I didn't say life was a day spa for a cow. I said that a farmer/dairyman has a vested interest in animal comfort because it can help his bottom line. And please note that your 'all of the investigative reporting' comes from goveg, peta and mercy for animals (no slant there). You never hear about the livestock inspection that went exactly as planned because it isn't news.

And not to piss on your cause, because there ARE many examples of bad ranching practices out there that need to be stopped (note: many != majority) , but if you want to be convincing you do need to lighten up on your 'root canal a day for a couple of years' example. You are correct, it is a little extreme.

I think you are confusing beef and veal. Normal beef cows are not confined to a tiny pen.

People unfamiliar with farming underestimate the degree to which the comfort of animals is taken into account. Stressed steers are less healthy. Dairy cows produce significantly less milk when stressed or uncomfortable. Some dairies play music all day because they've found it has a calming effect and increases production.

Like anything, it's all about money. But comfortable animals help the bottom line.

Donnie, get back to work! Your break is over. First the phone, now the internet. I'm going to write you up for this. For real this time.

Randy

I tried. Hey, they can't all be gold.

Very well said. Thanks for that.

I'm 35. I tend toward depression. But I'm one sexy bitch.

My mom even says I'm the handsomest guy in school . . . err, work now, I guess.

My father had his spleen removed around 20 years ago due to cancer. The spleen itself didn't have cancer, but they took it out as a precaution. He died of complications from heart disease this year at age 65. It's only one instance, of course, but it supports what I've read about this so far.

Glad you got to keep yours.. :)

Ok, now that hurt.

than 'radio' and 'shack'? Telegraph hut? Gramophone igloo? Victrola shed? . . .

And if you're ever stranded alone in the remote wilderness, bury a length of cable in the ground. Before long some jackass with a backhoe will inevitable come and dig it up. Ride home with him.

You laugh about it, but you'd be surprised at how often that really does happen.

Many farmers do very well -- you are correct. However people don't necessarily have an accurate perception of what a farmer is. People tend to want to cling to the archetype of the dirt on the hands, god fearing, simple man trying to provide for his family. So when people hear of good times for farmers, there is this perception of this dumb, lucky rube sitting on a pile of money.

The farmers who do well today (and to reiterate, yes, many do very well) aren't farmers in the traditional sense as much as they are businessmen. It's a changed world and quite complex. The days of 'sell at harvest and hope for a good price' are long gone. Nowadays they are buying inputs for a crop they wont plant for another 18 months while they are still working to market crop from the year before, all while raising the current year's crop. It's a numbers game more than it is a 'jump in the tractor and go to work' game.

I read the earlier version back when it was called Horton Hears a Who. ;-P

Eww. And he likes to share, too.