Following the rules

There was some news recently about a Kentucky farmer who said he didn't always follow the labeling protocols on antibiotics.  It was a painful article to read, because like anything - cops, teachers, lawyers - if there’s one person doing something wrong, it reflects badly on the entire profession.

In this instance, it’s even worse, because it affects all of us – and our entire food supply.

On our farm, we only use antibiotics when cows are sick.  For antibiotics, there’s a period of time on the prescription label that instructs you on the period of time it’s in their bodies and you have to dump the milk.

All antibiotics have a strict pre-slaughter withdrawal period, and we always follow that.  Of course you want to do all you can for a sick cow, but you want to make sure that the meat from the cow you’re having butchered is safe and healthy.  We follow the protocol that years of testing and FDA regulation have approved.  The slaughter price of cows isn't worth risking human health.

My family eats the same food and drinks the same milk everyone else drinks – there’s no way I’d want to be giving them something that was tainted.  I don’t want it for them, and I don’t want it for other consumers.  Label rules are the rules, and that’s what we follow.  

The article stated that the farmer has since retired and has no cattle.  I wish him well in his future endeavors … in retirement you can write your own rules.

 

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Writing a letter

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that impelled me to write a letter to the editor. 

As published, it reads:

  Retired agriculture and economics professor Ed Jesse says that organic dairy cows produce less milk because they can't be given antibiotics ("Got Milk? Spinoff Shows Lure of Organic," Marketplace, Aug. 9).

  Your readers, however, shouldn't take this to mean that antibiotics are found in traditional milk. On a traditional farm, sick cows on antibiotics are milked into a separate container, and the milk is dumped until the antibiotics are out of the cow's system.

  If a trace of antibiotics is found in a tank delivered to a processing plant, the entire load is dumped—yours and whatever other farms' milk is in the tank. You don't get paid and you are fined. The tainted milk never reaches the processing plant's tank.

  Consumers can be assured that all milk, traditional and organic, is antibiotic-free.

Carla Wardin
Evergreen Dairy Inc.

As the reporter also stated in the article, "Consumers are willing to pay much higher prices for products they perceive to be more healthy."  Perception is king, but when consumers know the facts, they can make a more informed choice.

Enjoy your milk today - and every day!  For me, opening the paper and seeing my letter made it one of the best breakfasts ever.