Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
Leader Photo by Tim Ryan Agriculture advocate and dairy farmer Carrie Mess addresses a crowd of about 275 people at a presentation Tuesday at Shawano Community High School.
Agriculture advocate and Wisconsin dairy farmer Carrie Mess, also known as Dairy Carrie, brought her message of ag advocacy to Shawano on Tuesday with a presentation at the Shawano Community High School auditorium.
“This is the first step in all of you becoming advocates for agriculture,” Mess told a crowd of about 275 people. “You guys all have the opportunity to stand up for our industry.”
Mess said pro-agriculture voices are needed, particularly in the dairy industry, in the face of attacks from animal rights groups.
“We have these people out there who have very strong opinions about what we do, and these people are really loud,” Mess aid. “They’ve been putting out their version of the facts for longer than we have.”
However, Mess said, they are not in the majority.
“If we all tell our story we can change what’s being said about our industry,” she said.
Mess played a short video put out by an animal rights group and spoke about an incident in Wisconsin in which Los Angeles-based Mercy for Animals secretly videotaped operations at a dairy farm in Brown County.
Four of the farm’s workers were subsequently charged with mistreating animals. Two of the defendants pleaded not guilty in Brown County Circuit Court on Tuesday. The farm owners are not facing any charges.
In addition to the alleged abuse, the video also shows attempts to get a down cow back on its feet, which, Mess said, can appear “mean” to anyone not familiar with a dairy farm.
Mess wrote a blog post about the issue after learning about the video.
“I didn’t see the video but my response was to talk about down cows,” she said. “A down cow is a dead cow if she doesn’t get up, and this is what we’re doing to get them up.”
Mess said that blog post changed the conversation about the video to one of understanding what’s involved in dairy farming.
“You have the power to change what people think,” she said.
Mess said individual conversations with others and stories told by people who live on and operate farms would help spread the truth about agriculture.
“Conversations start with you guys telling your story,” she said. “That’s how we’re going to change the minds of people is one by one.”
Mess challenged those in the audience to share at least one post a week on social media about life on the farm and farm operations.
Mess said despite the groups that are pushing an anti-agriculture agenda, farmers have the trust of American consumers.
“If you want to see proof that the average American trusts farmers and what we do, go to a grocery store. People keep putting food in their baskets,” she said. “Generally, they’re not worried that food is going to kill them. If you want the opposite, moms in China are not sure that what they’re putting in their basket isn’t going to hurt them or their children.”
Mess said agricultural advocacy is a means of keeping that trust.
“If the opposition to what we do keeps telling stories and we don’t, they’re going to take that trust away,” she said.