LEESBURG, Ind. — For Trent Loos, talking with farmers and ranchers about the agriculture industry is worth the time away from his livestock operation in central Nebraska.

 

Loos, a sixth-generation rancher, spends about 150 nights a year in hotel rooms in order to visit with farmers and hear their concerns about the industry.

He spoke to a group of more than 400 at Tom Farms’ annual appreciation dinner in Leesburg on August 17.

“The toughest part of this job is leaving (home),” Loos said before his presentation. “(Sharing the message) is still worth my trip to leave what I love most. All our family runs the ranch. Our ranch is just as large as my wife can handle.”

The Loos family raises 100 sows, 100 cows and 22 horses. In addition to his rancher and speaking duties, he also hosts the radio programs “Rural Route” and “Loos Trails and Tales.”

While traveling the country, he said farmers and ranchers he’s talked with have two primary concerns. “No. 1 is the freedom to farm,” he explained. “The overbearing federal government is trying to stop you from hiring your own kid to work on your own farm.”

Farmers also criticize “overzealous” federal agencies such as the EPA, he added. “No. 2 is the fear of not being able to access technology to allow us to produce more with less,” Loos said. “There are technical advancements we’re not able to implement because of misconceptions.”

During his speech at Tom Farms, he said the dairy industry is producing two times as much milk as it did 40 years ago. The same number of beef cows produce three times as much beef as in 1951.

“I don’t want people to be sharing lies and misinformation on what modern agriculture is,” he stated. “It’s the misinformation that concerns me greatly.

In 1900, it took five acres to produce enough food to feed one person for a year. Today, it takes less than one-third of an acre. That’s because of technology.

“Science and technology have made farming the success it is. Farming is on the cutting-edge of genetics and the cutting edge of technology.”

If those opposed to technologies such as genetically modified (GMO) foods found a way to end their use, Loos said, “given the resilience of the American farmer, we’d find a way to make it work.”

He stressed the importance of communicating with the public, especially those who may not understand the basics of farming and where their food comes from. “At one time, we had a lot of people farming, but today we don’t have a lot of people farming,” he said. “You need to communicate in a way people outside of agriculture will understand.

Our greatest challenge of where food comes from is getting people to understand everything lives, everything dies.

In order for you to live something else has to die, whether a plant or animal.”

Conversations about food and where it comes from should “start around the kitchen table,” he explained. “Tell one person one day at a time. Who are the most important people in the future of our country? Without a doubt, they are the farmers and ranchers who supply our food, fiber and fuel from American soil.”