The days are long past when livestock advocates saw ignoring those pushing animal rights and animal welfare agendas as the best way to defeat them.

In assessing what's happening on a national battleground for a Lincoln audience Thursday, Jennifer Greiner of the National Pork Producers Council pointed to Ohio, where voters Tuesday endorsed the creation of a livestock care standards board.

She cited Michigan, where there's a 10-year plan in place to phase out gestation stalls for pregnant hogs. And she listed Florida, Arizona and California as among other states where, she said, the public is poking its nose into livestock producers' business.

In the case of Michigan, "we believe this is the best deal we could get," Greiner said, "because we could have lost; we could have lost more."

Greiner and a panel from the front lines of Nebraska livestock and poultry production were part of the Agriculture at the Crossroads Conference at the Lancaster Event Center.

In the absence of such countering voices as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society of the United States, it might be said that the array of speakers chosen by the Nebraska AgRelations Council and other sponsors was there to tell a largely agricultural audience what it wanted to hear.

But much of the tone of remarks from Greiner and the panelists involved re-examining and refining production methods and connecting with consumers to make sure agriculture's voice is heard by others.

In the case of the pork sector, "the bottom line is we're working to make the right decision for every single pig every single day," Greiner said.

One reason for such a sense of dedication in Nebraska is because voters here can use the initiative process to impose livestock-related laws. "We have Nebraska among other states that could be next in line," she said.

Panelist Bill Luckey, a Columbus pork producer, said one of the challenges for those carrying agriculture's message is in getting through to people who have less and less knowledge of what happens in livestock settings.

He mentioned a recent meeting of the minds between town and country in Wahoo. "I had a person ask me, 'You mean pigs are raised indoors?'"

Luckey said he and his sons are trying to use the latest technology to keep the odors from confinement barns in check. Good landscaping helps, too, he said.

"A lot of people smell with their eyes. So if you can make it look good, it may seem less bothersome to them."

When panelist Ken Potter isn't tending to his family's 330,000 laying hens at David City, he's keeping an eye on California and other places where critics "want the birds on the ground," rather than in cages.

As he sees it, cages that meet proper poultry standards are "so much better for the animals."

One reason: "If birds get too much space, the hen pecking would actually be worse than if they're crowded together a little bit."

Reach Art Hovey at 473-7223 or at ahovey@journalstar.com.