Gauchos unite, run for office...
Submitted by Dick Wanner on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 8:11am.
Argentine farmers are battling weather, the world economy and capricious government policies. You know about the world economy. And the weather in Argentina? It's dry. The pampas are parched. And inflation? Did I mention inflation? Pushing 20 percent.
And then there's the government. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, caught between a rock (the country's dependence on income from ag exports) and another rock (food shortages at home), has been sporadically imposing export bans, then lifting them, then imposing them...
Farmers were rebelling vocally last year, and had the support of the general populace. Farmers are still rebelling this year, but in a more organized way. They're running for office. People in the cities and towns are having their own problems this year, and while still sympathetic to the farmers' plight, aren't putting much energy into farm issues.
National elections are coming up on June 28, and as many as 10 farmers are expected to win seats in the 257-member Chamber of Deputies (like our House of Representatives). For more interesting stuff about the Argentine situation, check out this article in yesterday's edition of The Economist - http://www.economist.com/world/americasPrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=13740297
Doesn't grow corn. Doesn't grow soybeans. Doesn't plow. But he's a farmer. Bob Boyce is a farmer of a different sort, however. His "keyline farming" system is based on healthy soil, and healthy grass and legumes grown to feed healthy Angus cattle. There's a lot of healthy going on at his 300-acre operation near Carlisle, Pa. The keyline technique originated in Australia, with major influences from Japan's Masanobu Fukuoka and Ohio's Louis Bromberg. Lancaster Farming editor Dave Lefever recently visited Boyce to see what keylining is all about. His report and photos are in the issue due in your mailbox tomorrow.
You can probably buy this tractor, but you're going to scare the children, the calves and all the puppies. (Thanks, Tracy.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1h3vcLybfA
