Education

  I believe that being educated is extremely important, as I'm sure most of you do as well. There are plenty of topics out there that I do not know much about or understand but these are the topics that I either chose to learn more about or that I don't add much into the conversation when they are being discussed. I know that everyone is entitles to their own opinions and that they should be able to express them how they like but when the topic of my job comes up it is very difficult for me. People are not nearly as educated about commercial farming and livestock as they think that they are. They watch a documentary on tv and see that one farm has been mistreating their animals and they assume that all farms do the same thing. These same people will later watch a clip about farms that grow their food organically and the think they know what is best for the world.  These people are sadly uneducated and I wish they would take more time to do some real research.
  I work on a hog farm where the animals are in confinement. I love my job and worked very hard to get to where I am today. I went to college at one of the top schools for agriculture and learned from some of the best professors in their fields. I had classes learning specifically about the controversial topics in my field and about ways to help educate the community. Not all farms are bad. Some people really do care about the animals and are in it for the right reasons. Saying that all of the commercial farms where animals are raised for meat are bad is like saying that because some of the school systems are less than the best and have bad teachers that all of the schools and teachers may be bad. It's simply not true. When I am at work I'm saving lives. I help bring babies into the world and take care of them and their moms. I give them medicine if they are sick, make sure they have clean, fresh feed and water available to them at all times, and do my best to make sure that they do not have stress and discomfort. I love going into work and seeing the sows and the little babies. I wish other people could hear the other side of the story...or at least act like they want to hear it.
  The bottom line I'm trying to make is that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Not everything is as it seems. Education is the key.....but really think about where you are getting your sources from. Believe it or not, you cannot believe everything that you see on tv or read online.

On a happier note Miss Keena Louise is doing fantastically and LOVING the snow! She is just a gigantic puppy when she sees the stuff! Times like this I really wish we had a fenced in yard so she could at least run free! Hope everyone else is having a fantast week!