Farms the new frontier of terrorists?

Over the space of two nights this month, the sugar beet crop in two fields in Jackson County, Oregon, was destroyed. Someone, or a number of somebodies, chose to destroy a valuable crop, likely because it consisted of beets that had been genetically engineered to be resistant to Roundup, a herbicide.

It would be nice to see the criminals who did this caught, and according to reports by the Oregonian, the FBI is taking the case seriously.  They have deemed the case "economic sabotage and a violation of federal law involving damage to commercial agricultural enterprises," according to the report of reporter Kimberly A.C. Wilson of the Oregonian, the only major media outlet so far to report on the issue from what I can tell.

Farmers do their best to manage weather risk (they can and do lose part or all of their crops due to weather), volatile markets (prices often drop when the crop does well), government regulations (which get more onerous each year), and common problems like theft but the wanton destruction of a year’s crop by criminal activity can’t be planned or managed.

Grange members stand united against what amounts to terrorism against our American farmers. No matter what crops our farmers choose to raise, no matter what animals our farmers choose to nurture, if it is legal American farmers deserve to be able to supply their fellow citizens with that product. It doesn’t matter if you are an animal rights or anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms) believer, actions such as these are unacceptable and criminal.

I have a hunch that those who committed this crime are operating on emotion. I’ve heard a lot of argument against the use of GMOs over the last couple of years. While I believe that everyone has a right to their own opinion, when someone claims that GMOs will cause the death of the human species, any middle or common ground is hard to find, and facts to support that argument are hard to find. Every peer-reviewed scientific study I have seen or heard of shows that no difference can be seen between the end product of a natural seed, a naturally modified seed, or an engineered seed.

The National Grange has debated the issue of GMOs for a number of years and from those debates we have created our current policy. We support the use of GMO seed and want studies on their safety to continue. It is a pragmatic viewpoint and yet one that is based upon the available facts and science. I am sure that it will continue to be discussed and debated in our organization and by the public for many years to come. As new studies are conducted, their results will be included in the policy development process of the Grange.

It is good to have passion, but if we allow that passion to overshadow logic and facts we will see more crimes such as this one in Jackson County. It is our duty to engage in discussion and debate the issues of the day. Through this process we only stand to learn from each other.

The Grange stands in support of the American farmer, especially those who are the victims of terrorist acts like this one because of the crop they’ve chosen to plant. Every American should join us in condemning criminal acts like the one reported.

William Saunders Award for Rural Awareness

Yesterday I had the privilege of presenting RAM, a division of Chrysler, with the first William Saunders Award for Rural Awareness. The award was given to recognize the positive impact that their Super Bowl commercial had for rural America.

Their use of Paul Harvey’s famous “God made a Farmer” audio, coupled with their visual montage of rural America and the people who live there, was powerful and tugged at the heart. The ad showed the hard work, dedication, and lifestyle of those who provide the food, fiber, and fuel for America and the world.

The people who conceived and created this commercial did an outstanding job of raising rural awareness. The fact that they sell trucks doesn’t diminish what they’ve created in any way. 

In fact, this is how America is supposed to work. RAM is simply a group of people who own a company whose management (men and women) hires more people to develop, make, and sell trucks to people who need those trucks for their farms, businesses, and personal use. They understand who they serve and provide what their customers need and want.

I find myself reflecting on the fact that the Grange, philosophically, shares that same attitude without the commercial element. We allow people to join together in common cause without giving up their individuality. We are an organization that serves our members and our communities.

America is people and those people create businesses like RAM and organizations like the Grange. When we are all putting our efforts together, our communities flourish and people prosper as a whole. The Grange will continue to recognize people, organizations, and companies who recognize our American Values and who never forget their Hometown Roots.

Congratulations to RAM for being the recipient of the William Saunders Award for Rural Awareness!

Intellectual Property, business and the Grange

I’ve seen a few emails from members about our press release about the recent Supreme Court decision about Monsanto’s intellectual property rights and thought a few comments to the world in general would be appropriate.

