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April 7, 2011
Page 3
Butting up with spring
Calves butt heads at an area feedlot on April 1, (Photo by Richard Volesky)
in
To the editor:
Visits to the grocery store have
many Americans wbndering about
the price of food these days. We all
know food prices are up a bit. but
the reasons why are not Simple.
Americans are fortunate to have
a safe. abundant supply of food. But
as food travels from the farm to our
tables, the price we pay is influ-
enced by a number of factors along
the way.
Energy costs are up, not only gas
for our cars and trucks, but for trac-
tors, combines, semis, ships, trains
and cranes all of the vehicles that
help get food from the farm to our
tables. Refrigeration, packaging,
processing and marketing also con-
tribute to the final food cost in a
grocery store or restaurant.
Meanwhile. costs for fertilizer, ani-
mal feed. and equipment are up for
prices
family farmers and ranchers across
the country. Floods, drought and
political instability in foreign
nations have also impacted prices.
In fact. estimates show that out
of every dollar a consumer spends
on food, less than 16 cents goes to a
farm or agricultural business. So
while many farmers have weath-
ered the recession and are earning
strong incomes, not all farm fami-
lies are doing as well as they might.
Small and mid-sized operations in
particular continue to struggle.
And today, in spite of the many
factors affecting food prices, farm-
ers and ranchers are working hard
to keep food affordable for con-
sumers for their neighbors, family
and friends, and all of us who
depend on their work.
Thankfully, U.S. farmers are the
most productive in the world. They
are
have embraced science and new
farming technologies to produce
about twice as much per acre as
they did 50 years ago.
This record productivity has
helped keep food affordable for
American families. The average
American household spends
between six and seven percent of its
income on food. while residents of
nearly every other country in the
world pay substantially more.
History shows that food prices
will rise and will fall. As we weath-
er this period of price fluctuation
together, know that America's farm-
ers are working every day to pro-
vide your family with the highest
quality, mosl; affordable food any-
where in the world.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack
Washington D.C.
ill Ion
i don,t know about you, but I'm
really getting tired of winter! It's
April for goodness sake. We need
some warm days and green pas-
tures.
The third phase of the
Legislature has begun - conference
committees. At this point, bills that
have been voted on in both sides of
the Legislature. and have differ-
ences between the House or Senate
versions, move to committees made
up of three House members and
three Senate members.
The winter has been long and
hard on not only livestock but on
our wildlife as well. SB 2227 is a
bill that expands the tools available
to livestock producers who are suf-
fering from deer depredation. In
addition to the original components
- the authorization of the Game and
Fish Department director to estab-
lish specialized hunts (now from
December through Jan. 15) to
reduce depredation problems: a
cost-share program for the erection
of deer proof hay yards: and a defi-
nition of crops to include those that
are harvested and gathered (hay) is
included.
The version that was amended
and approved by the House Energy
and Natural Resources Committee
provides for mandatory mediation
through Ag Mediation for landown-
ers dissatisfied with the Game and
Fish Department's management
Capitol Report
By Shirley Meyer
State Representative,
District 36
Beef producers
are stewards of
their livestock, not
only because it is
the right thing to
do, but because it
is how they make a
living,
plan to control deer. It also sets
aside $1 million per biennium to
purchase short-term feeding sup-
plies during the winter to help draw
out animals in problem areas, as
well as $100.000 for specialized
food plots. Furthermore. language
authorizing the Game and Fish
Department to engage others to
euthanize injured, sick or emaciated
deer has been added to the bill.
Language aimed at giving landown-
ers their "day in court" if they are
charged with shooting deer without
a license was likewise enhanced to
modify the current strict liability
offense.
This bill is long overdue and we
should be debating it on the House
floor this week. Ranchers and farm-
ers certainly contribute their share
of feed to keep the deer alive, but in
winters such as this when the hay
piles starts dwindling and 100 head
of deer start invading the hay, other
remedies need to be sought.
One bill that was defeated was
SB 2365, which called for a study
of laws related to the humane treat-
ment of animals. All of our major
livestock groups testified m support
of this bill. citing livestock produc-
ers' positive practices and the voic-
es of groups like the Humane
Society and the People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals. Beef
producers are stewards of their live-
stock, not only because it is the
right thing to do. but because it is
how they make a living.
