Well, if you have listened to the Tuesday broadcast and Thursday re-broadcast you have gotten an earful concerning our neighbors to the north and the Palms. I would really be interested in your viewpoint as well, even if is not the same as my own. My son Caleb tells me I'm too emotional about the whole thing. I should take all the emotion out and look at the situation logically. Well, easier said than done!

I'll admit being part Irish I am very tied to the land and emotion is part of that! When you're in love with someone you can't help but be emotional about them and that is how I feel about land! To think that someone can come along and not only tell you that you cannot continue to make a living on the land your great great grandfather farmed in the way you choose but that they are going to take it away from you all together...excuse me but I get emotional!
This is not the same as going in and taking houses or businesses in a town for urban renewal. Families can buy another house or build a business on another site but it is nie-on-to impossible for Mr. Palm to be able to go out and buy another 150 acres to farm. I've heard alot of talk about big corporate farms coming in and driving the small family farms out of business but at least corporate farms are still...farming! They still produce grain and meat, but if you turn it into a public anything how is that better? Might as well be a parking lot for the good it will do the neighborhood, city, country, and the world.
Iowa is a rural state, we are proud of that! We produce food not only for our own residents but also for the nation and the world. Lately I have heard some pretty condescending things said about farmers...I don't think people realize what it takes to run a modern farm today. Have you ever thought about all the things a farmer has to know in order to farm? Weather, conservation, animal husbandry, veterinary skills, genitics, biology, horticulture, tax laws, insurance regulations, banking, nutrition, mechanics...and I have only scratched the surface!
Okay now I feel like shouting, "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!" So...maybe I am a bit too emotional. Sorry Caleb.