DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the mistrust of law enforcement that was exposed after the fatal police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, has a corrosive effect on all of America, not just on black communities.

He says that mistrust harms places that need law enforcement the most.

He also says it makes people reluctant to go to the police and scars the hearts of all children.

The fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in August sparked days of violent protests and racial unrest in predominantly black Ferguson. Brown was black and unarmed. The police officer who shot him was white.

Obama commented Saturday at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual awards dinner in Washington.

He announced the expansion of a program launched this year to help make young minority men’s lives better.

BY CHRIS CHINN

I’m a farmer and a mother. Leaving my farm and family isn’t exactly something I treasure. It is, however, an investment I make to share the story of my American farm family. I am not alone in this mission. As one of the Faces of Farming and Ranching for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, I introduce people to what farmers do and why. This is not as simple as you might think.

Truth is: it’s rare to find people who have a solid understanding of what farming looks like today. With most Americans at least three or four generations removed from the farm, few have connections with the people who bring food to their tables.

Thanks to USFRA’s Faces of Farming, I now connect with people far outside of agriculture and on a broader scale than I once did through my blog and social media platforms.

I recently met with reporters along the Northeast corridor to discuss issues that are important in both rural and urban America. The use of antibiotics on farms and ranches was a recurring theme. But as I told them, antibiotics are just one of the many tools we have to responsibly care for our animals. Veterinarians and animal nutritionists play a key role in determining our animal care plan. Every decision we make regarding animal health is made under their guidance. Farmers and ranchers are always looking for ways to improve the care we give our animals.

Bloggers talk to each other a lot, but meeting face-to-face often brings the most benefits. I’ve gotten to know many urban bloggers and have discovered we have more in common than we would have expected. We all struggle to find interesting topics to write about, and we all have hectic schedules that prevent us from blogging as often as we’d like. Most importantly, we all want to feed our families healthy and nutritious food.

Many urban bloggers tell me I’m the first farmer they’ve met. I enjoy telling them about family life and business challenges on the farm, but I’ve learned just as much about the rest of America from them. Conversations like these help shape my story for people who have never visited a farm, so I can better explain what daily farm life looks like, including methods we use to grow food.

I remember joining a food discussion panel with Bo Stone – another one of the Faces of Farming– along with a chef for an international hotel chain and an independent hotel and restaurant owner. Bo and I shared our stories about the crops we grow and animals we raise on our farms. We explained why we do certain things to produce food and how our farms have changed over the last 50 years. This was also a great learning opportunity for us as farmers to hear about what goes into the decision-making process when chefs and restaurant owners buy food for their menus.

Through USFRA and other programs, farmers are sharing their stories like never before. Our platform for engagement has been elevated. I am finding that our fellow citizens, our friends and neighbors are receptive to learn how much we care for the land, animals and environment. They need to know that all these things we care for are in good hands. Agriculture must stand united in telling its story, but the story must be told in the genuine voices of individual farmers. USFRA’s Faces of Farming gives us that chance. I look forward to hearing more stories from those who follow in lending their unique voices and the credibility that only comes from a life on the land.

Chris Chinn, of Clarence, Mo., serves on the state board of directors for Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization. She is also a “Faces of Farming and Ranching” spokesperson for the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis County police say a Ferguson officer was shot after encountering two suspects at a community center who fired at him during a foot chase. Officials do not believe the shooting was related to ongoing protests of an officer-involved shooting last month.

County Police Chief Jon Belmar says the officer was shot in the arm and is expected to survive. Belmar did not identify the officer or give further details about his condition.

He says that the officer fired shots in return but that police have no indication that either suspect was shot.  A search for the suspects continues.

Belmar says he does not think the shooting was related to two separate protests that were going on Saturday night around the same time.

The city has been the scene of unrest since the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed, black 18-year-old, by a white police officer.

By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service

WICHITA — Three years ago, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of hospitals’ efforts to encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies ranked Kansas 42st in the nation.

“We have a lot of room for improvement,” Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Robert Moser said Thursday, addressing a gathering of nearly 200 front-line physicians and nurses, public health officials nurses and health care advocates.
Thursday’s event, called the Kansas Health Summit on Breastfeeding, marked the start of a foundation-funded campaign aimed at improving the state’s breastfeeding rates, which, according to the CDC, are 40 percent at six months and 23 percent at 12 months after birth. Only 11 percent of the state’s mothers are thought to be breastfeeding “exclusively” after six months. All three percentages are below the national average.

