LETTERS: FARMERS ENDURE DIFFICULT ODDS TO FEED WORLD

To the editor:

Ignorance is bliss. I say this in regard to the ridiculous assumptions in the Speak Out comment, "Farmers get checks." The caller has absolutely no understanding or knowledge of the American farmer and the true struggles we endure every year.

The caller has no idea what it is to labor all spring putting in a crop only to see it burn up in the fields or be washed away by floods. When God does bless us with a productive year, the caller has no clue what it is to more or less give your crops away because the market value on your yield is so low.

The caller has no knowledge of the expenses to operate a family farm. How much did the caller pay in gasoline this year? Multiply that 100 times and just maybe you'll be somewhere in the vicinity of what an average farmer spends each year to fuel his equipment. We cannot afford to be broke down even one day. We greatly rely on our equipment for productivity, equipment that will accumulate more hours in about three months than the caller's car will in one year.

I would very much like to see the caller attempt to work one day of our harvest season from dawn till after dusk. The caller would not last one hour, because he doesn't have the knowledge nor the stamina that has taken generations to learn.

I do not know where the caller's bitterness comes from, but know this: We are the roots of this great country. Without the American farmer this blessed nation would fall to its knees. Remember this and be thankful to us when you lift your fork, button your shirt and tie your shoes, because you partake in everything we produce. We will continue to weather the storm because we take great pride in our occupation and have a great satisfaction knowing we feed every nation of this great world.

JACKALYN RISTON

Olive Branch, Ill.