# Official Poll: What is your BIGGEST worry about your herd?



## Support

Let's face it! We all have big worries about our herds. It can be as simple as not being able to provide them with proper food or as big as not having enough knowledge to take care of them when problems arise.

Please take a minute to complete this poll and tell us what your biggest worry is when it comes to your livestock. After voting, you can reply to this thread and expand on your reason.

If your answer isn't listed, you can vote for "Others" and reply to this thread with your answers.


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## frustratedearthmother

I checked "That they can't stand adverse weather" and "other."  My worry is not about "normal" adverse weather.  My fear is hurricanes.  I don't think I can get all my animals in one trailer and haul them out of harms way if the BIG one is headed our way!


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## bonbean01

That's true...here it would be tornadoes...I didn't check that one as I was thinking only heat of summer and cold of winter and heavy rains...they have good shelters for all of that, but a tornado...that would be something I don't know what I'd do about?


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## AshleyFishy

I voted other... my fear is theft by humans.


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## norseofcourse

I've got a couple 'others' - that something would escape and get hurt or cause an accident (such as on the road).

Or that something would happen while I'm not home to prevent it or deal with it - and this could be any number of things, from a wild cherry branch coming down, to an escape or injury, or that they'd get into something they shouldn't, or someone would come over and feed them something they shouldn't have, or a difficult birthing, or lots of other things that you hate to think about, but kinda have to...


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## kinder

Being a first timer with goats I worry that I will miss something if they are sick. In the past with other animals, not eating is a big sign, but it seems that they can seem ok / then turn around and die.
I also live in a flood area and have been blessed not to have any problems thus far.
And last but not least, human predators.!!!!


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## goatgurl

There isn't a box for almost all the above.  I worry about illness, theirs and mine.  Having enough to feed and supply medical needs. Predators - two and four legged.  Weather horrible hot and dry with the ever present threat of tornadoes.  Dying.. not so much if they are old and have lived a good life but if they are young - that drives me nuts.  As you can tell I'm a worry wart but I try to just give it to God and let Him worry for me.  Works most of the time


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## farmhousegrace

goatgurl said:


> There isn't a box for almost all the above.  I worry about illness, theirs and mine.  Having enough to feed and supply medical needs. Predators - two and four legged.  Weather horrible hot and dry with the ever present threat of tornadoes.  Dying.. not so much if they are old and have lived a good life but if they are young - that drives me nuts.  As you can tell I'm a worry wart but I try to just give it to God and let Him worry for me.  Works most of the time



X2


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## Southern by choice

other...

HAY! Hay shortage to be exact. We will have a shortage this year, my hay man has already informed me. We could tell it wasn't going to be good as last years hay ran out way before first cut was ever done here. Long cold winter delayed the growth, we aren't even at second cuts here and now no rain.

We want to start storing up but have limited storage space. We can only store squares which is a lot more expensive than rounds (we use rounds) but can't move the rounds.


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## OneFineAcre

Southern by choice said:


> other...
> 
> HAY! Hay shortage to be exact. We will have a shortage this year, my hay man has already informed me. We could tell it wasn't going to be good as last years hay ran out way before first cut was ever done here. Long cold winter delayed the growth, we aren't even at second cuts here and now no rain.
> 
> We want to start storing up but have limited storage space. We can only store squares which is a lot more expensive than rounds (we use rounds) but can't move the rounds.



X2

I bought 20 squares of alfalfa on the first cut from my two alfalfa guys and I've spoken to both and they can't cut again because of the lack of rain

I was worried about this in Dec and Jan.  I saw how many bales my hay guy had.  I found a neighbor who had a shelter who let me store hay.  All I can haul at a time is 2 round bales, so for 3 weeks in a row in Feb I bought 6 round bales.  Plus I had bought 2 bales of peanut in the fall which is like alfalfa almost.  When we move I'm going to make sure I have a place to store and will stockpile bermuda and peanut when I can get this fall.


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## Frampton

My major concerns starting out is that I am looking after them right. That includes if they are healthy, am I take proper care of them and if they can stand our weather. I live on a hilltop and get some wicked snow drifts and ice storms.


