Closing out the books on 2002 and starting to focus on the New Year. What will it bring? Will the Congress cut our farm bill supports? Will the long sough after 2002 disaster relief that wasn't in the Christmas stocking yet appear? Will we suffer draught or floods or another chicken embargo? I guess if we knew all ofthese answers, we wouldn't have to work.

I realize some farming regions struggled with devastating drought last year. Still, I doubt that the congress will find very much…

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There is a growing debate between high yield farming and organic farming. Organic farming which was somewhat of a fad a few years ago is pushing to become mainstream. Sales will hit $11 billion next year. My food wholesalers and their supermarkets are listening to that cash register ring. With USDA's new organic labeling standard, some of the confusion of just what organic means should be cleared up. Farm magazines have alerted farmers to the opportunity to get a wider profit margin in…

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We are looking at a lot of change in the chairmanships of some very important committees in Congress. What will this mean for Agriculture is the big question. Next year Republicans will chair all Senate and House committees. Out with Senator Harkin of Iowa, in with Senator Cochran of Mississippi to chair the Senate Ag Committee. Senator Cochran is well liked and is from the same state as the Senate Majority leader Trent Lott which should add to his clout. Senator Cochran is a traditional farm…

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President Bush has his team on he field. The stunning off year Republican election gain in the House and Senate has everyone out here second-guessing, pointing fingers and contemplating the next two years. If you ever wondered if an election could make a difference, just watch what happens now.

Number 1 The President will now be able to get his Homeland Security bill passed. The bill is sweeping change, bringing together scores of agencies and departments presumably to make it easier to…

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It's animal cruelty squeels the animal rights 1obby and with a battle cry. Florida voters passed a ballot initiative making it unconstitutional to us gestation crates to confine mother sows. The impact in Florida is minimal since there are only 2 pork producers in Florida using crates. But Florida is an easy place for the animal right crowd to start. Pick off a few states where pork producers don't have much at stake, then move on to other states and expand the initiatives to completely outlaw…

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November 11 is Veterans' Day. There is no better time than right now to honor our veterans that have fought. Some have given their lives for their country -- the U.S. We find ourselves at war with terrorists and on the brink of conflict with Iraq.

I walked beside the solemn gray wall of the Vietnam Memorial last week. I want to read a note written by Jennifer Denard, daughter of Captain William A. Branch whose name can be found on Panel 9 West, Line 18. He died June 6, 1970.

Each year I dream of…

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It seems that whenever new technology is introduced, the critics come out of the woodwork. I guess it has always been that way. Hybrid seed corn was not accepted for years. Pasteurization of milk faced fierce opposition. And today, genetically modified food products are met with great suspicion in some countries. Yet all of these technologies have delivered and are delivering enormous benefits to mankind. Another example is irradiation of meat to kill dangerous, sometimes deadly, bacteria.

I was…

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Last week I was down on the farm for our annual pig roast. Now I don't want to suggest that all is quiet, safe, tranquil and perfect in rural America. I know that some regions have suffered a serious drought. I know there is crime in rural American and terrible things happen sometimes. But once again I found farm country to be a breath of fresh air, a comforting relief, a bit of useful nostalgia.

This is the comparison I'm talking about. We have a cold-blooded killer on the loose here in the…

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Those of us in farm country have watched in amazement the hypocrisy of the Europeans criticizing our farm subsidies when theirs are twice what ours are. Now that the Congress, at long last, has given President Bush the authority to negotiate trade, President Bush is challenging the Europeans to reduce their farm subsidies and we will do the same.

EU farm Commissioner Franz Fischler has now presented the EU plan -- if you want to call it that. The plan doesn't reduce the 43 billion dollars in…

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In recent weeks I have talked about the stupid lawsuits filed against restaurants. Their customers get fat and they want to blame the restaurant.

This explosion of frivolous lawsuits is an even bigger national problem than the above example. You may have seen Philip Howard on television or read his book, "The Collapse of the Common Good: How America's Lawsuit Culture Undermines Freedom." He argues that "fear of being sued infects the daily decisions of every American. It has changed the culture.…

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