This is from a few years ago and is among my favorite images. I find it interesting how the curiosity is strong on both sides of the fence.
Agriculture is something that is little appreciated by most people these days. Social media has been completely crazy with how one of the current Presidential candidates gave a speech a few years ago to a group of highly educated, full-of-themselves individuals, in which he implied that it didn't take much intelligence to be in agriculture. In fact, that speech (follow the link to see the article which includes the video) was given at about the same time the above image was taken.
The speech has been taken out of context in such a way that everyone in agriculture has gotten angry rather than thought about what was said. Essentially, he indicated that civilization has evolved through time from what was, for most of history, an agrarian culture to an industrialized economy and now we are in the middle of a technology-based information economy. He was correct, but his comments leave one wondering if he truly understands the amount of information and technology that are utilized in agriculture today.
Take that bunch of cows in the image above; they were from a registered herd of Angus that have been carefully selected for over 60 years to produce efficient, fertile, highly versatile animals that provide us with some of the highest quality meat in history. Each animal is carefully measured in many ways, the data collected, collated and compared against their genetic scores which are developed from genomic testing. They are rigorously selected based on stringent criteria so that only the best animals are allowed to produce breeding stock for future generations.
They are fed protein and mineral supplements that are carefully formulated to meet the nutritional requirements that the animals cannot attain from forage alone. They are vaccinated to prevent disease. They are cared for using scientifically-based methods that reduce the amount of stress to which they are subjected. The forage they eat is also managed based on best scientifically proven practices.
That's just a small part of agriculture -- raising cattle on a ranch. I won't even address what happens when they head up the production chain to eventual harvest and presentation in the meat case at your local supermarket. Technology is everywhere.
When you look at farming it gets even crazier. The tractors are guided by computers to precisely apply the correct amounts of seed, fertilizer, etc. based on satellite images. The seeds which are planted are frequently the result of advanced breeding techniques -- including genetic manipulation to enhance disease, chemical and pest resistance. We have more and better quality food than ever before in history -- thanks to the application of technology to agriculture -- and it costs virtually the same as it did 50+ years ago!
The candidate in question mentions the brainpower required to farm vs. work in a factory vs. create the technology which is so pervasive in society today. I should introduce him to the rocket scientist I know who ranches in Arizona. He truly is a rocket scientist -- used to work at NASA. Or, maybe he should meet some of the scientists unraveling the genetic code which determines disease resistance. Oh, wait, those are scientists. Yep, I have worked with them most of my career. They may be able to manipulate a gene, but most of them have no clue how their work impacts the real world. They are isolated in their cocoon of technology of which they know much, but they don't know what to do with it much of the time.
I think, ultimately, that is the issue. I call it intellectual snobbery. It happens in every field of endeavor. I've seen it in many, many scientific and engineering fields -- and I've seen it in agriculture. It goes something like this: "If you don't have a PhD in blah, blah, blah, there is no way you can understand it. You obviously don't have the intelligence to be able to comprehend it, or you would have a PhD in blah, blah, blah." Sometimes it isn't just a PhD -- with Engineers it is simply a degree in Engineering -- and they have ranks. I think Aerospace is at the top and Civil is at the bottom. Each believes if you "aren't one of us, you ain't nothing."
Back to agriculture -- "If you try to learn how to ranch after a career in something else, you had better be prepared to fail." "If you didn't grow up in it you will never be able to master it." Those are incorrect too.
Getting back to the article: I don't like the candidate mentioned in the article. Period. I think he would be worse for our country than most of the others. Just look at the problems in his state and you should agree. We shouldn't blast him for what was said, though. Instead, we should realize that what he said is a symptom of something deeper. The average person, or the self-proclaimed intellectual elite has no idea about what is involved in production agriculture. Most of them don't even know what is necessary to get the food to their table. Billionaire Presidential candidates probably have large staffs that take care of it for them anyway -- they don't even know their food comes from the grocery store -- let alone what it took to get it to the store.
If you don't like the candidate, talk about why you don't like the candidate; don't just blast him by taking his words out of context and failing to address the real issue -- ignorance. Yep, brilliant people can be ignorant. If you don't know about something, you are ignorant of that subject. It doesn't mean you lack the gray matter to understand it given time and effort. I wish all of the candidates would apply a little more of their gray matter to learning about food production. Those in agriculture just don't add up to enough votes for it to make a difference to them -- at least in their mind. We need to explain why it does matter. Even billionaires won't live long without food.