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## Deercreek

I checked unaware of sickness. CAE doesn't always show symptoms, and bio security with my chickens has given me nightmares, hoping goats are hardier than birds.


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## Queen Mum

It's hurricane and tornado weather and lately, my biggest worry is a tornado and that they will get swept away!


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## greybeard

Other.
Calving problems.
Sustained Market price drop.
Drought.


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## ValiantFarmAz

I voted other.  MY town is trying to pass ordinances that regulate how many animals you can have.  To date they have shot down ordinances using Animal Units and are favoring 8 chickens & 3 small farm animals on 10,000sq ft. lots with 1 additional chicken and 1 small farm animal on each additional 5,000 sq ft.  The biggest problem is their definition of small farm animal- rodent, rabbit, 2 species of mini/dwarf goat.  All other goats, alpacas, emus, ostriches, all sheep (my entire flock), cattle and horses would be illegal, even on our 2.5 acres and our neighbors 5+ acres which were all zoned residential when the town annexed our land from the county.  They even have screening and baffle requirements for aquaponics systems and greenhouses with vented air or heat systems.... just absurd.


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## Harbisgirl

ValiantFarmAz said:


> I voted other.  MY town is trying to pass ordinances that regulate how many animals you can have.  To date they have shot down ordinances using Animal Units and are favoring 8 chickens & 3 small farm animals on 10,000sq ft. lots with 1 additional chicken and 1 small farm animal on each additional 5,000 sq ft.  The biggest problem is their definition of small farm animal- rodent, rabbit, 2 species of mini/dwarf goat.  All other goats, alpacas, emus, ostriches, all sheep (my entire flock), cattle and horses would be illegal, even on our 2.5 acres and our neighbors 5+ acres which were all zoned residential when the town annexed our land from the county.  They even have screening and baffle requirements for aquaponics systems and greenhouses with vented air or heat systems.... just absurd.




Wow, that sounds as bad as California. Awful feeling, I'm sorry


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## Harbisgirl

I selected  . I'm new t
I selected "That they could he be sick and I’m not aware of it". I’m new to goats and as someone else said, they can seem fine one minute and be dead the next. I work hard to keep them healthy and happy to prevent any issues but it’s always on my mind.


I tried to go back and do “Other” but it won’t let me edit my vote (even though it says multiple votes allowed?). My ‘other’ is also hay shortage. Here in CA we are suffering from a bad drought. Alfalfa is going for $18 - $20 for a small square bale (I’ve never seen large round bales available in our area) and sometimes the quality is questionable. And it will only get more expensive. 
o goats and as someone else said,


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## Goatlover200

i sadly don't own a herd!


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## BijuBuck

AshleyFishy said:


> I voted other... my fear is theft by humans.


So true....my neighbours have had such a problem with theft by humans (LOST 75...) I keep mine safe and sound where none can get them!!!


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## WildRoseBeef

I don't have a herd, but I would be worried about feed shortage, pasture shortages in cases of drought, buying animals without knowing what communicable diseases they could have (such as BVD), breeding ability of my bulls along with their annual semen quality for breeding cows, the markets as greybeard mentioned, whether I left the gate open after I was out feeding or working with the animals (especially if I don't remember shutting and locking it up properly!), what kind of threats the next few thunderstorms will bring (from tornadoes to lightning), and others. Theft is kinda low on the list, but it's always a possibility.


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## alsea1

Dang. I would really hate being dictated to how many I can have. Unless they are being mistreated and starved.
My concern is dealing with parasites effectively.


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## OneFineAcre

Southern by choice said:


> other...
> 
> HAY! Hay shortage to be exact. We will have a shortage this year, my hay man has already informed me. We could tell it wasn't going to be good as last years hay ran out way before first cut was ever done here. Long cold winter delayed the growth, we aren't even at second cuts here and now no rain.
> 
> We want to start storing up but have limited storage space. We can only store squares which is a lot more expensive than rounds (we use rounds) but can't move the rounds.



@Southern by choice

You still worried about a hay shortage this year?  Both of my hay suppliers are saying it was a very good crop this year.  Neither thinks there will be a shortage.  
I picked up from one on Saturday and he has a lot more in the barn than last year.


