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Blog: FCAR
Speakout
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Kenneth Remsen [the person who sent out this bit of 'stuff and
nonsense' to friends and colleagues] is principal of Underhill School in Jericho
(VT).
Get in Line for "No Cow Left Behind"
As a principal facing the task of figuring out all the complexities of the No
Child Left Behind legislation and its impact on education, I have decided that
there is a strong belief that testing students is the answer to bringing about
improvements in student performance.
Since testing seems to be a cornerstone to improving performance, I don't
understand why this principle isn't applied to other businesses that are not
performing up to expectations. I was thinking about the problem of falling milk
prices and wondering why testing cows wouldn't be effective in bringing up
prices since testing students is going to bring up test scores.
The federal government should mandate testing all cows every year starting at
age 2. Now, I know that it will take time out of the farmers' necessary work to
do this testing every year and that it may be necessary to spend inordinate
amounts of money on the testing equipment, but that should not detract us from
what must be done.
I'm sure there are plenty of statistics to show what good milk producing
performance looks like and the characteristics of cows who achieve this level of
performance. It should, therefore, be easy to figure out the characteristics
necessary to meet this standard.
We will begin our testing by finding out which cows now meet the standard, which
almost meet the standard, which meet the standard with honors and which show
little evidence of achievement.
Points will be assigned in each category and it will be necessary to achieve a
certain average score. If this score is not achieved, the Department of
Agriculture will send in experts to give advice for improvement. If improvements
do not occur over a couple of years, the state will take over your farm or even
force you to sell.
Now, I'm sure farms have a mix of cows in the barn but it is important to
remember that every cow can meet the standard. There should be no exceptions and
no excuses. I don't want to hear about the cows that just came to the barn from
the farm down the road that didn't provide the proper nutrition or a proper
living environment.
All cows need to meet the standard.
Another key factor will be the placement of a highly qualified farmer in each
barn. I know many of you have been farming for many years but it will be
necessary for all farmers to become certified . This will mean some more
paperwork and testing on your knowledge of cows, but in the end this will lead
to the benefit of all.
It will also be necessary to allow barn choice for the cows. If cows are not
meeting the standard in certain farms, they will be allowed to go to the barn of
their choice. Transportation might become an issue but it is critical that cows
be allowed to leave their low-performing barns. This will force low-performing
farms to meet the standard or else they will simply go out of business.
Some small farms will probably go out of business as a result of this new
legislation. Simply put, the cost per cow is too high. As taxpayers, we cannot
be expected to foot the bill to subsidize farms with dairy compacts. Even though
no one really knows what the ideal cost is to keep cows content, the Legislature
will set a cost per cow. Expenditures too far above this cost will be penalized.
Since everyone knows that there are economies of scale, small farms will
probably be forced to close and those cows will merge into larger farms.
Some farmers may be upset that I proclaim to know what is best for these cows
but I certainly consider myself capable of making these recommendations. I grew
up next to a farm and I drink milk. I hope you will consider this advice in the
spirit it is given and I hope you will agree that the "no cow left behind"
legislation may not be best for a small state like Vermont.
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