Austin Jack Decoster. A Stain on Iowa Agriculture?

Associated Content/Yahoo! ^ | Aug. 23, 2010 | Sherry Tomfeld

[stillafreemind]

Austin Jack Decoster has a history of breaking good agricultural practices. A farm in Turner, Maine was described as a sweatshop, deplorable and unsafe. A fine of $2 million was levied on him. On to Iowa where he was tagged a "habitual violator" and not allowed to start up any new farms.

[stillafreemind]

I don't want government in the farming business any more than they already are. I want ag to step up and discard these types of folks from their industry.

[maine yankee]

I know where my eggs come from.

The owners of the chickens live in the area and eat the same eggs.

I don’t need a federal inspector to tell me the place is clean or the place is safe.

Pay more attention to where your food comes from.

[556x45]

To the vast majority eggs come from the store and are laid neatly in styrofoam or pasteboard boxes. Similarly meat comes in neatly wrapped pkgs cello. I dont think they make much connection w/ chicks or cattle. Our society has become almost completely disconnected from the reality of raising, processing and preserving our own food. In fact theres a growing number of people who dont cook anymore. Its become nothing more than eating out or nuking a pkg. All this works until infrastructure fails.

[the invisib1e hand]

I know next to nothing about DeCoster, except how I marvelled as a kid at how many "DeCoster Egg Farms" trucks I used to see...I think they were in Maine, of all places.

And having my attention so drawn, I can't help but notice the slander the guy's been getting in the press, and it's a reminder that the old rule applies: whoever the media slanders can't be all that bad.

[Peter from Rutland]

In this case he is. It really doesn’t take much to prevent this type of thing. You simply keep the chickens living conditions clean.

I haven’t bought a store bought egg in well over a year, I have my own supply now. As a matter of fact I just gave away three dozen to my bands mates yesterday.

Disease free.

[slapshot]

Contributor Occupation Date Amount Recipient
DECOSTER, ALINA
CLARION,IA 50525 NOT EMPLOYED/HOMEMAKER 1/31/08 $2,300 Clinton, Hillary (D)
DECOSTER, BRIAN MR
IOWA CITY,IA 52240 BIG TEN RENTALS INC./PRESIDENT 2/22/10 $250 American Rental Assn
DECOSTER, BRIAN MR
IOWA CITY,IA 52240 BIG TEN RENTALS INC./PRESIDENT 10/6/08 $200 American Rental Assn
DECOSTER, PETER
CLARION,IA 50625 QUALITY EGG/COO 11/3/08 $5,000 United Egg Assn
DECOSTER, PETER
CLARION,IA 50525 DECOSTER EGG FARMS OF IO/EGG PRODUC 1/31/08 $2,300 Clinton, Hillary (D)

[Eric in the Ozarks]

It's no surprise DeCoster is still in business after the penalties and fines (including a charge of rape.)
He's plugged into the Harkin-Vilsack Democrat axis in Iowa and DC and he's not going away.

[HereInTheHeartland]

” I want ag to step up and discard these types of folks from their industry.”

People here in Iowa tried to discard when he came here from Maine; originally in the pork industry. Stain is a good word to describe him.

[the invisib1e hand]

I haven’t bought a store bought egg in well over a year,

Ogawd, I can't remember the last time I bought a store bought egg.

I get all mine from the diner.

[the invisib1e hand]

well, what’s a rule if it can’t be broken once in a while?

[pnh102]

Doesn’t proper cooking of eggs kill salmonella?

[Paladin2]

The laws are only for prosecuting Republicans, independents, Christians, conservatives and libertarians.

[kaybobbitt]

That’s right. We have the beef-cattle scare, hog-pork scare, and the chicken-egg scare. The government said they need more control on our food. I have heard some nice things about Jack Decoster. The news media is making you think he is the worst person on earth. My daughter said some guys at her college worked at he egg farms for him. She told me they had nothing bad to say about him or the farms.