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February 2015 Articles

• Just Rambling February 2015
Spiritual Corner

(2 articles found)

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Just Rambling February 2015

Just Rambling:
This February issue begins our eighth year of publication of the Ag Trader USA. It has been a very enjoyable endeavor for Donnette and I. We want to thank all of our advertisers and our subscribers for the support you have given and continue to give us. Lord willing, we hope to continue many more years and by then maybe one of our younger family members will want to continue the publication.
Ag Expo: If you didn’t make it out to the Ag Expo on the 16th and 17th of January at the Ike Hamilton Center in West Monroe then you missed a real good event. Sandy Lyons, Executive Director and Dr. Mark Murphy, President of North Louisiana Agribusiness Council along with many others on the council did a great job, as usual, of spotlighting the importance of agriculture to our region and our state. According to Sandy’s unofficial count, 6,376 paid through the door, 936 were exhibitors or volunteers, 450 were involved with the Jr. Livestock Show, 350 were at the stock dog show, and 1,975 children came through Ag Alley on Thursday before the show opened. The total was over ten thousand people attending this year’s show. The show was a real success again this year and I want to thank Sandy, Dr. Murphy and all those on the North Louisiana Agri-Business Council for their continued work to tell the story of the agriculture industry.
Proposed burn at Camp Minden: Recently I received an email from Mrs. Gwen Monday concerning the proposed burn of 15 million pounds of M6 propellant explosives by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the old ammunitions plant, Camp Minden, in Webster Parish. Mrs. Monday is a poultry grower living in Heflin, La. which is just a few miles away from the proposed burn. Mrs. Monday indicated that as poultry farmers they are encouraged to get Master Farmer certifications and have to adhere to certain rules and regulations to protect the water and air quality. EPA and DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality in Louisiana) are the enforcers of these rules and regulations. As a past poultry grower and with my involvement with the Farm Bureau Poultry Committee I can attest to what Mrs. Monday is stating. It appears to be a double standard– the EPA tells farmers what they must do to protect our environment but on the other hand they are proposing to initiate this burn which will put toxins into the atmosphere and water. According to Chris Butler, Louisiana Watchdog, government officials knew as far back as 1989 that explosive material stored at Camp Minden had already contaminated soil, surface water, and groundwater around the plant, but yet they are wanting to initiate this burn. According to experts sited in the Louisiana Watchdog this burn could be devastating to Northwest Louisiana in many ways and has the potential to affect parts of Arkansas and Texas. As of this writing the latest news I have seen is that the EPA has granted a 90 day extension to further study this proposed burn. If anyone has additional information please email me at van@agtraderusa.com. Also, if you would like to read more details about this proposed burn you can go to louisianawatchdog.org or to stoptheburnla.org.
Cuban Trade Embargo: Recently I received a letter from a good friend of mine, Stan Jiles. Stan and his family have been friends of mine for many years but I don’t get to see Stan very often due to him being on the road with his job. Stan’s letter to me was concerning a news release from American Farm Bureau that I published in my January issue of the Ag Trader. The article was a Statement by Bob Stallman, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation supporting President Obama’s move toward normalizing relations with Cuba. Mr. Stallman believes that this will open the door for Cuba to buy U.S. agricultural and food products which in turn may also serve as a cornerstone for additional reforms. Stan took issue with this, sighting trade agreements in the past that have damaged both our steel industry and manufacturing industries. I understand where Stan is coming from with this line of thought. It is very difficult to find products made in the United States when you really start looking. Most products you find are either manufactured in China or other Asian countries. Also Stan said that recently the Cuban Dictator is now demanding that the United States turn our Guantanamo Bay Naval Base over to Cuba which has been under lease to the U.S. for over a 100 years.
The Cuban Dictator is also demanding that America pay an undetermined amount of money to Cuba for the losses they have suffered from the last 50 years of U.S. embargo against Cuba. Stan also questioned how this money would be used, if we did pay them. He doesn’t expect it to be used for the people but rather for the Castro Dictatorship. I agree with Stan on these premises, that we definitely don’t need to let Guantanamo Bay Navel Base be returned to Cuba and we do not need to send the Cuban government any money. When this lifting of the Cuban embargo was first announced both Senators Marco Rubio, Republican from Florida and Bob Menendez, Democrat from New Jersey came out against this action. They are both descendants of Cuban immigrants and are very familiar with the human rights violations committed over the years in Cuba. Other politicians say the embargo hasn’t worked for 50 years and it is time to try something else to enhance trade with Cuba and this will in turn improve life in Cuba. There are both positives and negatives for this proposal and hopefully it can be worked out to benefit both the United States and the Cuban people, not the Cuban government. I appreciate very much Stan Jiles bring these points and others to my attention. I had recently heard some of these demands which were not originally publicized when the announcement was first made by President Obama. I am including another press release by American Farm Bureau Federation which indicates another 30 Ag Groups which support the lifting of the Cuban Trade Embargo. May our Democrat President and our Republican led Senate and House of Representatives work together to take actions that will benefit both the people of the United States and the people of Cuba. Van Bennett

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