Letters To The Editor

Brian Snyder
Executive Director
Pa. Association for
Sustainable Agriculture

For the record, the words “Nolt is in the wrong,” which were attributed to me (though not quoted) in the recent Lancaster Farming article regarding the arrest of Cumberland County farmer Mark Nolt, are harsher than what I actually said. What I said was more along the lines that I thought Mark should get a permit to sell raw milk, especially since we are lucky to live in a state where one is available. I also expressed concern that the current situation is likely to make it harder, not easier, to get new legislation through with respect to expanding the privileges that come with a raw milk permit.

Dr. Stephen Ostroff, MD
Director, Bureau of Epidemiology
Pennsylvania Department of Health

Milk pasteurization is one of society’s greatest public health achievements, helping to prevent millions of needless illnesses. Before pasteurization came into widespread use in the 1930s, one quarter of foodborne illnesses in the United States was caused by consuming unpasteurized milk or milk products. Today, that figure is under 1 percent.

Emily Montgomery
Proprietor, Calkins Creamery

I read the May 3 front page story, Raw Milk Comes to Head on Cumberland County Farm, and felt compelled to write in support of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA).

Like Mr. Nolt, I choose to sell aged raw milk cheese to the public. Unlike Mr. Nolt, I choose to work with PDA, securing a dairy manufacturing permit that allows me to sell my cheese on the farm and in grocery stores, restaurants and farmer’s markets. With my permit, I submit to routine inspections, microbiological testing and agree to correct any problems found by the inspector in my cheese plant. To me, protecting public health is serious business; I want to be able to assure my customers that I take every step necessary, in accordance with the law, to deliver a safe, quality cheese.

Editor:
I disagree with the article, “Study: Conventional Beef Production Better for Environment than Grass-Fed” from the March 22 edition of Lancaster Farming. When you raise and finish cattle on grass you are not creating greenhouse gases.

The grass grows, and as it grows it sequesters carbon dioxide into the soil, taking it out of the environment. Then the cows eat the grass, and as they digest the grass it releases the carbon dioxide again. So, raising cattle on grass should be carbon-neutral.
— Harry Troyer
Prattsburgh, N.Y.

Editor:
Here is one more letter from the “grassroots.” I have been following this milk issue with interest for the last few months. After reading the Terry Etherton and John Fetrow op-ed letter (April 5), I felt I needed to respond.

The following is a quote from that letter. “Recently, over 200 different samples of ... conventional milk, ‘rbST-free’ milk, and organic milk were were tested by audited procedures. Within milk fat categories (skim, 1%, 2%, etc.) all samples had the same nutrient content ...”

Terry D. Etherton
Department of Dairy
& Animal Science Head
Penn State

John Fetrow
Professor of Dairy Medicine
University of Minnesota

Editor’s note: The following letter was released recently before a Ohio state review committee was to hold a hearing on a new regulation that would restrict “rBST-free” labeling and require a prominent label disclaimer that the milk is no different. In addition to Etherton and Fetrow, the letter was signed by 66 academic scientists in animal science and veterinary medicine, including Dale Bauman of Cornell University, one of the pioneers in studying rbST.

Council for Biotechnology Information
March 22 was World Water Day, the day set aside each year by the United Nations to raise awareness around the world of the need for sound policies and practices to manage water resources.
Water is fundamental to all life and an essential element in agriculture. Water availability and drought affect some portion of the world every year. Shortage of water can be particularly devastating in agriculture, impacting yields that reduce the amount of food and feed that can be grown. Managing the rising demand for crops and coping with drought conditions is becoming increasingly more important to the global economy. The United Nations estimates that by 2025 much of the world’s population will be living in countries defined as water-scarce.

Editor:
I was startled to read the Hudson Institute report announced in your March 22 article “Study: Conventional Beef Production Better for Environment Than Grass-Fed.” My fears began to subside quickly, however, once I saw that the study’s lead author was Alex Avery, a notorious denigrator of organic and natural agriculture. He is pretty much a clone of his father Dennis, who just happens to be the co-author of this “study.”

Editor:

I have been reading with interest the articles on absence labeling and rbST. While I feel a flash of anger when I pick up a pack of chicken with a “no hormones added” label (the USDA doesn’t allow hormones in chicken), I want to know if the milk that I’m giving my children comes from a cow that was given rbST.

I grew up in Lancaster County, and my father supported us by working with dairy cattle. I have an enormous amount of respect for farmers and am aware that I know precious little about appropriate herd management practices. Farmers want the best for their animals and their communities, and they make their choices from that platform. I’m in no position to say that milk from a herd that was not given rbST is better than milk from a herd that was, but I want to know which is which.

Editor:
Senator Barack Obama, candidate for president of the United States, cannot claim agricultural roots or wisdom, but in convincing ways he speaks the language. He plants the seeds of hope.

The one word that dominates the lives of those of us in agricultural pursuits is hope. We plant seeds; we breed animals; we have sales, we watch the market and weather reports; we purchase equipment; and we hope. A drought, a price increase or decrease, a reduced milk check, an elevated somatic cell count, showers on hay baling day, the death of an “excellent” cow — the list could go on and any one of those can become a hope dasher. For farmers, however, the “hope springs eternal” theme prevails and renewed spirit and efforts take over, again and again.