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JMS/MN
05-30-2005 14:49:31
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Re: Need A Laugh? in reply to aFORDable, 05-30-2005 06:04:56
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As a full-time farmer I was never impressed with the humor that some people saw in this or similar stories. TV show 'Dallas' had a similar line about not raising cattle because they got paid better not to. Any REAL farmer would know that that was 'caga de toro'- but it only castigated farmers into being recipients of government money without having to do anything. It's about as funny as the stories about farmers needing to plant two trees next to their mailboxes, so they can always sit in the shade while waiting for their government checks. As dairy farmers for almost 30 years, this entire family worked 24/7/365 to feed you and our 'neighbors'- the same ones who had every weekend off, vs. our average of 'hired' one day off per year; pulled their boats to the lake, tresspassed on our land with their ATVs, hunted on our land with or without permission- and think it is funny to make jokes about people who work harder than they would ever consider. And then you want to move to the country to get away from all the problems of the city, (you bring them with you) but right away you need the roads blacktopped, cannot stand the tractors and combines roaring at 2 AM, or put up with the smell of organic fertilizer. Course, that last one, I can't relate to- because I always paid extra money to have it knifed in to the ground so the neighbor's did not have to put up with the smell. And just in case- it went into the field next to our house as well. Just as my compatriots- I would rather make a living off of the marketplace, but the government has stuck it's nose into our business so much over the last 70 years that we cannot dig a ditch or install a tile to improve our land that we 'own', or improve our livestock operations, etc., without some dipstick telling us how we need to do it. Years ago I was told by an FSA shoe clerk that I cannot make improvements on my land- her motto was- "If God didn't do it, you can't". I've always thought that God was spelled G-O-D, not D-N-R, or F-S-A. And they are on at least their fourth upgraded computer system to generate more paperwork. What has our govenment done- no matter if the Dem's or Rep's are in charge- to slo0w down the conglomerization of farmer's market choices? Nothing. Most any commodity is controlled by 4 players in this entire country. Full-time farmers would gladly control their own destiny without government assistance or intervention. If you want to be a humorist, my best advice is - keep your day job. The people that feed you are not laughing.
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