By Gene Hall

My goodness, have we reached the point where disagreeing on something makes us “haters?” Gee, I hope not.  Recently, here on Texas Agriculture Talks, we pointed out some problems with recent ads by the chain restaurant Chipotle in what are plainly attacks on modern agriculture. Other Farm Bureau writers around the country posted similar views.

Chipotle’s ad was cute and engaging—cartoon pigs, cartoon farmer and a lovely Willie Nelson rendition of the Coldplay tune, The Scientist, Back to the Start. A colleague of mine says there’s no black or white on this. It’s either an attack on conventional agriculture that justifies a response or it’s gospel truth and any response is the start of the attack.

By Mike Barnett

I wonder about the silence of the land.

You have a good business plan. You know your costs to the penny. You work long hours. You figure your inputs for maximum profits. You love your job. You would not trade your way of life for no other.

Yet you let someone else shape opinions about what you do.

You invest wisely in the latest seed technology. You’re mum when food produced by genetically engineered plants is attacked.

You buy the best bull you can afford to improve your herd to produce bigger and better calves. You remain silent when animal activists slander your animal husbandry practices.

By Mike Barnett

Chink. Chink. Chink.

Listen closely, farmers and ranchers. That’s the sound of your reputations being chiseled away.

Like a mason chipping stone, outside forces are shaping how agriculture is viewed today. Although the image of farmers and ranchers is still remarkable, it is being distorted by those who wish to dictate how you and I eat.

Chink. Chink. Chink.

Recent consumer research by a coalition of Midwest farm groups, including the Illinois Farm Bureau, confirms that farmers are still held in substantial esteem by the public. The same research, however, shows consumers have reduced trust in modern farming techniques and have profound doubts about how their food is produced.

By Mike Barnett

I call it the great divide in agriculture.

I’m speaking of the differences in the many methods of farming and ranching and how each method has been pitted against the other.

For example, grass fed versus grain fed beef.  It’s been ugly over the years as the merits have been debated on why one is better than the other.

By Gene Hall

It has been an interesting progression for Mike Barnett and me as we have made a transition of sorts from old school agricultural journalists to bloggers, Facebookers and Tweeters. One of my Farm Bureau friends in Washington D.C. referred to us as “the angry dudes from Texas.” He meant that in jest—I think. We do try to write with a little bit of attitude and generate a little controversy. Let’s face it. Some of these issues ARE controversial. Things I’ve believed to be pretty much settled with regard to science are the devil’s spawn to others. I’m not really angry though. I admit to being a little frustrated as we take these tentative first steps down this new channel of communication.