By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

SHELBYVILLE, Ky. — For the third year, the Kentucky Beef Council (KBC) has presented the “Meat Your Neighbor” tour in an effort to bring the public closer to those raising their food – or, as Alison Smith, spokeswoman for KBC put it, “reconnect with the farmers who are raising their food and help them understand what they do on a daily basis to care for the animals, land and people.”

The cattle industry has grown to be a vital component in Kentucky’s agricultural makeup. According to information from the KBC and USDA, the state ranks first in cattle production east of the Mississippi and fifth overall nationwide. Cash receipts for 2009 totaled $484.6 million for the 38,000 farmers raising beef cattle.

While drought took its toll last year for nearly every agricultural commodity, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture experts look for livestock receipts to increase by $100 million-$200 million in 2011 thanks to a continuing tight meat supply. Cattle promise to be a huge part of that number.

One of the problems to overcome is the general public’s lack of knowledge about their food supply and just what goes into farming, especially animal agriculture. The farms on this year’s tour, located in Shelby County, demonstrated to attendees not only the look of a working farm but the effort that goes into it from an environmental standpoint, especially with more producers moving to a pasture-fed product.

“Tours like this one will allow the farmers to have one-on-one conversations with folks and let them see firsthand what a farmer does to produce a safe and wholesome product,” said Smith. “As a few of the hosts for this tour stated to me, they are not cattle farmers, but they are grass farmers. So, it is of the upmost importance that they care for the land because it is a vital part of their success to producing a great product.”

Smith said farmers have always focused on caring for the land but it has just been more recently that they started talking about how they do it.
“From rotational grazing to setting aside land in Conservation Reserve Programs (CRP), they are finding ways to produce more with less,” she said. “Whether the farmers raise grass-finished or grain-finished beef, they depend on the land because cattle spend the majority of their lives grazing.”

The farm hosts included Kesanca Farms, Gajdzik Farms and Mulberry Orchard and Flowers Farms. David Case of Kesanca Farms and his brother, Paul, have grown up on their family farm, which consists of 30-35 head of dairy cows along with beef cows, corn, soybeans, wheat and tobacco.

He said part of the reason for such diversification is to find endeavors to replace tobacco. Case added he thought the visitors were thrilled to see an actual working farm.

“In this day and time, it gets more important every day to get (non-farmers) out to see the farm,” he said.

The Cases use no-till and have several acres enrolled in the CRP, a USDA-administered program that helps provide technical and financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water and related natural resource concerns on their lands in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner, according to information from the agency.

The family is known for their commitment to the environment and has been named Master Conservationist of the Year by the Shelby County Conservation District. But Case is realistic when it comes to an agricultural way of life.
“Farming to me is just like going to Vegas; it just lasts a little longer. It’s a big gamble,” he said.

That gamble has paid off so far, as it has for Tom Flowers of Flowers Farms. After receiving a degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, he found his love for the land stronger and came back as the second generation on the farm.

Flowers said they farm about 900 acres that include 300 acres of row crops, 145 cows, 30 replacement heifers, 50 acres of alfalfa and 200 acres of hay, with the rest being used as pastureland. For the first year, he is not raising tobacco and said he is glad of it, noting how important Kentucky’s Agricultural Development Fund has been in helping to diversify his operation.

“We’re converting barns and built sheds, improved our handling facility for the cattle, put in grass crops and done a myriad of things with that money and it’s helped a lot,” he said. “If you had told me 10 years ago that this farm would not have tobacco, I would have said you were crazy, but it has come to the realization that that is the way it is, but we are going to live through it. The cattle industry is strong and we’re going to make it.”

Flowers thought the tour was a good way for people to see what animal agriculture is really like, debunking myths of how animals are treated and seeing cows roaming and grazing on 40 acres with calves by their sides. He also said he is in the process of fencing off ponds and putting in pipes to bring that water to tanks in an effort to better the water quality on the farm and produce a healthier animal.

Matt and Amanda Gajdzik began their farming life rather modestly, with 10 cows. That has grown into an operation that includes soybeans, hay, tobacco, peaches and apples. They also background 15-150 calves.

The orchard is the newest venture for the couple with 12 varieties of peaches and 14 of apples, along with a variety of berries and fresh vegetables.