OH leads! on Livestock-care

All sides hail new livestock-care rules

State to pioneer broad standards on managing, moving, slaughter

By Alan Johnson THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The swords of what promised to be a fierce battle at the ballot box have been molded into plowshares as Ohio’s first-ever livestock-care standards kick in on Sept. 29.    In one of those rare events in government, calmer heads prevailed, averting a costly, divisive political campaign in 2009.   Now, two years later, the result is comprehensive farm-animal rules that catapult Ohio to the forefront of the nation.

• Ohio is the first state to enact sweeping standards for livestock management, transportation and slaughter, Ohio Agriculture Director Jim Zehringer said.

“Yes, it’s been a struggle,” Zehringer acknowledged, “but we had so many public meetings and so much public input that we’ve worked through it.”

TOM DODGE DISPATCH    State agriculture chief Jim Zehringer, seen in front of an Ohio Historical Society photo, acknowleges that the process was a struggle but credits public input in the sweeping result.

The head of the Humane Society of the United States — the national organization that proposed putting an animal-care issue on the statewide ballot two years ago — is happy with the results of negotiations during more than 70 public meetings.    “In general, we’re very pleased how the farm-animal piece turned out. They handled it more comprehensively than our agreement called for,” said Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society’s president and chief executive officer.

The rules cover all variety of farm animals and poultry: chickens and turkeys; dairy, beef cattle and veal; swine; sheep and goats; and alpacas, llamas and horses.    Although they are civil, not criminal penalties, minor violations of the standards are punishable by fines of $500 to $1,000. Major violators can be hit with fines of $1,000 to $10,000 for repeat offenses.

Dr. Tony M. Forshey, Ohio’s state veterinarian, said his staff of 24 will be involved in inspections and checking on complaints. An additional 23 Department of Agriculture employees will also be available as needed.    “If there’s a disease outbreak, we can be on a farm in about an hour,” Forshey said. He emphasized that his inspectors will work with farmers rather than simply penalizing them. “We’re not about putting people out of business.”   

The new standards started with a deal struck by former Gov. Ted Strickland with the Humane Society, the Ohio Farm Bureau and several farm trade associations. The agreement included promised action on exotic animals, puppy mills and cock fighting. Although work on these issues is incomplete, Pacelle said he feels certain they will be resolved.

In exchange, the Humane Society, which had collected more than 500,000 signatures of Ohioans who wanted to put the issue to a vote, dropped its plans to get on the ballot.    “We’re hoping this sets a model for the nation in negotiating instead of a bitter political battle,” Pacelle said.

Agriculture is Ohio’s top industry, generating $107 billion annually and accounting for one in seven jobs, according to Ohio State University research.

Jack Fisher, executive director of the Ohio Farm Bureau, admitted that he “had many doubts a few years back.” But he said there is now consensus among farm groups and most farmers that the rules are acceptable.    “The end result benefits not only Ohio farmers and consumers, but it allows us to ensure we have a whole some, affordable and safe food product going forward.”

Fisher said a key factor was that the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board involved farmers and consumers from the beginning of the 16-month committee and public-hearing process.    Jim Chakeres, executive vice president of the Ohio Poultry Association, said his members know that they have “standards that are now in place that everyone has to adhere to. … I think you’re going to see farmers policing themselves.”

Dick Isler of the Ohio Pork Producers Council said, “I think the pork industry realizes Ohio has now moved to a new level. We have standards that no other states have.    “When we first reached agreement with HSUS, a lot of people were shocked. That was two years ago. Now, people are realizing that we need to move forward.”

ajohnson@dispatch.com

Ohio Livestock Care Standards

Comprehensive rules address issues species by species. Some significant changes and facts:

Bovine: veal, dairy and beef cows  

•  Veal “crates” (24 inches wide, 66 inches long) must be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2018.

•  “Tail docking” (surgical removal on dairy cattle) is eliminated by Jan. 1, 2018.

• Ohio has 15,000 large and small beef cattle farms, producing 325,000 cattle annually.

Poultry: laying hens, broilers, turkeys   

•  “Battery cages” can continue to be used indefinitely by existing poultry farms. However, no farms must use cage-free housing systems.

•  Ohio is second in the nation in poultry production, with 28.2 million laying hens, 60 million broilers, 8.7 million pullets and 4.6 million turkeys.

Swine   

•  “Gestation stalls” for hogs must be eliminated on existing farms by Jan. 1, 2026. New farms, or new construction on existing farms, must use group housing.

•  Ohio is eighth in the nation in pork production, with 4 million swine a year raised on 3,700 farms.

Sources: Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, individual farm associations.

