LIVING WITH HSUS: FACTS YOU MUST KNOW

Animal Welfare vs. Animal Rights
• “Animal rights” means that animals have rights- and aren’t ours to own or use for food, entertainment, or companionship.
• “Animal welfare” means providing proper care to animals- something that farmers and ranchers work hard to achieve everyday!
About Animal Activists
• They have been in the business of creating conflict between animal agriculture and the consumer for more than 30 years.
• The end goal? Cause animal protein products to become so expensive that the average American can’t afford them, putting farmers and ranchers out of business.
• These are not people who want to make a deal; this is a movement, an ideology, dogma, religion… this is a long-term battle.
• They are targeting youth, schools, colleges, and rock concerts by using “hyper emotionalism,” a false display of cruelty to get their message out.
Who is the Humane Society of the United States?
• The Humane Society of the United States preys on emotion to fundraise- even though, according to IRS documents, less than one-half of one percent (.5%) of HSUS’ $100 million budget goes towards hands-on animal care.
• But- according to a 2010 survey, 83 percent of Americans think that HSUS supports local animal shelters. 71 percent think it is an “umbrella group” for local shelters.
• Where does the money go? $2.5 million went to HSUS employee pension plans- five times as much as the money used by the organization to promote animal welfare.
• HSUS takes on expensive ballot initiative campaigns, advertising, and lobbying to restrict livestock production practices.
• According to David Martosko of Humanewatch.org, PETA and HSUS are very much alike; they just differ in how they market their brands. PETA is a “pickpocket” and goes for shock value. HSUS is a “con man,” manipulating the public to gain support.
Recent Activist Campaigns
• California’s activist-funded 2008 Proposition 2 campaign outlawed common agriculture practices and set a precedent for other states.
• Lobbied to strip funding from USDA horse slaughter inspection, shutting down all domestic horse slaughter in 2007.
• HSUS infiltrated the 4-H program in 2010, presenting a session at the National 4-H Convention to youth leaders entitled: “Animal Instincts: Service Learning and Animal Welfare.”

HSUS Corporate Supporters
• Steak and Shake
• Jack In The Box
• Sonic Corp
• Oreck Vacuums
• Chipotle
• Bank of America
• Microsoft
• Xerox
• PetsMart
• Land Rover
• Harland Clark- they probably print your checks
What YOU Can Do

• Spread the word of HSUS’ deception through grassroots efforts;
• Sign up for NCBA’S MBA (Master’s of Beef Advocacy) Program;
• Join groups such as HumaneWatch.org, Animal Agriculture Alliance, and Advocates For Agriculture;
• Utilize social media, Facebook, Twitter and blog platforms to share your story;
Bottom Line
• Either you believe in farming and ranching, or you don’t.
• Either you are willing to defend it, or you aren’t.
• Agriculturists MUST tell their stories in order to push back the opposition and preserve our ability to feed the world!

Knowledge of Ag: Haves vs Have Nots

I know you’re getting sick of hearing about “the train”, but I just have to share one more story.
When traveling by train dining is community seating so you’re always eating with people you don’t know. All the way out and coming back there were only 3 or 4 people I met during those meals that knew much about agriculture. Several knew about “factory farming” and lumped all of us into that category. This seemed like a good little representation of American folks…young, old, married, single, liberal, conservative, east coast, west coast, middle class, and I was amazed at the ag ignorance that prevailed.
When I arrived in D.C my cab driver who was from Africa asked what I was doing in town. I told him about HSUS and their attacks on animal agriculture and the Animal Ag Alliance Summit I was attending. He had heard of HSUS. At one point he asked, “What’s wrong with Americans, I love agriculture, that’s how we survive?” “We’re spoiled rotten.” I told him. He agreed. I just keep thinking about the vast chasm of a realization of the origin of food production that exists between the spoiled and the unspoiled.

Normalcy, What's That?

After attending the Animal Ag Alliance in Arlington, VA my train pulled back into Hutchinson, Kansas at 4:00 a.m. Sunday. I headed south for the three hour trip home but only made it down the road a ways before having to stop for a power nap. At 9:45 a.m. I walked into our small church back in northwest Oklahoma. Later that afternoon our church hosted an area wide youth rally for about 60 kids.