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## Southern by choice

OneFineAcre said:


> @Southern by choice
> 
> You still worried about a hay shortage this year?  Both of my hay suppliers are saying it was a very good crop this year.  Neither thinks there will be a shortage.
> I picked up from one on Saturday and he has a lot more in the barn than last year.



Our area had a drought so yes, hay is still an issue for us. We have a few  breeders that have given us some numbers to call. We are thinking maybe we should get a tractor trailer load. But then that is $$$ all up front. Not the best timing, we are building a new barn and a milk room. Geesh- goats can be expensive! LOL


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## OneFineAcre

Southern by choice said:


> Our area had a drought so yes, hay is still an issue for us. We have a few  breeders that have given us some numbers to call. We are thinking maybe we should get a tractor trailer load. But then that is $$$ all up front. Not the best timing, we are building a new barn and a milk room. Geesh- goats can be expensive! LOL



I was worried about it last year because I could tell the barns looked light.  So, I made arrangements to use a neighbors shelter and would go every two or 3 weeks an buy 2 round bales.  By the end of January I had 8 bales, and I knew I could make it until the oat hay was cut.
Was debating on buying another one of those metal carports just to keep hay, and stock pile again, but I think I will hold off  for now.  Looks like I will have access to plenty.
Good luck.


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## BrownSheep

Hay is always an issue here. We go through droughts but are really dependent on winter precipitation since almost everything is irrigated. Irrigation last year was shut off in JULY last year. This year it was shut off towards the end of July. We have supplemental water rights so we had irrigation up until last week.We had a freak week of rain which ruined a lot of the 3rd cutting. There is also the issue of competition. Unlike a lot of crops which you need buyer's contracts to grow hay is an easy commodity to get rid of here. We are the 5th dairy producer in the country and most of that is in a 4 county area, so lots of demand for alfalfa.


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## Southern by choice

WOW!

What is interesting is that I just saw an article on a Chinese company that now owns the land where much of the alfalfa is grown. It is a Chinese company that owns the US land that cuts the alfalfa and ships it back to China.

Scary!


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## babsbag

@BrownSheep  Are you in California?

@Southern by choice  There is a very large hay grower a few hours from me that exports all the hay grown. They had a huge fire there last year and lost tons and tons of hay; it burned for days. It never occurred to me that it might not be US owned...hmmm. Will have to research that one.

I buy 21 bales of alfalfa every 3 weeks. I have no less than 4 independent brokers/growers that I have bought from plus 2x that many feed stores. No one has run out yet. It is much easier for me to let them store the hay. Even with the drought my #1 supplier has not raised his prices, the feed stores have, but that is too be expected.  When CA runs out of alfalfa I will have to get rid of goats, no other options for feed.


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## OneFineAcre

Like Brownsheep said hay is a commodity just like soybeans, corn and wheat.
US has always exported alfalfa
Do you know how many dairy goats there are in China? A lot
China increased alfalfa imports from 2000 metric tons to 76000 Metric tons from 2007 to 2009 and they don't just import from US


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## Southern by choice

OneFineAcre said:


> Like Brownsheep said hay is a commodity just like soybeans, corn and wheat.
> IIS has always exported alfalfa
> Do you know how many dairy goats there are in China? A lot
> China increased alfalfa imports from 2000 metric tons to 76000 Metric tons from 2007 to 2009 and they don't just import from US



Yeah, the issue is the "import" LOL THEY OWN THE US LAND! 
China is buying a great deal of land in the US. The "US" is not really exporting as we generally think of it. American farmers are not profiting.


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## babsbag

That is the scary part...them owning OUR land


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## OneFineAcre

Southern by choice said:


> Yeah, the issue is the "import" LOL THEY OWN THE US LAND!
> China is buying a great deal of land in the US. The "US" is not really exporting as we generally think of it. American farmers are not profiting.


Now Southern, don't start a panic.  You sound like Bossroo. 

I seem to remember 20 years ago when a Japanese company bought the Empire State Building in NYC it was the Japanese that were going to own us. 

A little lesson in Economics, capital will always follow the greatest return. When the real estate bubble crashed, a lot of foreign money flowed into all kinds of American real estate including farm land.