I felt that reviewing the lan-
guage through the study process to
make sure that our high standards
of animal welfare are maintained.
and prohibit animal agriculture
from being targeted by radical
groups would have been a good
idea. I do have concerns that some
will view the Legislature's opposi-
tion to the study negatively and will
decide to initiate legislation on
their own that may be unfavorable
to agriculture.
I can be reached at sjmey-
er@nd.gov or by phone at 1-888-
635-3447.
N. D. Matters
By Lloyd Omdahl
Oil industry's demand for water is 'now'
As you read this. the session is
on Its 62nd leg'islative day with no
more than 18 days left to wrap up
our work. House bills, that the
Senate amended and that the House
did not agree with are being
assigned to conference committees
starting last week. The beginning
of the conference committees sig-
nals the beginning of the end of the
session.
On average it takes three weeks
for the committees to complete their
work and if that holds true the ses-
sion should end on Good Friday. A
former employee of mine would
always say "'the good Lord willing
and the creek don't rise" and I think
that applies here.
The most controversial subject
we had this past week was a consti-
tutional revision bill that would
have put language into our
Constitution allowing citizens to
purchase or not purchase health
care coverage. It was billed by
many as a strike against what is
referred to as Obama care. There is
no doubt in my mind that the large
majority of the Legislature opposes
Obama care but that is not what the
debate on the bill was about.
The debate was simple, can
North Dakota put a law in that is in
conflict with federal law? If we
were to secede from the union, we
could do it but you know what? I
am a resident of North Dakota but a
citizen of the United States so I had
to vote as a citizen. Obama care is
in the hands of the courts if we like
it or not and in the hands of the fed-
eral government. We. as a state.
have done as much as we could to
hullify the negative effects of the
bill and at the same time try to take
Speaker ' s Desk
By David Drovdal
DEADLINES
The deadline for sub-
mitted copy and stories
and all ad orders is
noon on Fridays. Call
872-3755 or e-mail
gvnews @ mid state, net.
The debate was
simple, can North
Dakota put a law in
that is in conflict
with federal law?
advantage of the positive aspects of
the bill.
Some of the bills that directly
affect western North Dakota seem
to be going through the process w~th
very little problems. The oil and
gas distribution formula is only
receiving a few corrections: the
governor's proposal on oil and gas
roads has had little opposition after
the House had its disagreement.
School funding will be around
$104 million more across the state
with an additional $46 million in
property tax buy down of mill
levies.
The western water bill that is
designed to provide Missouri River
water first to the oil industry, then to
cities and industries was revised in
the Senate and is headed to a con-
ference committee. The Senate
reduced the funding and put it under
the management of the State Water
Commission. The State Water
Commission does manage other
state funded water projects but in
this case they have not supported
the project up to now and only start-
ed supporting it after it passed the
House. There is a well-founded
fear that the project would be stalled
for a number-of years under their
management. The need for the
water is now and it would reduce
the damage to roads because of the
reduction in distances traveled by
water trucks.
There is an argument that this
would put the project m. competi-
tion with private sellers of water but
currently most towns in the oil
patch are selling water today. An
additional goal of the project is to
make use of the Missouri River
water and reduce the drain on the
aquifer that our citizens need for
their personal use.
If you have any comments on the
bills left before us. I can be r~ached
at ,ddrovdal@nd.gov and Rep.
Kempenich at kkem-
penich@nd.gov. Senator Bowman
is bbowman@nd.gov, and we
would appreciate hearing from you.
A person can also watch the daily
legislative session on the lnternet
by going to www.legis.nd.gov/then
by clicking on session quick links
followed by clicking on live house
sessions.
I
k and Shrimp Night
• Starting at 6 p.m.
Includes salad bar
and dessert
$19.95 includes tax
Reservations a ppreciated
Tobacco program translates into improved women's health
To the editor:
In my years of working for
women's public health. I have
learned a valuable lesson: If you
want to dramatically improve
women's health in North Dakota,
convince them never to start smok-
ing and help them stop smoking.
The top four leading causes of
death among all women in North
Dakota (heart disease, cancer.
stroke and lung disease) all have
one big risk factor in common -
tobacco. According to the
American Heart Association.
smoking is a major cause of car-
diovascular heart disease among
women, and. women who smoke
have an increased risk for
ischemic stroke and subarachnoid
hemorrhage. One year after quit-
ting smoking, the risk of heart
attack drops sharply, and after 2-5
years, the chance of stroke could
fall to about the same as a non-
smoker's.