Monday morning I hopped in with a "stranger" aka "hubby" and traveled to Eastern Oklahoma to put bulls out. We caught up on each others week then unloaded those bulls, turned around and traveled back to Kansas – to the exact vicinity I’d been the morning before. We picked up more bulls there and brought them back to Oklahoma.

During our OK-KS-OK trip we discussed our daughter-in-law’s trip to NYC. She works with autistic children at our public school and was in NYC attending an autism convention (I was secretly jealous, Temple Grandin was one of the speakers) We were worried about the bomb scare. My oldest son, the one who’s hated large cities and crowds since he was a baby –called to express his anxiety about his wife’s safety.

Tuesday morning I left for the state History Day competition in OKC. Our oldest grandson and his partner made the finals and qualified to go onto D.C. with their presentation, “Taming The Terrible Twister- A Look At The Origin of Doppler Radar.”

After the competition I drove 2 hours home…but not before attending a poetry reading with youngest daughter. Giving her a big hug I left and headed home. Around 4:00 am we got a call, she was having emergency surgery; an ectopic pregnancy. The long trip back to OKC was spent praying for her recovery.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were spent with her and her wonderful in-laws. We all took turns being nurse to her and babysitter for their three.

On Wednesday I received a Facebook message asking about the State 4-H Proficiency Wildlife Shoot. Were we hosting it at our ranch on Saturday? I called home but no one seemed to know much about it. The only facts we had about it came from our local newspapers, and yes we were hosting it…?

On Thursday 50 elementary age kids were scheduled to visit our ranch. Games and a meal were planned. On Wednesday I called the school and told them our situation. Arrangements were made to skip the games and meal, but keep the plan to visit. I thank the Lord for family-my dad and son hosted the kids…all 50+ of them.

On Friday our oldest son calls to let us know there’s been another scare in NYC. He shares his plight to get his wife and the other 2 women a flight out of the city ASAP (we later find out that it wasn’t a bomb but an ice chest filled with water)


Today is Saturday. I’m contemplating the week’s activities, mishaps, and problems. Hubby made another run to Eastern Oklahoma to work cattle. Our youngest daughter is on the mend but I have questions about socialized health care. Like what will the “level of surgery severity requirements" be to be considered for an overnight stay in an actual room for recovery? At present it seems around 90 minutes appeases the insurance companies for the removal of an ovary and fallopian tube. I can’t imagine that time being cut much shorter as her speedy dismissal required another trip to the ER on Friday night.
The State 4-H Proficiency Wildlife Shoot did take place here. Miscommunication or maybe none…? I’m still not sure about that one.
I go outside for some peace and quiet. Not so fast. In my fenced backyard I find two men, both looking a little too rugged for wear, one holding a strange round radar looking thing pointing it towards me and my house. I approach them and ask what they’re doing. They tell me it’s a GPS system and they’ve been here working all week…surveying. At this point I don’t really care--I don’t have the energy. Shoot me, survey me, vaporize me, ah heck just surprise me… I’m pooped.

Social Media Agriculture's Survival Tool

This week I was preparing a short speech promoting social media for an ag meeting. I ended up not having to speak, which was a relief. But I want to share the thoughts that I'd penned..