The fact is Japan, Korea, and the United Arab Emirates all import more US hay than China.

And, American farmers are profiting.

China would probably import more hay from the US except they don't allow any GMO.

I know you like data and research papers. The article in this link gives a lot of good information on hay exports.  Authors are with University of Californian Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=11947


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## Southern by choice

The article was written by an economist. It was all about the growing concern.  

Look at NC and look at  how many jobs are gone because Russian Companies bought out so many poultry plants only to realize it was too expensive to ship the chickens back to Russia. Plants are still closed. Empty buildings, no jobs, land sits idle owned by Russian companies. Siler City lost over 400 jobs alone. NC was the 2nd largest poultry producer in the country. Chatham county being the heaviest producer.

I know you are relatively conservative so I am surprised this does not disturb you.

Foreign nationals are buying up prime American land. I am am AMERICAN first and we have everything we need right here in the good ole USA but we are being stupid for letting all our land be bought up for other countries to own. It puts us in a bad place.

I guess if you are a "one-world", share the wealth, give up our Sovereignty kinda guy than it won't matter to you. 

I am not sure about your @Bossroo comment. Bossroo points out many things that are worth looking at.
Maybe it is from coming from strong military family background, I hate to see America getting sold off to the highest bidder.


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## OneFineAcre

Southern by choice said:


> The article was written by an economist. It was all about the growing concern.
> 
> Look at NC and look at  how many jobs are gone because Russian Companies bought out so many poultry plants only to realize it was too expensive to ship the chickens back to Russia. Plants are still closed. Empty buildings, no jobs, land sits idle owned by Russian companies. Siler City lost over 400 jobs alone. NC was the 2nd largest poultry producer in the country. Chatham county being the heaviest producer.
> 
> I know you are relatively conservative so I am surprised this does not disturb you.
> 
> Foreign nationals are buying up prime American land. I am am AMERICAN first and we have everything we need right here in the good ole USA but we are being stupid for letting all our land be bought up for other countries to own. It puts us in a bad place.
> 
> I guess if you are a "one-world", share the wealth, give up our Sovereignty kinda guy than it won't matter to you.
> 
> I am not sure about your @Bossroo comment. Bossroo points out many things that are worth looking at.
> Maybe it is from coming from strong military family background, I hate to see America getting sold off to the highest bidder.



I'm in fact very conservative economically and socially.  And having a degree in Economics I would advise everyone to be careful about what *"Economists"* have to say.  Most are biased to the left.  Just take a look at Paul Krugman who is with the NY Times.  Maybe the one you read was trying to make more of a political point.

I believe that chicken plant in Siler City was already closed.  The Russian company bought it, spent several million dollars on it with the intention of re-opening it and never did. You say bought out "so many plants", that's just not true.  The price of feed is what caused the hardship in the chicken industry, not a Russian company buying a processor.  Farmers couldn't afford to feed the chickens.

No, I'm not a one world share the wealth kind of guy either.  And no I'm not particularly concerned about this issue.  I think you (or what you have read) are exaggerating.  This topic is not new, and it has always been something that causes more of a "emotional" negative response that I think it deserves.  In fact that surprises me a little bit about you in that you seem to approach most topics  more "intellectually".

Only 1% of all land in US is owned by foreigners.  Only 2% of privately owned land is held by foreigners.  (The difference is that the federal government owns so much land).  China isn't even in the top 5 holders (Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Portugal in that order)  Over half of the agricultural land owned is timber.  Very conservative investment for pension funds.

US investment firms own much more foreign farmland than foreigners do American land.

The US does need to be very cautious about the rise of China economically, politically, and militarily. 

And finally,  I am an Army veteran.  Field Artillery.  My dad fought in Vietnam in 1968-69.  Infantry.  Don't know what your "strong military family background" has to do with this.  Unless you were implying that you are more patriotic than me and love this country more than me because I don't exactly agree with you about this?


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## BrownSheep

How bout them, Cowboys?.....

