If the government is going to step in and oust the CEO of GM, Rick Wagoner, then I want them to oust the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, too – take out the whole company while they’re at it.

In their latest effort to bring media attention, or something, to their ice cream business, they created a fake website devoted to the glories of cloned milk, in a bogus effort to discourage it. They were trying to see if people cared about eating ice cream made with milk produced from cloned cows.

Maybe to start a dialogue? Maybe to stir up controversy? Maybe because they were bored in their managers’ meeting and someone thought of a silly joke?  According to writer Diane Tucker, the hoax was designed to play out until April 1 when it would be uncovered as an April Fool’s joke.

But thank heavens for some sharp bloggers, who found out about the hoax and exposed it before the punchline was popped. Not only was the “joke” discovered, they really didn’t generate any scare of ice cream made with cloned milk.

So, what does that tell you? Maybe there are only a few of the uninformed public out there with little more to worry about than what kind of milk they are drinking all to make an industry turn on its ear and run their defense for the 39th time.

I am so tired of the ag industry always being on the defense. When are we going to step up our offense?

I know the answer to my own question. It’s because those of us who care about the consumers’ attitudes and their buying habits are out in our fields planting crops, and out in our barns milking our cows, and riding our pastures to make sure baby calves are being born without trouble. All this to put food not only on our own tables but food on the rest of the world’s tables – and may I add, we (dairy farmers) are now doing it with more than half of our paycheck gone!

I’d like to see what the rest of the world would do if someone handed them their paycheck that was 60 percent less than what they normally get paid. Would they quit on the spot? Would call their lawyer? Or would they just say “thank you” and figure out how to ride out the wave, while tightening their belt one more notch for the seventh time in a year?

While most workers wouldn’t stand for it, farmers turn around and keep working. They realize farming isn’t something you get out of when times get tough. Farmers are tougher than nails and economic downturns, and have more optimism than almost anyone in the world.

As tough as it gets down on the farm, food is still produced year after year, tractors are headed to the fields this spring and dairy farmers are still rising every morning to milk the cows, check on the new calves and to make sure everyone, including the rest of the world, has enough to eat.

Ben & Jerry’s can hoax it up all they want … but they can’t make ice cream without dairy farmers.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.