May 20, 2010

I am writing in response to Byron Stanton’s May 13 letter accusing farmers of being nothing but complaining freeloaders. I feel Stanton is, at best, unaware of what it means to be a farmer in the Klamath Basin. 

I take all of Stanton’s words to heart because I live in Malin, and we farm for a living. We want to farm for a living. We want to work the land, produce a crop and sell our crop so people can have good food to eat.

The farmers I know want to work and not get a handout from the government. The problem is that the government won’t let them do that. Water is failing to reach farmers’ fields because of an act voted on by the American people. They wanted the Endangered Species Act, and now, frankly, they get to pay for it.

Yes, farmers are getting some monetary compensation, but some will still lose what they have. For others it will get them through the year, Lord willing, with the hope that next year they can go back to farming. 

Think for just a minute about what would happen to your grocery bill if farmers all over our country went out of business because of the ESA? What if those affected by the ESA were never compensated enabling them to stay in business? We would be shipping potatoes in from overseas. Does that sound appealing?

Klamath Basin farmers want nothing more than the freedom to do their jobs, and when prevented from doing so they might complain a little.

Jana Dunlea