OMAHA (DTN) -- As events have unfolded following a 550-million egg recall, groups created to be agriculture advocates -- agvocates -- have remained relatively quiet about the situation.
Those groups willing to comment agreed that incidents such as salmonella-contaminated eggs and the recall of more than half a billion eggs tarnishes agriculture as a whole. (Photo courtesy of MSU Ag Communications)
These groups established by various producer organizations and allied industries to defend agriculture don't want to talk about how ag should respond to the recall and the large business at the center of the federal health probe and possible criminal investigation.
The recall focuses on two farm operations in Iowa, one of which is owned by Austin "Jack" DeCoster, 75, who has a long history of environmental and labor violations not just in Iowa, but in Maine and Ohio as well.
State and federal health officials have reported roughly 1,470 cases of salmonella illness since the spring. That suggests potentially 55,800 salmonella cases nationally because FDA officials told industry representatives in public hearings on the egg-quality rule last year that each reported salmonella case can have a multiplied factor of 38 unreported cases.
FDA officials cited earlier this week that the farms implicated in the recall, DeCoster's Wright County Farms and another farm, Hillandale Farms, showed "significant deviations" from how those farms should be operating and were clearly violating the egg-quality rule implemented by FDA in July. FDA officials cited large piles of manure and infestations of flies, maggots and rodents.
The report from the FDA on DeCoster's operation "speaks for itself," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a farmer as well, said Tuesday to reporters in a weekly call.
Grassley said the recall and reports about the conditions have been difficult for Iowans to accept, "particularly for people who live in Wright County." Grassley said he was at a Farmers Union meeting where producers expressed their worries about the problems.
"When consumers don't have confidence in their food supply, even if that lack of confidence comes from one product, in this case eggs, it still has an impact on all of agriculture and if consumers don't have confidence it's going to hurt the income of farm families," he said.
While lawmakers such as Grassley are becoming more vocal, the groups created within agriculture to address perceptions about agriculture are shying away from talking about the DeCoster fiasco.
Katie Azzaro, a spokeswoman for The Hand That Feeds U.S., said the group's supporters are mostly row-crop groups so they have been talking internally about how to respond, but largely have not addressed the egg recall.
"We're not really sure how to address it because it is something that needs to be addressed by groups such as ourselves, but at the same time some of the groups that are involved and make decisions about what we put in our newsletters and discuss aren't sure they want to get involved in such a big issue right now that is separate from what they do," Azzaro said. "It's a hard issue because it's something I think we need to address in some form because it's affecting so many farmers right now and it's kind of giving everyone a bad name."
Other groups created to tout the positive message of producers and defend production agriculture also are relatively silent on the egg recall and DeCoster. The Animal Ag Alliance did not return repeated calls seeking comment. The executive director for the Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers declined to comment and forwarded DTN's interview request to a spokesman for the Iowa Farm Bureau. Craig Lang, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, stated, "Iowa's farm families believe in following the regulations, safety rules, and best practices that assure the health of their animals and the health of the families that consume food from their farms. When an individual or group violates these rules and regulations, it's wrong and it cannot be tolerated. Violators should be dealt with under the law. The health and safety of consumers cannot be compromised; nor can the trust that consumers have in the vast majority of farmers who dedicate their lives to producing safe and wholesome food."
DeCoster's operations have their own public-relations, issues-management person responding to media requests and issuing news releases. But Wright County Egg spokesperson Hinda Mitchell doesn't work in Wright County or even Iowa. She works out of a Columbus, Ohio, office for a Kansas City, Mo., based PR firm, CMA. In an e-mail response to DTN, Mitchell stated, "We encourage all our clients to follow practices that build public trust in today's agriculture. That includes the approach to crisis communication. I have worked closely with the egg industry for more than a decade, and I believe that planning and executing a strategic approach to crisis communication is crucial to managing difficult issues effectively. That holds true for Wright County Egg and others. Beyond that, it would be inappropriate to discuss specific crisis support strategies. We assign our client/project teams based on expertise and need, not geography. This assures our clients receive the best possible support and counsel."
CMA's website lists some articles by the group's founder, Charlie Arnot. He touts the importance of major agricultural producers to build trust through "confidence, competence and influential others" that all allow a producer to operate. CMA's model for building trust requires ethical standards, a code of conduct and demonstrating competence through best practices, certification and continuing education.
Mitchell also confirmed Wednesday to the Wall Street Journal that the FDA's criminal division and the FBI are now investigating DeCoster's operations.
Meanwhile, some Iowa politicians are trying to ensure they don't get the blame for allowing DeCoster to farm in Iowa without oversight.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Terry Branstad, who also served as governor in the 1980s and '90s when DeCoster aggressively expanded in Iowa, called DeCoster a bad actor who is hurting the reputation of all Iowa farmers.
In an interview last week with WHO-TV in Des Moines, Branstad also blamed his successor, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who served as Iowa's governor from 1999-2007. "Unfortunately, after I left office, they (Vilsack's administration) cut a deal with him instead of closing him down. I think that's a terrible mistake. He's been in trouble ever since he came here in Iowa. We have great people in the ag business in Iowa. We have great people in the hog business in Iowa. And they are very conscientious. And they got a bad name because we have one bad egg like him."
On Wednesday, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who faces Branstad on the November ballot, questioned comments from Branstad that government should reduce oversight of agriculture. Culver's campaign stated Branstad "encouraged and promoted the growth of factory farms when he was governor" as well.
"It is shocking that during the egg recall, Branstad says that he believes there should be less oversight. It's clear that Branstad is out of touch with the current issues facing Iowa's farmers. Removing oversight isn't going to help create new farms, it's going to put into jeopardy Iowa's food supply," said Culver spokesperson Ali Glisson.
Chris Petersen, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, said the egg recall was a big topic at the group's convention this past weekend in Marshalltown. He said the recall is embarrassing for all of the state and public officials who allowed the consolidation and vertical integration DeCoster used to grow his operation.
"The last thing we should call it is a farm," Petersen said. "It's an industrial operation."
Petersen said he hasn't heard much from other agricultural groups in the state about the egg recall or a response from agriculture as a whole.
"Things like this aren't supposed to happen so there has got to be responses or repercussions, whatever you want to call it," Petersen said. "When you have independent family farms raising the livestock it's the best quality control in the world because we eat the livestock."
Chris Clayton can be reached at chris.clayton@dtn.com
(CZ/SK)
© Copyright 2010 DTN/The Progressive Farmer, A Telvent Brand. All rights reserved.