I am a sixth generation farmer/rancher. Thanks to my great grandfather whose dream to start a farm on the 160 acres I call home over 117 years ago, my family has been able to enjoy a wonderful exciting life in agriculture. We are a cow/calf operation with our primary focus being retained ownership. We feed out almost every animal raised and have done this for over 70 years. We also raise wheat, corn, milo and alfalfa.
How would you like to pull into Sonic, ready to order- your mouth watering for that favorite bacon cheeseburger only to find the item’s price had tripled or was taken off the menu altogether and replaced with a tofu vegetarian alternative. Sound absurd? Well it’s not. . The Humane Society of the U.S., a deceptive anti-animal ag organization is now purchasing shares in fast food chains across the U.S. 38 to date, so it can legally propose anti- animal agriculture internal changes within these companies, and Oklahoma based Sonic Corp is among them. By purchasing controlling stock in these food chains HSUS can now control how their food suppliers handle their animals demanding ongoing audits from livestock and poultry handlers.
In 2008 HSUS’ operating budget consisted of nearly $100 million of which only ½ of 1 percent was actually going to help animals in need. The remainder of those funds were being used to lobby against animal ag, for administrative costs, and pension plans for employees. For the past year my focus has been to create awareness and educate friends and other producers about this well armed enemy of ag. Last year I realized many producers were unaware of HSUS’ main objective -to put an end to all animal agriculture altogether.
I began my confusing journey into the social media world almost a year ago. I was one of the first to complete the Masters of Beef Advocacy program offered by NCBA which helps educate producers on how to tell their story. Being concerned about the direction our country was headed I also attend some political activists training sessions which my husband refers to as my "riot enhancement" training...lol, but at those meetings I learned the steps I needed to take to use social media as a tool for campaigning. And in a sense that was what I was doing…campaigning against the destruction of animal ag. I had also attended several Women In Ag seminars and met great contacts from those meetings. By pooling what I’d learned from those three groups I started blogging. After blogging I then designed a website to tell our ranching story. Today I am using Facebook and Twitter as other avenues of getting the message out. This past month I designed a “become a fan of ExPOSE HSUS” page on Facebook and to date have over a thousand members. Across the nation individuals are using social media as a tool to circulate the message of HSUS’ deception and destruction. This endeavor is working. We saw the success of it when several large corporations stopped their funding for HSUS when confronted by the agriculture community through social media. Perhaps you’ve heard of about Yellow Tail, Pilot Travel Centers, Mary Kaye. Each one of these companies were quick to make amends with ag by vowing not to support HSUS in the future.

Animal agriculture birthed civilization. Without the body of agriculture, society would not exists. The heart of ag’s body is the producer; the producers of swine, sheep, beef, horses and chickens. The lifeblood-animal agriculture businesses and associations keep life pulsing throughout the entire body whether it be through the arteries of animal packing plants, food services, restaurants and grocery stores, or the veins and capillaries of vet supply companies and animal ag associations. HSUS has driven stakes into the hearts of several of our ag industries. These fatal attacks cut capillaries and punctured veins and arteries. If not stopped HSUS will fulfill its intention of destroying this body of animal ag.

My great grandfather had a dream. I’m going to fight to make sure that dream stays alive for future generations. Our family, just as thousands of other hard working farming and ranching families, has for centuries worked too hard to let a group who knows nothing about our industries come in and destroy them. Through social media I believe agriculture can survive. Please take the time to educate yourselves and use this wonderful tool to keep the blood flowing and a pulse in our animal agriculture industry.

A Wonderful Day

Today was a wonderful day. It began by waking up beside one of my grandsons...the one that rolls his little body up in a tiny ball and sticks his butt in your stomach...
For breakfast we made crepes and buckwheat pancakes and ate them to Sponge Bob. By noon the majority of his cousins arrived; the one that dismantles everything within her tiny arms length, the nine year old contemplative "wise old man", the one who talks as fast as he thinks...and moves, the one that mourns his leaving each time he visits, the one who is a collector of "many things" and the new one that watches and observes all the rest. Today two were missing... the "Idea Master" and his sister, "Tiny Dancer".
We ate noodle soup and bubble bread and shivered as a bear attacked "Ole Yellar", we wound the family cuckcoo clock as we waited patiently for the appearance of the tiny bird who lives there. Water color master pieces were created, knees were scraped, heads were bumped and kisses were given.
Today was a wonderful day...

