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On page one of the Wisconsin State Journal Tuesday was a story about GM shutting down the plants it uses for car production that will eliminate 14 thousand jobs. The reason is those plants are no longer needed as much because of the move to more SUVs and Trucks.
It is unfortunate that jobs have to be lost because of this decision.
In contrast, a few days ago on page 6 there was a story about the plight of the family farm and how Congress is taking it on itself to attempt at passing a farm bill yet this year.
Why is this taking so long?
We are losing family farms every day when the decision comes down to having enough money to keep the farm going. I talked to a farmer a few weeks ago and he said if the family did not have cash reserves they would not be able to keep going. He said when the milk check comes it "might" cover the feed it takes for that month.
Another person sold some cows and cattle and when all was said and done they received a check for $30.
Another farmer said he could not get a price for his cows so they are all going to slaughter. Of course he had a tear in his eye telling about how he has to leave the business.
And still another farmer who has been farming organically just last week completed his last milking. We had interviewed him several years ago and were planning to run a feature in a farming piece we are planning soon.
We depend on farmers for our food. Without them we don't eat or we pay tremendously high prices for the product.
Passing a farm bill is one step but government has to stop treating agriculture like it is an unwanted relative. But the journey has to start with a first step so get the farm bill passed.