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To help farmers meet new challenges facing animal agriculture, the Indiana and Ohio Farm Bureaus are sponsoring the Livestock Trends and Issues Conference on Sept. 6.

Organizers hope to draw more than 300 livestock producers to the event, which will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Fort Wayne, Ind. The conference will focus on key economic, environmental and social issues affecting the livestock industry.

Why should producers attend the conference? Just ask anyone who attended the Ohio Livestock Coalition's annual meeting and industry symposium in March.

Wes Jamison, an expert on the animal rights movement, noted that there are more activists in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) than farmers in the Midwest.

Chan Cochran, a public relations specialist, said society has raised a whole generation of kids who have "no comprehension at all of what is behind this country’s food supply."

Environmental attorney Jack Van Kley described how environmental regulations will begin to have a more significant impact on animal agriculture, potentially putting farmers out of business.

The meeting left John Montgomery, a cow-calf producer near Zanesville, concerned about cumbersome livestock regulations.

"We’re just going to have to work together as a group and let our feelings be known to those that make regulations," he said.

More recently, Ohio State University released survey results showing that almost all Ohioans are concerned about animal welfare, but 67 percent were either undecided or indicated they were not interested in learning more about farm animals.

"The bottom line is that we may have a ways to go before we've figured out how to optimally balance consumer concerns and production demands to meet everyone's needs," said Jeff Sharp, OSU rural sociologist.

For more information on the Livestock Trends and Issues Conference, call 614-246-8262.