Animal Cruelty Charges & A New Approach for Young Farmers

Animal Cruelty Charges & A New Approach for Young Farmers plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Three weeks ago officials were called to a ranch in West Spokane County, Washington where they found dozens of starving horses. Now a woman has been charges with 21 counts of Animal Cruelty in the First Degree and five counts of Transporting or Confining  Animals in Unsafe Manner. The owner of the ranch claims she runs a horse rescue and rehabilitates the animals. An arraignment is scheduled for August 19 in Spokane County Superior Court.

Agriculture needs some young blood and people like 24-year old, Blain Snipstal, would like to see more young blacks involved in agriculture.

SNIPSTAL: I think farming is incredibly cool. It can be hot. It’s entertaining. We have all walks of folks who come out but I take a certain degree of attitude towards folks of color because I especially want more of them to get into this type of occupation and this general lifestyle. Not just grow your own food but making your own products. THink about relocalizing your entire life and livelihood. With children especially, they love it. When you show that it’s fun - that work can be fun. That hard work is fulfilling, generally people gravitate towards it.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Last week Tyson Foods sent a letter to cattle feeders saying that as of September 6th it will not be accepting any cattle fed the growth enhancer Zilmax, an FDA-approved supplement for cattle that increases gain and feed efficiency in the production of beef.  Tyson cites that the reason for their decision lies in an “unknown factor” behind the recent instances of cattle delivered for processing that have difficulty walking. They state in the letter that while they don’t know that Zilmax is the cause of these problems, it has been suggested to them that it “might be”. Tyson also stressed that “this is not a food safety issue”. In other words it is an animal welfare issue. In response, the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says that the NCBA stands behind beta-agonist science, but the group also respects Tyson’s decision not to accept those cattle, and takes their concern about animal well being very seriously. U.S. farmers have used the FDA approved growth enhancer since 2007, but it has been used around the world for almost twenty years. Big question now, what other companies will follow suit in boycotting a supplement used in almost half of U.S. beef?

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.