Apple’s Design VP “Ive”

He makes Apple look appealing

Company’s design VP introduced color, curves, sleek styling

By Rachel Metz ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Jobs has been Apple’s most recognizable personality, but much of its cachet comes from its clean, inviting designs. For that, Apple can credit its head designer, Jonathan Ive.  

Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design, has led Apple’s design team since the               mid-90s.  Apple’ products are more popular than ever.

Ive, a self-effacing 44-year-old Brit, helped Jobs bring Apple back from the brink of financial ruin with the whimsical iMac computer, whose original models came in bright colors at a time when bland shades dominated the PC world. He later helped transform Apple into a consumer electronics powerhouse and the envy of Silicon Valley with the iPod, the iPhone and, most recently, the iPad.

In the wake of Jobs’ resignation as CEO, Apple must show that it can keep churning out head-turning products even without its charismatic leader. Apple’s chief operating officer, Tim Cook, is now CEO, taking on the role of Apple’s public face.    But in many ways, the real pressure will fall on Ive to make sure Apple continues its string of gadget successes.

Ive, known to his friends as “Jony,” has led Apple’s design team since the mid-’90s. Working closely with Jobs, Ive has built a strong legacy at Apple, ushering in products that are sleek and stylish, with rounded corners, few buttons, brushed aluminum surfaces and slick glass.    Apple’s pride in this work is evident even in the packaging: Open up any iPhone box, for example, and see Apple proudly proclaim, “Designed by Apple in California.” Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

People who have worked with Ive describe him as humble and sweet, quiet and shy, but also confident, hard-working and brilliant. Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design for MoMA, said she knows “hardly anybody that is so universally loved and admired” as Ive.    “Products have to be designed better now for people to buy them because of Jony Ive and Steve Jobs and Apple,” Antonelli said.   “All of a sudden, people have gotten used to elegance and beauty, and there’s no going back.”    Design, as well as software that makes the gadgets easy to use, is a crucial part of setting Apple products apart from those of its rivals. Apple didn’t make the first music player or smartphone, but it blew past rivals by making ones that looked cool and worked well.

Ive studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) in Newcastle, England.   After finishing school, he cofounded a London design company called Tangerine. There, he designed a range of products including combs and power tools. It was through Tangerine that he first worked with Apple.

In 1992, while Jobs was in the midst of a 12-year exile from Apple, the company’s design chief at the time, Robert Brunner, hired Ive as a senior designer. Thomas Meyerhoffer, who worked under Ive at Apple in the ’90s, believes Ive came because he understood that Apple was different from other computer companies.    “He came to Apple to take that even further,” Meyerhoffer said.    And Ive did, but not right away.

Apple declined requests for an interview with Ive.   But during a 1999 interview, Ive said that for years, designers would produce foam models of computers, only to be sent back to their drawing boards because of managers’ fixations with focus groups and marketing figures.    “We lost our identity and looked to competition for leadership,” Ive said at the time.    Brunner left in 1996 and suggested that Ive take over the post, even though Ive was only 29. When Jobs returned from exile and became interim CEO in 1997, he named Ive senior vice president of industrial design.

With Jobs again at the helm and Ive as his style guru, Apple refocused around design and produced a hit that got the company back on track. Apple shook up the personal computer industry in 1998 with the candy-colored, all-in-one iMac desktop, the original models shaped like a futuristic TV.    Unlike past attempts, the iMac concept was immediately embraced by the top decisionmakers at Apple, and the design went through very few revisions.

At a time when most computers were boxy and largely black, beige or gray, the iMac was curvaceous and flashy. People snapped up 150,000 of them in the first weekend after its release. Apple sold 800,000 iMacs by the end of the year.    Apple then brought out the first iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010. In recent years, the company has largely dropped the bright palette (though you can still find it on some iPods) in favor of black, white and silver hues. Yet they retained simplicity that made them approachable to everyone as well as the curves, shiny surfaces and expensive appearance.

As a result, Apple’s products are more popular than ever, allowing the company to surpass rival Microsoft Corp. last year as the most valuable technology company in the world.    “They definitely couldn’t have done them without him,” Leander Kahney, who has written about Apple in several books, said of Ive.    Ive and Jobs have worked hand in hand and, in many respects, have contributed to each other’s success. Ive has always been in contact with Jobs and speaks the same language as him, Antonelli said.    Don Norman, who worked at Apple in the ’90s as vice president of the company’s advanced-technology group, said that although Ive had good design ideas “sitting on the shelves,” he needed Jobs to get those designs off the shelves.    Now, the test will be whether Cook can continue to keep that focus at Apple and encourage Ive to continue creating hits.

SUSAN RAGAN ASSOCIATED PRESS    Jonathan Ive, left, and Jon Rubinstein, Apple’s senior vice president of engineering, pose with five iMac personal computers at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., in 1999.