The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


The Wisdom Of Barnyard Bruke: "Economic Bondage Is No Fun"

Greetings as we move on into a new Month,

By now, much of the crops have been planted and much of the first cutting of hay has been put up.

Our friends and neighbors in Southeastern Illinois have not been having it so good.

One good friend of mine had to replant all 1,450 acres of corn.

Eleven (11) inches of rain in 1 week fairly well gave an unsatisfactory stand.

There are many risks involved in farming. Weather uncertainty is only one of many mine fields a producer can incur. Folks like the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) don't seem to want to compensate for risks and past low profits.

Those who hear the lies of the GMA "should not swallow th' bull an' leave th' tail hangin' out" (don't believe an unlikely story without investigation).

This GMA situation reminds me of the Civil War in the 1860s. After the slaves were freed by President Lincoln, some chose to go back to their former slave owners, to be dominated and controlled by others, without the servant's best interest at heart.

Their fate was known by being a servant and the uncertainty of freedom scared the daylights out of them.

The American Grain Farmer has received some economic freedom with Commodity price increases.

Some want to return to their former bondage by continuing to serve and sell to those of the GMA who want to put them back into economic bondage. Think about it long and hard. When you are marketing this year's crops "You better make haste slowly" (take time to do it right), and "before you get caught "twixt the devil an' the deep blue sea" (in a situation hard to get out of) keep in mind who belongs to the GMA that "wants to take th' lions' share" of the profits available in the crop you have grown and taken the risks for.

You do have other alternatives today. Don't make the mistake of willingly returning to the economic servitude we have experienced in past years.

Catch Ya Later

Barnyard Bruke