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Just a scoop full(June 25)--Rising costs are not only the topic of conversation but are also the reality of survival. I stopped by the coffee shop a few days ago early one morning. I asked some of the farmers whether they were better off with wheat at $8.50 per bushel compared to $3 per bushel a couple of years ago. We started comparing expenses. The fertilizer cost then was $20 per acre and now is $70 per acre. To have their field custom farmed, the expense was doubled. Not counting any government payment nor any wheat pasture, the wheat 2 years ago would lose $17 per acre and, of the $8.50 per bushel today, the farmer would lose $1 per acre. That is considering that their land was debt-free. I would not want the challenge of trying to keep the economy going. Neither would I be smart enough to do so. But I am quite convinced that our elected officials have got to quit living in a make-believe world and start trying to run our government like a business. The value of our dollar is shrinking fast. We cannot keep being the savior for the world as far as giving so much money away. We better start tending to business or we will soon have lost everything that several generations have worked hard to get. I am not promoting one political party over the other but we better demand that our elected officials start doing a lot better before it is too late. I have heard that one large company has raised their prices 25 percent all across the board. They produce a lot of different products. Gas is not high, if you own enough gas wells. However, for most of us in the real world, that is not the case. I am not much of a worrier but I am very concerned not only for myself but for most every farmer and cattleman I know. Please pray that the U.S. will get their act together very soon. Editor's Note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Okla., is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family's ranch near Laverne, Okla. 7/7/08 Date: 7/1/08
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