Downwind“Bye Bye, Mickey”
The Farm Bureau has given me so much throughout the years. One of those gifts has been the opportunity to go to places I likely never would have traveled to see. A recent example is Anaheim, California. Anaheim played host to the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in January, and I was fortunate to be one of the Cook County Farm Bureau attendees, traveling to sunny California in the winter.
The city of Anaheim, while having a thriving convention industry and a “ducky” hockey team, is best known for being home to a mouse. That mouse goes by the name of Mickey and is the “spokesanimal” for a little company called Disney. I somehow, through 60+ years of life and raising a basketful of children, successfully avoided spending time at the happiest place on earth. My impressive winning streak ended in January following the convention with a side trip outing to Disneyland. I put on my brave face.
While Disneyland was a nice experience, this column is not dedicated to Disneyland nor Mickey. Instead, I’d like to talk about Mickey’s friends… lesser known and nameless.
I have written about Bob versus Nature on previous occasions. From the farm to the present, nature always battles me. I lose. I thought some of that battle had ended when my wife and I downsized, moving from our property with a wooded lot and pond to a townhouse in-town. I would be wrong.
Upon returning from Anaheim, my wife and I discovered some’s suspicious activity occurring in our pantry. While we were gone, something had appeared to sample some bags of crackers, Twizzlers, and chocolate snack treasures. Also, some suspicious tiny “nuggets” that looked like mouse droppings were in the neighborhood.
A few stale crackers… Not an issue.
Twizzlers and chocolates… Now, we had a problem. My mild-mannered wife’s foot came down. Bait traps appeared. Bye bye, Mickey.
(For the rodent lovers, you might want to close your eyes and scroll down a bit.)
Night one. Snap.
Night two. Snap.
Night three. Snap.
Night four. Snap.
Night five. Snap.
I wanted to set up a trail cam. Was a rodent convention declared at our house while we were at the AFBF convention?
My mind kept reverting to a conversation I had recently with a rancher named Bill who used to ride the range and was a rodeo cowboy in his youth. I asked him, “What is your biggest fear?” thinking he would say stampedes or flash floods. Huh… mice? Bill went on to tell me that he had several friends die of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome due to mice. I had to look it up.
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome was discovered in 1993. It’s a lethal disease spread through defecations by infected mice, and other rodents and humans contract it by breathing in contaminated air.
As a result, I have never scrubbed more frequently and held my breath longer than while attempting to eradicate the “convention” in our townhouse.
Rodents, including mice and rats, can devastate food and feed. The International Food Safety and Quality Network estimates over 20% of the world’s food supply is believed to be contaminated by rodents. A much smaller percentage in the U.S. but still a significant concern.
I remember my dad, the Farmer, worked hard to prevent rodents from gaining a foothold on the farm. He knew the potential damage and destruction wrought on the family’s food and livestock feed but also from rodent’s constant chewing of structures, equipment, and electrical wiring.
I read the book, “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie,” repeatedly to the kids when they were little. We have a romantic and innocent vision of furry little creatures frolicking in green pastures. We, in urban areas, frequently forget their destructive nature.
Protecting our food supply, locally and globally, remains vital as a society. Our insignificant experience with mice in the pantry is a reminder that protecting the food supply can be a matter of life or death. Farmers are tasked with producing the ingredients for great food (including crackers, Twizzlers, and chocolate). Thank you, farmers, for doing it on a grand scale in such a quality manner. My wife and I and many of God’s creatures find what you produce quite tasty.
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I want to express both congratulations and best wishes to Bona Heinsohn, Director of Governmental Affairs/ Public Relations for the past 18 years. She has been named Manager of the Kane County Farm Bureau, and she will do a terrific job for our friends west of Cook County. Bona was hired back in 2008 to help us become better in the area of public policy/government and help solve related member problems. As with any good employee, we continually added more to her plate throughout the years! We will miss her skills, work ethic, and leadership and thank her for all she’s done to serve member needs.