By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent JONESVILLE, Mich. — The Farmers Feed US campaign has come to Michigan.
Earlier this month a number of farmers, along with sponsoring organizations, launched the campaign, a 90-day effort to educate the general public about farmers and modern agricultural practices. Through the website people can enter to win a chance for free groceries for a year. The last day to register is Feb. 12, 2010.
Earlier this year Ohio did a similar campaign, which has just recently wound down. In January Indiana, Iowa and Missouri are scheduled to launch their own Farmers Feed US campaigns, according to a spokesman for the Center for Food Integrity, which is helping with them. The Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) is one of the partners in the Michigan Ag Council, the umbrella-sponsoring organization in Michigan.
“We’ve all centered around the concept of Farmers Feed US, and this is what we want to move forward with,” said Deb Schmucker, a spokeswoman for the MFB. “The purpose of the campaign is to connect people with our farmers.
“We really want to put a face on Michigan ag and help them understand that they are people’s neighbors and care about the food that they are growing. The Farmers Feed US campaign really gives us an opportunity to educate the public.”
The website features apple, cattle, corn, dairy, egg, hog, vegetable, sheep and soybean farmers across Michigan. Each has volunteered to share information about their farm and family and offers a brief online tour of the farm the consumer chooses, all of which is part of the entry and registration process.
Jennifer Lewis, a dairy farmer from Jonesville, is one of the participating farmers. Along with her husband, Bruce, and three children – Adam, Brittany and Conner – Lewis milks 450 cows and grows crops on 2,100 acres. She said they increased the number of cows on their farm gradually and feed them by growing corn, soybeans, sorghum and hay. They also grow wheat.
Lewis said the family milks the cows three times a day, describing it as “a steady, everyday thing.” Her husband’s grandparents bought the farm after moving north from Ohio in 1941. The family rents the majority of land they farm. Lewis said she received a call from the Michigan Milk Producers Assoc. asking her to participate in the campaign.
“A lot of people want to know what farmers do. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of understanding of what farmers do,” she said. “My husband and I are absolutely thrilled to be a part of this program.”
Lewis is a little piqued about non-farmers and non-extension people coming in from outside the state trying to tell farmers how to take care of their animals.
“I think there are outside influences that want to dictate how farming is done,” she said.
“We drink the same water and food as everyone else around here. We take good care of the land to make sure the land takes good care of us. It’s really, really important that farming stay a viable part of the economy.
The other farmers participating in the Michigan campaign are: Jennifer Bixby, an apple grower from Berrien Springs; Dave Cheney, a hog farmer from Mason; Harry Herbruck, an egg farmer from Saranac; Ed Cagney, a soybean producer from Scotts; Scott Oswalt, a sheep farmer from Vicksburg; Annie Link, a dairy farmer from Alto; Bret Schapman, a cattle rancher from Romeo; Clark Gerstacker, a corn grower from Midland; and Jason Ruhlig, a vegetable grower from Carleton.
For more details or to contact a farmer, visit www.farmersfeedus.org |