Tradin Six Shooters For Key Boards

I apologize for not blogging. I've been sidetracked. If you've been reading my blog and website for the past nine months you're probably recognizing that I do have a method behind my madness...well, sort of. I'm on a mission...to help save my country and to help save our animal agriculture industry.
This past month has been arm to arm combat...not with a gun but a keyboard. Not with bullets, but "social media" and some things called Facebook and Twitter. The choice of ammo --my "become a fan of page" ExPOSE HSUS.
If you're familiar with HSUS you know they are not who they claim to be, but instead a slick organization with a mission to eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from the American diet while simultaneously driving farmers and ranchers out of business. Raising funds to do this deceitfully.
A large group of us have waged war against them with Social Media tactics...and we're making progress.
A little over a month ago Yellow Tail Wine producers donated $100,000.00 to HSUS. Within hours news spread across the world via Facebook and Twitter. Ag producers across the country poured their Yellow Tail out and boycotted the company. That company responded by vowing not to fund HSUS ever again.
A few days later news was out that Pilot Travel Centers were a source of funding for HSUS. Again the Agriculture Web Community got their keyboards out and within a short time Pilot Travel Centers also vowed to cut HSUS's donations.
Then news of Mary Kaye Corporation being an HSUS supporter surfaced. You guessed it...another Animal Ag Attack. This story ended with the Mary Kaye Corporation finding out that the support had been done unintentionally. They too terminated any ties with HSUS.
In each case the Agriculture Community quickly commended the companies for terminating their ties with HSUS just as quickly as they had attacked.
Social Media is a phenomenal tool. A tool to save our industry. If you're not using it please don't be intimidated by it. You can do it. If I can, you can. It just takes a little time and perseverance. It's going to take all of us telling our stories, getting our positive messages out, correcting misinformation and being actively engaged before animal ag can declare victory.

Blood Runs Deep

I started my website for one reason- to share my story.
A little over a year ago I realized America was in trouble. I didn’t agree with the direction the government was guiding our country so I started emailing my thoughts at a frantic pace. When the results of the election ushered in a tide of liberalism and socialism I decided to attend an activist training (Brad referred to it as my “riot enhancement” training). At those meetings an explanation of how we could maximize our opinions with a website, Twitter, and Facebook was suggested. I was a good student and did what I was told.
Then there was the incentive to tell my ranch story. For several years, as a beef producer I’d been witnessing attacks on our industry along with other animal agriculture groups. Through our beef industry’s training program; Master of Beef Advocacy, cattle ranchers are trained to positively explain our beef industry to the public. I was told to get on the web, use Twitter and Facebook to tell my story. Again, being a good student, I did as I was told.
At first I thought, “What story? I don’t have a story.” My story is just like…Joe’s… well, maybe not, his family sold out and moved to town. Well, my story is just like Ruby's grandparents…but maybe not, after they passed away their kids all moved to town and they sold the farm. Well, maybe my story is just like Mary Jean and Bill's they used to farm, well, no it’s not like theirs either because they moved to the city and now lease all their ground out.
I guess I do have a story and it goes like this:
Once upon a time there was a man who had a dream. He had perseverance, he had tenacity and he wanted to own a parcel of ground.
He left home at the tender age of 17 and made his way into a land he knew nothing about. He didn’t drive a car, didn’t take a bus, didn’t fly. He rode his horse the 180 mile trip.
There were no McDonalds, no Wendy’s no Arby’s.
There were no laundry mats, motels, Quick Trips or roadside stops. No electrical outlets to plug a microwave, electric skillet, or frig. He didn’t have an ice chest or thermos- no bag of ice. No peanut butter crackers, chips, Pepsi or Coke. No Dial, no shower, no towel. When he reached his destination on the eve of the land run, he didn’t pull his Xbox out to entertain himself into the night. And what was a television? Or a radio?
No he didn’t have much. Just a great big dream and tenacity.
Today I’m trying to protect that dream. The dream that for the past 116 years has been perpetuated by Oscar’s child, his child’s children, their children, and theirs. A dream that wasn’t mine, or my brother’s, or my husband’s or my childrens. Non the less a dream perpetuated; a dream turned legacy.
Emotion. Passion. Here lately I’ve been accused of possessing an abundance of both.
I plead guilty. The passion and emotion I have for my country- for my ranch is overwhelming.
It’s not an option for me to sit idle as our president and his cabinet turn our country upside down-drag our constitution through the dirt- and silence and ignore the voices of America. My founding fathers wouldn’t like that.
It’s not an option for me to sit idle as groups such as the Humane Society of the United States gather funds to be used for deceitful intentions. Funds raised by playing on the emotions of television viewers. Funds which ultimately are used to place anti-animal agriculture lobbyist in each state of the nation. Funds which will ultimately be used to legislate animal agriculture out of business. No, I can’t sit idly by while that happens. My granddad Os probably wouldn’t like that. I'm thinking maybe some training in tenacity and perseverance? Nah, I've had a good teacher-one I never knew...but blood runs deep and I'm a good student.