with his current guests. His opinion was that farmers want to hide all the bad things they’re doing. “How could farmers possibly defend torturing animals?” he asked.

Of course, Matt and Cody agreed with George. Wayne wasn’t heard from again after the first hour. This makes for good radio, but I know these men know better. I have personally been sharing what I do and why. You’d think they have never heard of Google! There are many farmers today making a huge effort to share why we raise livestock the way we do.

For almost 10 years now, I have been sharing the experiences I’ve had while raising pigs for 50 years. I try to explain how much we have improved their care by moving them inside climate controlled buildings, away from the harsh winter weather and hot summers. This was done for the comfort of the animals. They have better nutrition and better housing because of these new technologies.

Gestation stalls were condemned by this show. This piece of equipment seems to be a lightning rod for animal activist! Even Temple Grandin has condemned stalls. The problem is, I have personal experience raising gestating sows many different ways. I can tell you these stalls were designed for the welfare of the sow! There have been several studies now showing, if the sow can chose between being in a crate or in with a group, she picks the crate over 90 percent of the time!

“Coast to Coast” talked many times about how farming should be like Old McDonald’s Farm instead of the big, bad factory farms. Truth is, over 90% of today’s farms are “family farms.” Today’s family farmers are growing food the best way they know how, using all the new technology they can learn to keep animals stress free. Growing the best, safest food they can for my family and yours to enjoy!

Today’s teens, as we know, are tech savvy. The average American teen sends 60 text messages daily, and more than 400 million Tweets are posted per day by people of all ages. But how many of these messages are sent with purpose?

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege of being on the program with some of the biggest names in agriculture during the annual Agvocacy Day on the Iowa State University campus. A prelude to the annual Iowa FFA Leadership Conference, approximately 225 high school students came to campus on Sunday afternoon to learn how they can use social media for the purpose of sharing their agricultural stories.

“Social media, when used properly, is a great tool for advocating,” said Mike Pearson, host of Market to Market, during a keynote address yesterday in Kildee Hall’s Lush Auditorium. Pearson opened the day, using graphs and drawing laughs, by sharing statistics and his own personal experiences as a cattle producer. Graphs illustrate how the world’s population is growing, and then Pearson explained how this is great news to American livestock producers.

As societies around the world – particularly in Asia and Africa – transition from rural to urban lifestyles, their per capita grows. As their incomes grow, Pearson said, so does their appetite for protein. This creates more markets for American beef as long as government rules and regulations allow beef to be exported from the U.S. to international markets. Then Pearson reminded FFA members that we live in a democracy. The majority rules, which means that the 2 percent of America’s population that produces food, fiber, fuel and pharmaceuticals must be diligent in explaining what they do and how they do it.

Blogging, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all tools that American farmers are using to share what they do on a daily basis. In my presentation, “Make Your Voice Heard,” I shared examples of advocates for students to follow. Topping my list are the Peterson Farm Brothers. With 144K followers on Facebook and more than 1 million views on YouTube, these beef producers have become online sensations with parodies of popular songs like Chore and Farmer Style.

Another farmer who has learned how to grab your attention and then entertain you is Wisconsin dairy farmer Carrie Mess. The Adventures of Dairy Carrie blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram give followers an insider’s look at life on a dairy farm. She shares the joys of birth by photographing newborn calves and released “undercover video footage.” She also shares the compassion farmers feel when their stock is diagnosed with disease or falls ill. She’s given play-by-play of surgeries and uses terms like “Tums” to explain when and why medicine is given. She has a love affair with cheese and encourages her followers to branch out beyond slices of American. In fact, she’ll tell you that she’s actually anti-American… cheese!

Following breakout sessions like mine, the students again gathered in the auditorium for closing remarks by sixth generation United States farmer Trent Loos. When anti-agricultural activists threatened the way of life he cherished, he took a stand and launched Loos Tales. Loos was recognized in 2008 as the “Voice of Rural America” by the West Quest organization for his ground-breaking work in advocating for agriculture.

Yesterday Loos told FFA members that he believes the true value of food supply is a means of national security for America. “Farmers who feed us and the dedicated United States military personnel are the two most unsung and vitally important factions of our population,” he said.

Both farmer and soldiers are undervalued and misunderstood, so Loos says we must work to change that. Go ahead and advocate. Start telling your ag story – or someone else will and you may not like it!