@babsbag...No, I'm in Idaho. California, I believe, is the number one dairy state. We had two farms last year that lost hay in spontaneous combustion fires. One lost over a 100 tons. Saw it smoldering for close to 2 weeks. They were scrambling and buying up what ever hay wasn't sold at the time I don't think the other guy lost the much but he did loose a grain elevator.


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## babsbag

@BrownSheep  Guess I didn't realize that Idaho was in a drought too. Your water restrictions sound like the ones the farmers around here are facing. It is not pretty. We got .2" of rain last night and according to NOAA this drought is not ending between now and the end of Dec. Hoping that Jan brings downpours. We did get 3" from a thunderstorm last week; that was just crazy.


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## BrownSheep

@babsbag We've had drought like conditions for the past 10 or so years, but so much of our irrigation either comes from elsewhere in the state or from ground water so everybody gets by alright. This is kind of a neat site if you are interested. 
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-idaho-drought-monitor-map.php


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## babsbag

@BrownSheep

Thanks for the map link. I am on the NOAA site monthly looking at updates on the drought.  I am thankful though that CA is a drought state all summer every summer so our alfalfa and wheat crops don't depend on summer rain to grow; our farmers are prepared to irrigate all summer long and rain could really be more of a problem during those months than a help.  We just need that winter rain and snow pack to get us through the summers. Sounds a lot like ID.  CA ground water is slowly disappearing, which is more than a little unsettling. I never really thought about water until we moved to a place with a well. It is all on us out here.


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## Southern by choice

OneFineAcre said:


> I'm in fact very conservative economically and socially.  And having a degree in Economics I would advise everyone to be careful about what *"Economists"* have to say.  Most are biased to the left.  Just take a look at Paul Krugman who is with the NY Times.  Maybe the one you read was trying to make more of a political point.
> 
> I believe that chicken plant in Siler City was already closed.  The Russian company bought it, spent several million dollars on it with the intention of re-opening it and never did. You say bought out "so many plants", that's just not true.  The price of feed is what caused the hardship in the chicken industry, not a Russian company buying a processor.  Farmers couldn't afford to feed the chickens.
> 
> No, I'm not a one world share the wealth kind of guy either.  And no I'm not particularly concerned about this issue.  I think you (or what you have read) are exaggerating.  This topic is not new, and it has always been something that causes more of a "emotional" negative response that I think it deserves.  In fact that surprises me a little bit about you in that you seem to approach most topics  more "intellectually".
> 
> Only 1% of all land in US is owned by foreigners.  Only 2% of privately owned land is held by foreigners.  (The difference is that the federal government owns so much land).  China isn't even in the top 5 holders (Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Portugal in that order)  Over half of the agricultural land owned is timber.  Very conservative investment for pension funds.
> 
> US investment firms own much more foreign farmland than foreigners do American land.
> 
> The US does need to be very cautious about the rise of China economically, politically, and militarily.
> 
> And finally,  I am an Army veteran.  Field Artillery.  My dad fought in Vietnam in 1968-69.  Infantry.  Don't know what your "strong military family background" has to do with this.  Unless you were implying that you are more patriotic than me and love this country more than me because I don't exactly agree with you about this?



I suppose it is just another one of those things we will have to agree to disagree on.

I do need to clarify it was a Ukrainian company, not a Russian Company that bought out the poultry plant. There are many issues with this that I do not feel the need to go into.

However, I do find it deeply concerning how many are not paying much attention to the risk/danger of _some_ foreign investors.

I'm not questioning your patriotism, but we do have a difference in the way we see the strategic and tactical consequences of giving away control of essential capabilities. The ability to feed our livestock and our people *is a strategic concern.*

I too remember the concern over the Japanese buying up real estate in the US, and understand that they were buying here as they thought their investments here would bring the best available ROI.
They were making investments as described in articles like this one:
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-08/business/fi-285_1_japanese-investment

The difference is the Japanese government was and remains a friend of the US. The US investments were made overwhelmingly by corporations privately or publicly held and the vast majority of their investments were and are designed to generate profits.

