From the
Kansas Farmer family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We leave you with some news tidbits from the last several weeks:
- We mentioned a few weeks ago that a Minnesota farmer cooperative makes premium vodka out of locally grown wheat. As it turns out, maybe farmer-owned beverage plants are catching on:
- Great Plains Brewing Company, a small brewery owned by 150 Missouri farmers and based in Olathe, has three beers on tap. The catch is, each of the three – Rattlesnake pale ale, Original Wheat and Gold Beer – contain 6% soy in addition to the usual grain and water ingredients...
- The beers are a big hit in China, where locals like the American sounding name and appreciate the health benefits of a soy-based beverage...
- The Peter Jennings news special on ABC News Dec. 8 caused quite a storm of controversy at the annual Kansas Wheat Banquet in Manhattan. The special linked the U.S. Farm Bill, and its emphasis on growing corn, with the nation's obesity problem. More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight...
- National Association of Wheat Growers president Tommy Womack, responded with this: "It's much more plausible that watching too much television and thereby not exercising contributes more to obesity than anything identified in ABC's program"...
- A relative of mine watched the program and said Mr. Jennings makes a pretty convincing case, however...
- You've got one more chance to invest in the East Kansas Agri-Energy ethanol plant initiative in Garnett. Closing date for the stock offering is Jan. 24, 2004...
- Investors must buy at least 10 units of stock for $1,000 per unit...
- Looking for a great stocking stuffer? The Kansas Lottery recently unveiled a new scratch-ticket game, "Beef 'n Bucks." The $2 scratch tickets feature a top prize of $10,000, but non-winning tickets can be entered in a second chance drawing for a chance to win beef packages from the Dodge City Steak Company...
- Second chance drawings are scheduled for Feb. 13, March 12, April 9, May 7 and June 4. Prizes at those drawings include a freezer, gas grill and $1,000 worth of Dodge City Steak Company beef...
- The game was developed by the Kansas Lottery, Kansas Livestock Association and Dodge City Steak Company...
- The state of Kansas is considering buying a 7,000-acre Edwards County ranch to stabilize groundwater levels and help the Arkansas River flow again...
- The ranch is owned by the cities of Hays and Russell, which had planned to use water rights from the ranch to supply municipal water. The state would shut down the ranch's 57 irrigation wells and turn the ranch into recreation area...
- Kansas owns a small amount of public land for recreation uses, compared to most other states. However, we think that buying productive farmland and turning it into a park sets a bad precedent...
- Speaking of bad precedents, the BSE scare in Canada crippled that country's meat industry and would surely do the same here. Canadian Cattlemen's Association president Neil Jahnke, speaking at the Kansas Livestock Association convention earlier this month, says a national animal identification program lessened the BSE impact...
- He encouraged KLA and its members to support similar processes to deal with animal emergencies...
- An interesting survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation reveals that average consumers in three metropolitan areas don't really care about the amount of money the U.S. government spends on farm programs...
- Awareness of farm program provisions is low; most respondents believe the farm bill benefits only "corporate farms." Some respondents are sentimental about family farms and want them preserved, others want safe, low-cost food and believe large, corporate farms are more likely to make that happen...
- The average respondent was not aware that WIC and food stamp programs make up a major part of the farm bill's costs...
- Those two programs, incidentally, were addressed by former Senator Bob Dole at the Kansas Commodity Classic a few weeks ago. Dole recalls that Farm Program passage was seldom a problem in the Senate; it was when it went to the House that it became difficult...
- As a result, the Senate Ag Committee married the Farm Bill with the Food Stamp and school lunch programs to make it more palatable for the House. "No one wants to reduce programs for the poor," Dole says...
- To all of you, Merry Christmas and thank you for reading Kansas Farmer.