Responsibly raised meat and dairy
An uncompromising commitment to the animals we raise
You’ve probably seen the label claim “responsibly raised” – but what does it mean? To farmers, it’s an uncompromising commitment they take on every day. And, at the core of it all, it’s every farmer’s responsibility to raise safe, healthy food for your table – label or not.
Explore the perspectives of a veterinarian along with pig, dairy and beef farmers as they explain what animal care looks like on their farms.
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"Behind that national brand are individual family farmers like me."Thomas Titus
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"What do raising kids and cows have in common? Choices."
Megan Dwyer
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"It’s a fair expectation to have farm animals well cared..."
Wesley Lyons, DVM
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"Cows don’t like the bitter cold any more than we..."
Tammy Wakely
PROVIDING SAFE FOOD FOR YOUR FAMILY AND MINE
If you pick up a package of Farmland bacon at the grocery store, there’s a chance it could be pork from the pigs raised on my farm. And behind that national
brand are individual farmers like me who are committed to animal care.
Here are a few things I do on my farm to make sure you get a great slice of bacon:
Specialized diet. A piglet weighing 8-10 pounds needs a completely different diet than a pig weighing 250 pounds.
- Adding beneficial ingredients to their feed. Chili powder helps keep pigs cool, and essential oils and oregano can improve immunity
and overall health. Finding alternative ways to keep pigs healthy allows us to preserve and sustain the effectiveness of antibiotics.
- Keeping them cozy. Pigs prefer a temperature of about 70 degrees. When pigs are comfortable, they don’t spend their energy trying
to regulate their body temperature, but instead are growing healthy and strong.
- Keeping them safe. Enclosed buildings help keep disease, parasites and predators from getting into barns and exposing our pigs to
illness or danger.
Thomas Titus Farmer
"Behind that national brand are individual family farmers like me."
Thomas's Perspectives & Posts
Providing Safe Food for Your Family and Mine
If you pick up a package of Farmland bacon at the grocery store, there’s a chance it could be pork from the pigs raised on my farm. And behind that national brand are individual farmers like myself committed to animal care.
The pork industry has added another step to their proactive approach with the Common Swine Industry Audit.
What Success Looks Like On My Farm
A farm is not defined by its size, but by the people who work on that farm every day; the people that pour everything they have into raising a quality product.
Why buy pork from across the pond, Chipotle?
If Chipotle would talk to me, I would tell them that standard practice on my farm is to treat pigs with antibiotics when they are sick, and only when they are sick.
RAISING KIDS AND CATTLE – IT’S ALL ABOUT CHOICES
What do raising
kids and cows have in common? Choices – and lots of them. My husband and I have two young children, so the choices around raising them seem never ending.
When making these choices, we rely on a variety of resources, including our trusted pediatrician, the experience of family and friends, information
from credible sources and good old fashioned parents’ intuition. And when I think about it, the way we raise our kids is a lot like the way we raise our cattle.
- Which breeds will work best for our farm?
- How do we keep calves healthy?
- What kind of housing is best?
- Do we use hormones to help our animals gain muscle more efficiently?
Megan Dwyer Farmer
"What do raising kids and cows have in common? Choices."
Megan's Perspectives & Posts
4 Farm Moms and the Labels They’re Not Buying
These four farm moms have an insider’s view of how food is grown and raised, so they can see right through label claims designed to make more money rather than inform.
Illinois Farmer Q&A: How do you feel when you see misleading food labels at the grocery store?
You have questions about farm practices and food labels, and Illinois farmers have those answers. We asked local farmers your questions about various labels so you can get your answers straight from the source.
Illinois Farmer Q&A: How has biotechnology changed your farm?
We asked local farmers your questions about GMOs so you can get your answers straight from the source. Let's talk about what's on your table.
Illinois Farmer Q&A: What food labels do you think are the most misleading?
You have questions about farm practices and food labels, and Illinois farmers have those answers. We asked local farmers your questions about various labels so you can get your answers straight from the source. Let's talk about what's on your table.
Illinois Farmer Q&A: What food labels do you think hold the most significance?
You have questions about farm practices and food labels, and Illinois farmers have those answers. We asked local farmers your questions about various labels so you can get your answers straight from the source.
Raising Kids and Cattle – It's all about choices.
My husband and I have two young children, and the choices around raising them seem never ending. And believe it or not, we make a lot of choices when it comes to raising our beef cattle, too.
VETS ENSURE EXTRA LAYER OF RESPONSIBLE CARE
I’m a member of a six-vet team that helps farmers care for sows (momma pigs) on farms across Illinois. We fill a lot of roles, including monitoring overall
health, helping farms hire and train employees and working with farms on welfare questions.
Keeping a clean house means healthy pigs I think the term “factory farm” has created this perception that animals are just being raised – hold the “responsibly.” People might think barns are overcrowded
and dirty, leading to illness and disease.
- I sign in on a visitor log that tracks who comes in and out of the barn each day.
- After spraying sanitizer on my hands, I sit at a bench in an area similar to a locker room and take my shoes off.
- Then, I swing my legs over to the other side of the bench.
- Some farms have a “shower-in, shower-out” policy, so I’ll take a quick shower and then change into clothes and shoes provided by the farm.
Wesley Lyons, DVM Expert
"It’s a fair expectation to have farm animals well cared for."
Wesley's Perspectives & Posts
ABC's of the VFD – What does it mean for antibiotics in your food?
As of January 1, another layer of oversight has been added to the agriculture industry’s use of antibiotics through the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). So what’s the impact and what does it mean?
There has been a recent push for a transition from gestation stalls to group housing for pigs. There are certainly pros and cons to both.
Vets Ensure Extra Layer of Responsible Animal Care
I’m a member of a six-vet team that helps farmers care for sows (momma pigs) on 15 farms across Illinois. We fill a lot of roles, including monitoring overall health, helping farms hire and train employees and working with farms on welfare questions.
Why hormones aren’t important, why antibiotics are
Are you concerned about antibiotic residues in food? I am too, but for different reasons.
BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE
Keeping
dairy cows safe, healthy and warm depends on more than the weather. Although being in the Midwest, weather extremes do have a big impact on animal
care (cows don’t like January’s bitter cold any more than we do). It also depends on the animal’s age – dairy cattle have special needs as they grow.
While the care we give them at each stage of life might be different, the level of care always remains our top priority.
Housing is one of the ways we cater to these special needs as our animals grow:
- Our baby calves live in a calf barn, each with their own individual hut and curtain sides that can be opened and closed depending
on the temperature outside.
- At two months old, our calves are weaned off milk and placed in groups that live in pens where they have access to a barn and the outdoors while they grow.
- At 10 months, the heifers (young females) spend their days on pasture in the spring, summer and fall. We bring them into the barn
during the cold winter weather.
- Our milk cows, dry cows (cows that are resting before giving birth) and pregnant heifers (first-time moms) are all housed in free-stall barns with curtain sides that can open and close and have access to pastures or dirt lots in dry weather.
Tammy Wakely Farmer
"Cows don’t like the bitter cold any more than we do."
Tammy's Perspectives & Posts
Keeping dairy cows safe, healthy and warm depends on more than the weather. While the care we give them at each stage of life might be different, the level of care always remains our top priority.
Illinois Farmer Q&A: How has biotechnology changed your farm?
We asked local farmers your questions about GMOs so you can get your answers straight from the source. Let's talk about what's on your table.
When we notice an animal not feeling well, the first thing we do is take its temperature (not unlike what you do for your children).
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