First, the Grange, since its earliest days, has always been in favor of technology being used to improve crops, livestock, and all the associated practices and methods in raising them. While those early members likely never dreamed of the capabilities of science that we enjoy today, our policies have remained consistent in promoting the use of science to advance agriculture.

While GMO’s are a controversial issue for some, the science from our land grant colleges, the USDA, and others continue to show that there is no detectable difference from the food grown from GMO or non-GMO seed.

The Grange continues to support all aspects of agriculture, from a small operation feeding a few families to large farms helping to feed the world. The diversity in agriculture in practices and produce are good for American consumers and the starving in the far corners of the world. We will always advocate that we are good stewards of the soil, water, and air regardless of the size of farm. Science remains a tool to assist all farmers to continue to do a better job of protecting our resources while increasing the food, fiber, and fuel we’ll need in the future.

Second, the Grange has never supported or opposed specific business, or corporations, with the exception of co-operatives which we introduced to America and have continued to support. Our organization advocated for many railroad lines and just as often advocated against some of their monopolistic practices such as unfair rate structures. The end result of our fight with the railroads was the adoption of the idea that monopolies can be regulated for the public good. Even today, we take many policy positions for or against the practices of businesses. This does not mean we support or oppose them, just how they are doing business.

Monsanto is a large business, but it does not meet the definition of a monopoly as there are other large companies competing in the same field and many smaller companies in competition with them. We supported Monsanto’s right to own and protect intellectual property that they developed. While some of their practices may garner our opposition, on this issue, we believe that their rights were being infringed upon.

Third, our policies are the result of many discussions and debates and each are eventually adopted by the delegates of the National Grange. These policies then are advocated for by the officers and staff of the National Grange. The strength of the Grange is this deliberative policy-setting process rather than allowing leadership to create policies based upon their personal views.

Taxpayer Punishment

Like so many other Americans, I lost about an hour on both Monday and Tuesday by sitting on the tarmac due to the “furloughs” to cut government spending. It seems the FAA is only able to save money by cutting air traffic controllers and creating delays in air travel.

This seems to me as nothing but punishment of taxpayers. Over the years, I’ve seen city officials close permitting departments, county commissioners reduce sheriff’s departments and county fairs, and state officials shut down parks. The reason has always been that the taxpayers didn’t want to pay more and our elected officials made reductions where it would hurt us most in order to get us to approve a new or an increase in existing taxes to keep our government “in operation.”

After our President said that our skyrocketing debt and deficits are sustainable, after the sequester (which was a cut in the growth of government) was made out to be the end of government as we know it, it just seems to me that we, the taxpayers, are being punished for any attempt to control spending by our nation. 

I have trouble believing that the only place that the FAA could cut was the people guiding airplanes. Was this the lowest priority item in their budget? Why didn’t the President ask Congress months ago for permission to reallocate resources based upon priorities? 

I can’t guess why the administration has chosen to play politics instead of dealing with what amounts to a minor cut. However, I’d hazard a guess that a lot of Americans would rather lose an hour here and there than to see our country continue to spend itself into oblivion. We are all willing to tighten our belts a notch but we’re not willing to be punished for not wanting to continue our government’s bad habits.  It is time to budget the way most Americans budget: by our priorities, not by what we want.

Prayer for Boston

Monday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon was a shock to all Americans. Every morning we wake up to see the updated news of this crime. Every Grange member is united in offering our prayers on behalf of the victims and their families. The horror and pain that man can cause can be relieved by the comfort and strength of God.

Today we stand with our fellow citizens in support and offer our comfort and sympathy to those affected. Family, friends, and neighbors, we join together to help all get through this horrible act.

Time will provide the answers of who and why. We must have patience for the investigators on this crime. Until then our prayers to give them strength and wisdom will continue. 

Grange members across our nation share our strength and our compassion to all. Where we can help we will.