Preaching to the Choir
How do you know when Agriculture has entered a new era? The answer is, when the
Chicago Tribune front page headline reads, “Ethanol Boom a Mixed Bag.” And then in the
very same issue, the lead story in the Business Section is, “Seed Controversy Sprouts.”
That’s confirmation that Agriculture has entered a New Age!
Now how significant is the Tribune’s top story of the day? Well it’s pretty big when the sidebar story is that Chicago’s wealthiest family, the Ptritzkers, are selling part of their holdings, $4.5 BILLION worth, to Warren Buffett! Agriculture has arrived!
The dateline is Assumption, Illinois. And the lead sentence is, “Len Corzine zipped up the hooded sweat shirt a John Deere dealer gave him hours earlier, before heading out to
survey a plot of land he farms. “This is one of the most expensive coats you’ll ever see
because it came with a new combine,” Corzine said. “It’s a $325,000 jacket.”” The front page Tribune story goes on to talk about the rise in corn prices because of the ethanol boom, quoting University of Illinois research, indicating that grain farmers’ average net income in Illinois stayed above $110,000 for the second straight year, after settling below $30,000 in 2002. The article is actually pretty fair and balanced, which is often not the case in a large metropolitan newspaper. But the reporter, Joshua Boak, goes on to say that one of the results of the farmers’ good fortune is that consumers and livestock producers are paying more for food and feed respectively, noting that with corn at over $4 per bushel, twice the 2005 price,
“a striking cause-and-effect phenomenon has come home to roost.” The next paragraph begins with, “Some in the food industry are concerned about the impact of ethanol on consumer prices, but you won’t find much apologizing from most of the folks in farm country. Nor is there an abundance of gloating. They know too well that just as drought follows rain, commodity prices that go up will eventually go down. Corzine also said lower corn prices were once just as controversial as high prices.
Then there’s the Tribune Business Section lead story about crop insurance, specifically
about a pilot program that gives Midwestern corn producers an insurance premium break if they plant Monsanto-brand seed. This reporter, the Tribune Washington Bureau writer,
explains that Monsanto won the designation by providing three years’ worth of research that convinced the USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation board that its triple-stack corn variety produces higher yields under difficult conditions, such as weeds and corn borer.
This also is a well written, impartial story.
So as 2008 begins, it IS a “Rural Renaissance.” In my journalistic lifetime, those involved in agriculture have mostly “preached to the choir.” Now not only are major publications writing about agricultural topics, they are seeking creditable input. I guess the chorus is changing too.
That’s Colleen’s Comment, and I’ll see you again soon, the Lord and weather willing.
email: colleencall@sbcglobal.net
website: www.colleencallahan.com
fax: 309-692-0148
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