Blogspot: Agriculture
THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING
I made telephone calls to the representatives of those in elected office and sent e-mails to others. This was very disconserting when I learned the Thayer fire was getting out of control. I was fed the same line over and over again. This does nothing to sooth the nerves of the rancher who finds out that his land and cattle are last on the list. The government needs to make a decision as to whether we are going to be in agriculture and if so which types. It is cruel to string people along and let them think that there is a living to be made in ranching when their kids should be studying medicine or computer science. As an aside I would bet, you that perhaps Old Jules, or other settlers made all kids of wine from Nebraska grown grapes. We have been an inventive and creative bunch by necessity from the beginning.
:0)
SAVING THE PAST, INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE
I am no longer a Nebraskan, however my family is and has been working the land of western Nebraska for the past 100 years. My heart has gone out to those who have lost so much these past few days in the devesation of the Pine Ridge Forest. Land which I and many have grown up around and still call home. When the fires began to get out of "control", Scott did not want to hear about it from the news, he wanted to be there...to see how our current government reacts to such an emergency situation. Once on site, he not only listened to the voices of the people who had unfortuanately lost so much, but he also "pitched in" as only a Nebraskan knows how and helped farmers in need to move hay, or any other task at hand. I would be proud to vote for a person, who not only wants to know first hand how our regulations and laws affect the common man, but knows what it means to add sweat and labor to the endeavor.
Connie-too far from home...
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
We all know the situation: corn and soybean prices hover near historic lows while the cost of fertilizer, fuel, seeds and other inputs continues to rise. So it should come as no surprise to learn that it’s harder and harder for small and mid-sized operators to makes a profit at all. Our farmers are facing terrible financial pressures this year that could result in another round of foreclosures and consolidations. And if that happens, our local, small town businesses lose income and reduce payroll.
Another Nebraska youth who dreamed of returning home after college to raise a family might be forced to choose Omaha, or Denver, or Chicago instead. In the 2007 Farm Bill, we must support new business models that allow family farms and ranchers to thrive in a new era. We must support the farmers of today with continued loan support, but we must also prepare the farmers of tomorrow by supporting experimentation and innovation.
Nebraska farmers and ranchers are already innovating. Phil Menke in Cozad switched to organic soybeans and sells them for $16 a bushel at a time when the price for conventional beans is around $5 a bushel. Dan Morgan in Burwell direct markets his Kobe beef over the Internet to consumers around the world. The Last Chance Winery in Crawford expects to break into profitability this year, using 100 percent Nebraska-grown grapes. California wine experts said it couldn't be done. They were wrong. Let's stop investing in the past by paying two-thirds of farms subsidies to megafarms. Let's invest in local entrepreneurs who are building the diversified farm economy of tomorrow.
-- SCOTT