The Chinese investments are VERY different. The Chinese GOVERNMENT through numerous “private commercial” enterprises is strategically seeking to insert itself into numerous businesses that are essential to the health, well being, and even life of the American people.
See some of the references below:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelbac...sition-means-for-chinese-overseas-investment/
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-...and-across-america-and-zillow-now-enabling-it
http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/10/curious-case-chinese-chicken-import-export-business-273699.html
http://www.armed-services.senate.go...inese-intrusions-into-key-defense-contractors

They are doing the same in Panama, Australia, Europe and elsewhere.
Your examples of foreign investments by other governments don't hold up.* The Chinese government is not capitalist* as are Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Portugal.

The dominant force in the Chinese economy is the government, which controls and gets a cut of everything that goes on. So that sale of Smithfield also funds the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army), which is seeking to improve and modernize their ground forces, develop enhanced nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers, fighter aircraft etc. in hopes of being able to face down the US, and dominate the Pacific region.

The Chinese government resents the success of the US and other western nations, and is actively seeking to reduce our influence in the Pacific in the short term, and the world in the long term. I personally can't see how patriotism and helping an unfriendly nation into a position to threaten the security of the US are compatible. It's kind of like our current government, which failed to see what was going on with Muslim fundamentalists-they failed to understand that_ "while we were not at war with them they were at war with us"_.


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## OneFineAcre

Southern by choice said:


> I suppose it is just another one of those things we will have to agree to disagree on.
> 
> I do need to clarify it was a Ukrainian company, not a Russian Company that bought out the poultry plant. There are many issues with this that I do not feel the need to go into.
> 
> However, I do find it deeply concerning how many are not paying much attention to the risk/danger of _some_ foreign investors.
> 
> I'm not questioning your patriotism, but we do have a difference in the way we see the strategic and tactical consequences of giving away control of essential capabilities. The ability to feed our livestock and our people *is a strategic concern.*
> 
> I too remember the concern over the Japanese buying up real estate in the US, and understand that they were buying here as they thought their investments here would bring the best available ROI.
> They were making investments as described in articles like this one:
> http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-08/business/fi-285_1_japanese-investment
> 
> The difference is the Japanese government was and remains a friend of the US. The US investments were made overwhelmingly by corporations privately or publicly held and the vast majority of their investments were and are designed to generate profits.
> 
> The Chinese investments are VERY different. The Chinese GOVERNMENT through numerous “private commercial” enterprises is strategically seeking to insert itself into numerous businesses that are essential to the health, well being, and even life of the American people.
> See some of the references below:
> 
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelbac...sition-means-for-chinese-overseas-investment/
> http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-...and-across-america-and-zillow-now-enabling-it
> http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/10/curious-case-chinese-chicken-import-export-business-273699.html
> http://www.armed-services.senate.go...inese-intrusions-into-key-defense-contractors
> 
> They are doing the same in Panama, Australia, Europe and elsewhere.
> Your examples of foreign investments by other governments don't hold up.* The Chinese government is not capitalist* as are Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Portugal.
> 
> The dominant force in the Chinese economy is the government, which controls and gets a cut of everything that goes on. So that sale of Smithfield also funds the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army), which is seeking to improve and modernize their ground forces, develop enhanced nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers, fighter aircraft etc. in hopes of being able to face down the US, and dominate the Pacific region.
> 
> The Chinese government resents the success of the US and other western nations, and is actively seeking to reduce our influence in the Pacific in the short term, and the world in the long term. I personally can't see how patriotism and helping an unfriendly nation into a position to threaten the security of the US are compatible. It's kind of like our current government, which failed to see what was going on with Muslim fundamentalists-they failed to understand that_ "while we were not at war with them they were at war with us"_.



Glad you weren't questioning my patriotism, I don't know *how* I could have *possibly* misinterpreted that by what you said.

Thanks for explaining geopolitics and world affairs to me, you've already taught me so much about veterinary medicine and the law. I don't know how you find the time

I however, am not going to waste another minute of my life debating this with you.

And, back to my original comment, I hope you don't have any problems finding hay this winter despite the efforts of the Chinese government.


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## HeidiO

I am so paranoid that my goats are sick.  Anything odd and I am sure they are in trouble.  CAE, CL, bloat,  and any other thing I am sure they have on any given day.

I guess I'm lucky my dad has cropland and I only have 3 goats.  Hay is not a worry for me.


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