Where heart disease is the num-
ber one cause of death among
women, lung cancer is the number
one cancer killer of women. Yes.
that's right - lung cancer is the num-
ber one cancer killer of women, and
we know unquestionably that 90
percent of those cancers are directly
related to tobacco use and exposure
to secondhand smoke. According to
the latest surgeon general's report
"If nobody smoked, 1 of every 3
cancer deaths in the United States
would not happen.'"
This is why both the American
Cancer Society and the American
Heart Association support state-
based comprehensive tobacco con-
trol programs as a top policy priori-
ty.
Smoking also reduces a woman's
chance of getting pregnant, increas-
es the risk of having babies who die
from sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) and increases the risk of
pregnancy complications." prema-
ture delivery, low birth weight, still-
birth and miscarriage. These are all
critical women's health issues that
will be positively impacted by work
done to reduce tobacco use by
women.
A strong tobacco control pro-
gram based on science and best
practices, like the one approved by
the voters in Measure 3, is in fact
one of the best women's health pro-
grams in the country.
Heidi Heitkamp
Mandan
Spea ing
We were all eager to hear
President Obama tell us about the
exit strategy in Libya. but not quite
as eager as Moammar Gadafi. (It's
difficult to run a successful war
when you have to tell the enemy
• what you are planning.)
The French have a heart for rev-
olutions. They were first in line to
defend the staggering revolution in
Libya.
They did the same thing in
America 230 years ago when Count
de Grasse's fleet bottled up General
Cornwallis at Yorktown. They
bailed us out of a losing war.
Sarah Palin traveled to Israel'
recently in anticipation of a run for
the presidency but Israel doesn't
have an opening at present,.
However. there may be a vacancy in
Libya shortly..
President Obama was in Brazil
and Chile looking over his options.
They didn't have any vacancies
either, but Egypt will be holding
elections soon.
4, O4,
The ladybug v;,ill be the official
North Dakota state insect. The ant
was not even considered, proving
that appearances carry more weight
than hard work.
4, 4, I~
Which ethnic group is most s~4it-
ed to the "square" dance? The
Swedes nominated the Norwegians.
PewResearchCenter has discov-
ered why so many young people are
binge drinkers. Thirty-seven percent
don't see excessive drinking as a
moral issue, especially when they
are drunk.
I lost interest in getting a
Smartphone when a friend told me
that an IQ test would be required.
4, OII,
Due to a lack of Boniva, the
AARP-Dakota River Dancers will
not appear at the Minor State Fair
this year, but just about everyone
else will. Dates: July 22-29.
I have 44 friends, relatives and
strangers offering to be my friends
on Facebook. Since I couldn't do
justice to that many friends, rela-
tives and strangers. I don't do
Facebook at all.
4, 4~ 4,
In a democracy, when enough
people are doing the wrong thing, it
cannot be outlawed, e.g, using cell-
phones while driving in traff~c.
With nuclear fallout in the wind.
we need to dig out the North Dakota
Civil Defense Survival Plan devel-
oped in the late '50s.
It assumed the Russians would
bomb the Minot and Grand Forks
ngs
Air Force Bases and the Capitol in
Bismarck. However, Fargo was
included as a target for no reason at
all except they complained about
not being considered important
enough to be a target. Fargo was
made a target without checking with
the Russians. :
II, II, I) .....
The plan started with a clear exit
strategy: run.
We were all supposed to head for
Williston, Dickinson and Devils
Lake because the prevailing winds
would blow the radioactive clouds
to the southeast.
A new administration was elect-
ed and changed the strategy: dig.
That brought concrete bomb shel-
ters filled with water and crackers.
If you could survive the crackers,
you didn't need to worry about the
radiation.
O 4, 4,.
When it comes to passing laws,
the politics of the present are more
important than the consequences of
the future because nobody in the
future is voting yet.
4,4,4,
Sometimes it's hard to tell a cab-
bage from a king.
"The Brokers Krimm"
The slorl ol Ntota's
serial bank robber
AM
Visit with our Excellent Staff
Sandi Peplinski, Branch Manager
Lorrie Knight, Teller
Western Cooperative
CREDIT UNInN
BEACH: S4 | ST ST. SE
P.O. BOX 366
B72"222S " WWW.WCP-U.ORB