By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

DANVILLE, Ind. — On Monday July 21, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) officially launched the long-awaited Certified Livestock Program, inducting the first four farmers to qualify for the program.

Recognized for their commitment to excellence and accountability, Joe Kelsay, a dairy producer from Whiteland, Ind.; Clark Sennett, a beef producer from Waynetown, Ind.; Jim Zimmerman, a contract poultry grower from Redkey, Ind. and David Hardin, a pork producer from Danville, Ind. each received a commemorative plaque and farm sign displaying the newly developed Certified Livestock Program logo.

The Certified Livestock Producer Program, developed by the ISDA, was piloted as a voluntary program in 2007 and today, recognizes producers who are willing to demonstrate publicly their commitment to the environment, animal well-being, food safety, emergency planning, biosecurity and being a good neighbor.

“Gov. Daniels and I believe Indiana livestock farmers do a great job, specifically with their commitment to the environment and the livestock on their farms,” said Skillman. “This program and these Certified Livestock Producers exemplify Indiana’s leadership in innovative ways to help improve the understanding of modern livestock production in today’s communities.”

To become certified, the four honored livestock farmers had to demonstrate good compliance with all state and federal entities, as well as attend a program-specific seminar and use a self-study manual on best management practices.

“Everything we had to do to be a part of this program, we were already doing,” said Sennett, who owns and operates a 250 cow-calf operation and markets 1,500 steers yearly. “It’s a matter of best management practices and since the Department of Environmental Manage-ment already regulates us, we were already doing most of the items this program required.”

Sennett was particularly interested in participating in the program due to his proximity to major Indiana highways.

“With this program, we can show the public everyday as they drive by and see our sign that we are committed to doing the right thing,” he stated.

A public commitment

“I feel grateful to be a dairy producer today and lucky to be a sixth generation farmer that continues a commitment to our animals, environment and our community,” said Kelsay, who operates a large-scale dairy and agritourism operation just south of Indianapolis. “Our farm believes strongly in this program and I look forward to teaching the traditions of good stewardship to the next generation.”

Kelsay said that in order for his family farm to qualify for ISDA’s new program, he created an emergency plan that includes a detailed contact list and a plan of action in case of a devastating emergency.

“The big difference for us was just pulling the pieces together,” said Kelsay. “We sat down as a family and went over our written emergency plan. We’ve had a few unfortunate accidents on our property, two fires and a natural gas line leak, so having this plan in place now is really going to serve as a benefit for our business and my family.

For Hardin, a family pork producer and host of the ceremony, he sees a lot of value in the Certified Livestock Program for producers of all sizes to show a public commitment to community awareness, the environment, food safety and animal well-being.

“Our consumers are about three generations removed from the farm, so when they see modern farming practices it just doesn’t match up with the Norman Rockwell image they have of farming,” said Hardin, who manages a 650 sow farrow-to-finish operation.
“This program will really help communicate the true story about agriculture to the public at large; and also communicate that Indiana farmers produce some of the safest food supply in history.
It’s easy to lose sight of that,” he commented. “This program is a perfect opportunity to self-promote our story.”

As a poultry producer, Zimmerman, who raises 136,000 chicken layers per year, the new livestock program demonstrates his commitment to nutrient management.

“It’s important that our neighbors know we’re not just applying anything and everything onto our fields, we are extremely conscientious and regulated on every nutrient that gets applied onto our fields,” said Zimmerman.

Zimmerman also hopes that more producers will participate in the program and continue to spread the word about the best management practices utilized by farmers everyday.

While the program itself does not hold each producer accountable, according to Hardin, “any producer that qualifies for this program is probably already regulated by the Department of Environ-mental Management and the Board of Animal Health, so if you don’t follow those rules then you won’t be in this program.

In addition, we hold each other accountable, if I see a Certified Livestock sign in someone’s yard and they aren’t living up to the program, I will definitely say something.”

“We want to encourage as many livestock farmers as possible to participate in the program, “said Ken Klemme, acting director of the ISDA, who encouraged producers of any size to visit www.in.gov/isda for more information and to download an application form.