Gilmer Dairy Farm News
Farmers Urged to
"Become Activists" for Agriculture
The following article
is posted on the American Farm Bureau Federation's website
and can be viewed in its entirety at
this address.
Image appears via
Alabama Farmers Federation website.
SAN
ANTONIO, January 12, 2009 – Farmers and ranchers at the
American Farm Bureau Federation’s 90th annual meeting were
encouraged to speak out and become activists for
agriculture.
“We can’t think of the word ‘activists’ as a dirty word anymore,” said Will Gilmer, a third-generation dairyman from Lamar County, Ala. “We have to be proactive, aware and informed about our industry and what others are saying about us. It’s going to take all of us to be active.”
Gilmer’s activism takes the form of maintaining the family farm’s web site, which includes an “E-dopt a Cow” program, and writing a blog that explains what goes on at a dairy farm. He said he could reach more people through the Internet than he can in rural Alabama.
Gilmer was joined by Chris Chinn, a hog producer from Clarence, Mo., and Michelle Ganci, a livestock/poultry consultant from Clovis, Calif., on a panel discussion on the issue of animal agriculture. The three shared their different experiences in becoming active in speaking out for agriculture.