“We’re here to build a blueprint for how to change the culture in Kansas so that more moms and babies have the opportunity to breastfeed,” said Virginia Elliott, vice president for programs at the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, a co-sponsor of the event with the Kansas Health Foundation, which is the primary funder of the Kansas Health Institute, the parent organization of KHI News Service.

“We know (breastfeeding) is the healthy choice, but it’s just not the easy choice in this culture,” Elliott said. “Our breastfeeding rates show the barriers that moms and families are facing.”

These barriers, Elliott, Moser and others said, include:

• a long-standing underestimation of the health benefits associated with breastfeeding.

• a shortage of readily available breastfeeding counselors.

• hospital maternity wards that adhere to outdated care regimens.

• health insurance policies that are overly restrictive.

• easy access to formula.

• formula companies’ marketing campaigns.

• reluctance to breastfeed in public.

• unfriendly work environments.

“We have a lot of industry in McPherson, and it can be difficult for mothers to step off a 12-hour shift (production) line to go pump” breast milk, said Dr. Alicia Chennell, who has delivered 23 babies since moving to McPherson in mid-July.

“The health benefits of breastfeeding are extraordinary for mom and for baby,” Chennell said. “(Breastfed) babies will have fewer infections, fewer incidents of diabetes, less asthma, less obesity … and for moms there’s less cancer and less diabetes. It also helps with maternal weight loss after delivery, which is always fantastic, and the bond that breastfeeding builds between mom and baby is pretty fantastic too.”

The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Todd Wolynn, a pediatrician and CEO at the National Breastfeeding Center in Pittsburgh, stressed the importance of helping business leaders recognize the economic benefits of breastfeeding. He noted that studies have shown that breastfeeding mothers are less likely to miss work due to having to stay home to care for a sick child.

“Dollars evoke change,” he said.

Wolynn also encouraged attendees to be ever-alert to formula companies’ marketing efforts. “I’m not here to demonize the industry,” he said. “But let’s remember: Every mother who isn’t breastfeeding is an industry client.”

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said the Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to cover breastfeeding supplies and access to counseling before and after delivery.

“The problem we have is that this is considered preventive care, but HHS hasn’t been very specific in defining what qualifies as preventive care,” she said “So the insurance companies may have polices that say where you have to buy – or rent – a breast pump, or tell you what brand, or require you to have a prescription. It’s not very standardized.”

During the morning’s question-and-answer sessions, three comments from audience members prompted brief applause. The comments called attention to:

• How KanCare companies’ policies undercut access to breastfeeding supports for low-income women.

• How OB/GYNs could – and should – do more to encourage breastfeeding.

• The success of a Wichita program geared toward young mothers who are still in high school.

Afterward, many in the audience toured the maternity unit at Wesley Medical Center, which is in the final stages of becoming the state’s first hospital to earn a “Baby Friendly” designation.

DAVID PITT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The rapidly rising demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has created a robust new market for refugees who fled violence in their home countries and found peace in farming small plots of land in several U.S. cities.

With help from a federal grant program, Lutheran Services in Iowa provides farm plots for 26 refugee families in Des Moines who are now harvesting their own produce and selling it to cooperatives and at a farmers market.

Ron Munia, who works for the federal Office of Refugee Services, says federal grants have been given to 11 refugee farm programs.

He says farming helps the refugees feel at home and integrate into a community because of the interaction with the local population and other refugees.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Harley-Davidson is recalling more than 105,000 motorcycles from the 2014 model year because their clutches may fail, causing stopped bikes to creep forward and potentially crash.

The Milwaukee company also is recalling 1,384 motorcycles made earlier this year to test for possible fuel tank leaks.

For the clutch issue, Harley-Davidson says dealers will rebuild affected clutch master cylinders for free. The company knows of 19 low-speed tip-over crashes tied to the problem, with three minor injuries reported. Bikes named in that recall include the Electra Glide Ultra Classic and the CVO Road King.

Dealers also will test fuel tanks subject to that recall and replace them for free if any leak from under their caps. No injuries, accidents or fires have been tied to that problem.