by Beverly Cook

Created on: December 29, 2008   Last Updated: December 30, 2008

I might not be a great writer, but I do know something about farming. I do raise cattle. Something that I have not heard one thing about as I read all nine articles that any of you live or have actually visited a farming operation.

If I as a cattle producer do not take the best care of my animals then I do not sell them at market for the best price, and therefore I do not make my payments. This is the way I make my living, so if I sell sick animals or not choice quality then I cut down the money I live on for the entire year. The manure that comes out of the cattle pens that house my feeders ( 600 to 800) pound calves, goes right back onto my grass or crop land therefore cutting down on the fertilizer that I need to buy. Cattle were made by God to live in the weather, not inside buildings. I put up windbreaks to help keep the wind and cold from hitting them head on. I make sure they have feed and water each and every day. I am out in the pasture checking to make sure none of them are sick and if they are I am definitely getting medication to them so that they get well, just like you go to the doctor. I am a steward of the land. There is no more land, so if I ruin it I don't have it any more. I don't over graze, I don't ruin my water, if I let manure runoff and other refuse get in my water then it goes into my home water supply. I live right there on the land with my livestock! I do raise pigs to eat and sell, as fat hogs to others. When I sell to others my reputation is on the line. If I sell sick and defective hogs then my name is ruined. I do raise chickens to eat and for the eggs I get. I sell them part of the time as well. They are sold by reputation as well.

I was raised up with the thought that you are as good as your word. Another moral being raised on was, you get out of your livestock, what you put into them. That simply means that I have to take the best care of them that I can so I need to be honest and reliable in my dealings with others. I feel that rural people who live on and love the land as I do, do the best for the land. They take care of it and everything on it. The domestic animals as well as the wild life.

The wildlife on the land benefit from the good stewardship of man as well. If you look out in a pasture you would see the deer and other wildlife feeding on the crops that are being grown for cattle and other livestock. In the winter when hay and feed for the livestock you usually see the deer feeding as well. When crops are harvested patches

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