Issues, Imports, Baseball and Death

Wednesday, February 4, 2004 12:39 AM CST

Ron Johnson, Dairy Editor

It's been a week spiced by a variety of feedback from Agri-View readers.

First, Jim Tostenson, who dairy farms near Pine River, telephoned to talk about last week's column. I wrote about some of the mishaps that can befall young farmers, and how I wish more of them had other training or skills to fall back on if a career in farming does not work out.

Tostenson says, "What we need to concentrate on are the factors that involve the (dairy) industry and the perception of the industry by those that do business with the dairymen, such as the loan officers at the bank getting their information form the general press, various salesmen who "decide who they will or don't care to do business with, based not necessarily on the actual operation of a dairy farm but on their long-distance perception."

He continues, "If we were to concentrate on the balancing of risks and rewards under the various management styles, I think we could find more opportunities are out there than have been highlighted (during) the last few years of extra production, extra expense and extra risk. There are the issues of equitable milk pricing opposed to fads that it doesn't pay to build a business on...The list could go on..."

Economist challenged

From Meshoppen, Pa., Arden Tewksbury telephoned to talk about baseball and dairy imports, but not in that order. The dairy producer, who operates a 65-cow operation, heads up a group called the Progressive Agriculture Organization (PAO) that reportedly has some 1,000 members.

"We try to represent dairy farmers in the legislative area, both the state and in Washington. We testify at hearings and stuff like that on their behalf," Tewksbury told me.

One of the PAO's latest projects involves inviting Penn State University Economist Ken Bailey to a debate, someplace in northeast Pennsylvania, maybe in March of April. I was informed of this "challenge" due to a statement Bailey made while at a conference in Wisconsin last fall. I reported what he said.

The article was in the Nov. 27 Agri-View. Bailey addressed the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW). Bailey talked about the prospects for 2004's milk prices.

It's what Bailey said about dairy product imports that really irked the farmers from his home state, according to Tewksbury. Here's what my article said:

"The economist responded that dairy imports do not explain why milk prices go up and down or why they are lower at any given time. He admitted that imports do affect U.S. milk prices somewhat, but not much - maybe 'a nickel' per hundredweight.

Tewksbury then asked me, "Why are so many congressmen and senators, including those in the Upper Midwest, so anxious to bring MPC (milk protein concentrate) and casein under tariff controls if it's only affecting our price five cents per hundredweight?"

Good question. I gave him the "safe" and partly correct - answer: "I think it's because people worry that it could become more of a problem and they want to head it off at the pass, so to speak."

The "unsafe" answer is that every organization or self-proclaimed "leader" needs an enemy to rally the troops around. The Colonists needed King George if they were to overthrow a government, not just a vague entity called "Parliament."

So it is here. Some folks need an issue to push. While there's some merit to their arguments, the numbers I've seen from what I deem "credible" sources - including Ken Bailey and other economists - point to a very small impact from certain dairy imports.

That's not to say that we should not act now to start restricting them. But, then, I've been warned that doing so could open up another can of worms in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and U.S. dairying could well prove to be the greater loser.

Farmer also a fan

On to baseball. Tewksbury noted with some pride that he farms "150 miles from Yankee Stadium, right to the inch."

He's a staunch Yankees fan even though he lives not farm from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. We reminisced a few moments about Yankee greats Mantle and Maris, and other good Yanks like Bobby Richardson. For some reason, on the farm in Crawford County, our black-and-white TV often brought us Yankees games, along with Twins games via the station at Rochester, Minn.

It's easy to remember "the Mick," baseball cap slightly askew (they didn't wear batting helmets back then), short sleeves showing thick arms, rapping out a homer to right, then - next at bat - laying down a perfect, soft bunt for a single.

I wish I had back even a few of the baseball cards of the likes of Mantle and Maris. Many of them met a horrid fate attached to the spokes of my bicycle.

Some went unappreciated from the start. It wasn't unusual to buy a five-cent pack of cards, tear it open and be dismayed to find three or four identical cards of the same player - often three or four Roger Maris cards or three our four of Mickey Mantle.

I've learned from those mistakes. I very seldom buy baseball cards.

'Death' column appreciated

My column from a couple of weeks back, headlined, "Death Won't Be Denied," brought an e-mail from Anita Gilley, Gladstone, Ill. She wrote:

"How excellent...and wonderfully worded. It hit right at the issue of dealing with death, and how farm folks really feel about it. I do not know one person that deals with situations like this on their farm that will not admit that it gives them a knot in the stomach and that they force themselves not to think about when they do it.

"Farmers are not just in the business to make money," she continues. "They would be certifiably nuts if that was their only reason. They love what they do. They love the fields, the planting, the harvesting, the raising of livestock, the birth of newborn animals, the whole process.

"But death is not included in the category of love, only necessity, an issue that has to be dealt with. If they had the choice of having something on hand, a drug or something, many would opt for this instead of dealing a death blow..."

Her e-mail continues: "You will find many a farmer loving the Animal Planet channel, watching the programs on inhumane treatment to dogs, cats etc. and finding themselves very, very angry at these folks who neglect their animals. They don't understand them, or how they can do such a thing. To them, it is much better to send them to the auction for slaughter, or put them out of their misery, depending on what the situation might be.

"Farmers may act like they are tough," Gilley adds, "but I don't know a more kindhearted bunch of folks - reality prone, yes, but very caring also. There are some that take better care of their animals than know how to parent a family as well. But, in both circumstances, they do the best they know how - not out of cruelty - but out of care and love."

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