I am getting tired of talking about our own government's oppresshre, ruthless assault on tobacco. You may say -- "Who cares? I don't smoke." 'Well, neither do I!! But the assault on tobacco has serious implications. What about personal property rights? '''hen your friends come over to your house, don't you think that you should be the one to decide if they can smoke or not. What's the difference, if you own a bar, a pool hall, a restaurant. Your customers come in and you say, "you are welcome…

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I think it was all we could hope for! Last week the Clinton Administration committed itself to phasing out M+BE, a gasoline additive that although cleaning the air, has contaminated ground water and wells. Carol Browner, administrator EPA, said the government decision should encourage the use of ethanol and other safe bio-fuels in gasoline.

Admittedly the EPA announcement does not immediately get rid of M+BE. The announcement hands off to Congress the responsibility to write legislation to…

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Where does your money go? At USDA I believe that a lot of money is spent for a lot of good reasons. Farm support payments to help struggling farmers through tough times. Export funds to move our products into the international market place. Funding to care for our forests . Even food stamps to help needy families.

But I read an article last week that was shocking. According to the Inspector General, more than 20 million dollars of money at USDA that was designated to Natural Resources was…

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We're already getting excited about the spring planting season on our farm. There's nothing like a few 70 degree days to get you in the mood. [I love global warming!] Field conditions are dry enough to knife in anhydrous ammonia. The planter is in the shop and repairs almost completed. Pits under the hog barns are being sucked out and taken to the fields. [That will save a big fertilizer expense.]

There are many things we can do to help insure a profitable year. And yet there are so many…

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