10/23/08 The American Farmer

The American farmer, that under appreciated, under touted and under valued American icon is in jeopardy of extinction. We hear often of endangered species, from the arctic fox to the blue whale, but what about the constant attacks made on the American farmer and agriculture. Every day threatens a new restriction placed on some form of U.S. agricultural production. A little over a month ago a judge in Missouri declared no hog farms could be built within a 15 mile radius of state parks. That resulted in more than 700 square miles of agricultural land being inaccessible for raising pigs. In November, California voters will determine whether or not to allow animals to be raised in environmentally controlled systems. Several researchers fear that if passed, this bill would virtually eliminate egg production in California. Do we really want to put ourselves in the position where we rely on foreign food imports? We know where that got us with oil. Don't settle for the American farmer being next on the endangered species list.