Telling our stories

As someone who loves to communicate her thoughts and feelings it really nice to know I’m connecting with likeminded people out in the country as well as some who may not have access to information about farming and the people who farm.

I write in an effort to share the truth about agriculture.  There are far too many detractors out there shouting their messages of hate, distrust and cynicism.  I don’t want them to be the most powerful voice, I want everyone who raises stock, grows food or produces fibre to share their stories.  Our stories come from a place of truth, trust and goodwill.

Exposing the lies

If our stories reach just a few people who are willing to listen and think it will be worth the effort.  So much of what is being said about farmers just makes no sense at all.  That is their weakness; lies can be easily picked apart and exposed.

This latest attempt by Aussie Farms to force farmers to open up their properties to scrutiny is not the way transparency is achieved.   There are already procedures in place to ensure the highest standard of animal welfare is always maintained.   If those standards are sometimes not met by a minority, that is not an invitation to trespass on every other farmer who is doing the right thing.

A calm, measured response

Extreme animal activists are a small minority group.  They have views that differ vastly to the rest of the population and yet they think they can dictate the terms of Australian farming.  Their hysteria knows no bounds so we need a rational, calm and measured response.  There is no point in getting irate, no reward in ridiculing them and no reason to respond to the more frenzied haters amongst them.

Standing up for our industry

We have been called murderers, we’ve been told our children are the children of abusers, we have been told the heartless, soulless torturers of animals deserve the same fate.  I shake my head.  They are the deluded ones, the fanatics with their strange, irrational ideologies.

We producers have to just keep telling our stories, sharing our photos, stating the facts.  We owe it to ourselves to stand up for our industry.