I'm going to keep my feelings to have the first year and I'm going to buy a lightbulb right back and they tell me I need to ask you out some Farmers talking at Strasburg North Dakota population 643 our hometown one in a series of programs exploring the values concerns and character of life in small towns produced by Minnesota Public Radio Station k c c m with funds provided by the North Dakota committee for the Humanities and public issues.Farming is essential to the economy of Strasbourg. And on today's program. You hear conversations about farming recorded in the Farmers Co-op elevator in the pin Palace Cafe at a junior Chamber of Commerce banquet later in the program. You'll also hear of the interests and attitudes of high school students. The interviewer is Johnny. It's B. We begin with the Farmers Co-op elevator and the manager Vic dieringer. They're doing good. Well, I've just just tell him that I was out on leasing sales. At least I don't have any money and The Barbers haven't got any money and inflation is eating up all the profit but they sure fan off a price that land. I rented I think it was massaging County. I rented 80 acres land for $2,500 for one year lease 60 Acres of cultivation on 20 acres of grass lot of this probably is Grudge race load up on the way. Are running it to none of it. This is my first experience in the seventh year that I didn't have any. I supposed to know this is probably a couple of neighbors getting new arguing over at you and I just came from my McIntosh County. There was one in there. He was submitting on all the land all over the county, you know, just anyting he just been not in the middle and he paid a good price for it. And I don't know what he plans on doing. I don't know what his thoughts are. Well, how come I always hear the farmers complain and make enough money in less than an hour or better 25% or 30% Well, how about the grain market now? I that's 2 years ago. Snapchat four times as much now. There's a lot of lot of parents don't have anything to sell right now. This is what they're complaining about. Like say I've been here 22 years. Now you take what I'm worth and you take a farmer only take like, oh I could name some guys that started farming when I started here and let them sell out today. They're worth probably two hundred thousand $300,000 if they sold out today and look what I do wear. The average guy when you took stub it going to end with you because they thought you had one heck of a good job and they were out here in the farm milking cows and and they didn't have a week where I had to be here. I'll tell you the last 10 years prior to that time when he was little tight, but look what I work 4 to $250 a month or $200 a month. Quadratec these Farmers. They had the income that they had more convenient than I did. I had to be here six days a week where they probably should open and had to be there in the morning and evening, but they, Georgia He has to have a new tractor and he has to go to bed if I have $6 in TT twice house and of course you can afford to pay more for it because now that they spend it before they got it. You think how many how many farms drive a 10 year old car like I do but I got everything new talk to you then. It hurts to describe looks like I'll be able to harvest it. I got it on swats now than they already go and buy a new car and tractor or swather or combine or whatever, you know. cartoon What you do and you don't hear me complaining that's the thing. You know, I'm satisfied. and the rug and a rug I will get by for the sac look at there. by all of the reports come to the last couple of days. That looks like good we might have a little higher price complete. How do you evaluate this? There is not much rain. I know and I can see it then. wheat then everything went down low. But I kind of think. I'm trying to think where the heck I was here the last week or so that it was just load after load of grains. Who wrote a lot of grand hall in the last 10 days before this the week before this disk? This was all about bankrupt. They were 10 million dollars. They have guts enough to say hang on. JC speaker here. Talk for hours. Power 45 minutes. I heard it. You had a message. This is what I can figure out what the chase have done or what they're doing or what they're going to do. I like to see a little give a little prayer right now. It's the Jaycees made up. so in all pay attention Heavenly Father we ask your blessing not only for the meal that we have eaten but also for the many friends gather to Pyar take of the meal. We ask your special blessing so that the outstanding young Farmer Joe's in here may be successful as the Emmons County representative and future competition. Ask through Christ Our Lord. Amen. Well get started with our banquet this evening. First thing I'm going to do is I'm going to tell you I got some good news, and I've got some bad news. First of all, I'm going to tell you the good news. Now. The good news is that President Ford is working on a tax cut for all the people in the low income bracket. That's a good news. The bad news is that he hasn't figured out how to get them an income. Safe at 1 supposed to be funny all by the way, I forgot to do one thing. I forgot to introduce myself probably know me. I'm Kelly Fisher. I live I got stuck with the MC in this program tonight. I don't know how it happened. But at this time ladies and gentlemen, I like to introduce you a person. I'm sure you all heard of before. I'm sure you probably met him before I like to introduce a man who was formerly National vice president of the national Farmers organization. It was born in 1911 and was raised on a farm if I'm in Woodbury County Iowa has been an Interpol member since the beginning was elected Board of director 1960. Ladies and gentlemen, I like to introduce to you. Mr. Earhart, Pinkston. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to talk to a rural audience. I believe that we are tonight in probably most the most precarious condition economically since perhaps 1932. I believe. We're at a point where the entire rural community could very well. The guns are trained on Farm prices. And if you heard the farm Report in the last few days and the last 30 days Farm prices fell another 2% and on the ratio given here that would have to be the equivalent if we were still at 78% of parents of being down now to 75% and yet everyone in the nation is screaming that farm prices have to come down. I think we're in real problem and I don't think that most of us understand it. Because of higher prices was think they're here to stay in some commodities. And I've gotten a feeling of what's a indifference farmers of always been that way. Optimistic people and I guess they'd have to be if they were going to stay in business. But in about the 15-20 years that I've been working with the farmers, I've heard him talk about two good years one about 20 years ago. and next year Always next year going to be the big one and the farmers do have the opportunity to save all of Rural America and to save their prices and I believe that if they fail it's the end of the world Community as we know it corporate agriculture will move an already his Standard Oil Company announced last week that they're making a study on the feasibility of their moving into agriculture. It's coming unless that we can get the prices that we need to stay there a man that's making money. They're not going to get his land but when he gets to where he can't pay his bills he has no choice and it will move over and you and I as you cannot exist as individuals, once it corporations get control of enough of it. They're going to bust us like they did the boy brother producers in vertical integration. And with it goes everywhere old town because he's corporations are not going to be by their fertilizer from the businessman here in Strasburg. It is yours and my purse for fathers that came from the east or came across from other countries that cleared the Wilderness and made it possible for us to have what we have today, and now it is our turn. We have to protect it economically, and we can do it by working together by blocking our production by establishing our own price the way every Sound business and industry in this nation has always done it we can do it. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Kingston. We have got a double. Electric blanket with 2 controls look at there and I'll tell you what if you get a better one downtown you couldn't get a better one downtown. You just get one down there across more. That's all perfect condition. Ready? And let's go. and work Why not to get their $5 7 1/2 at 5:15? Now I got it way back there. Would you get 62 kind of makeup and I know 17. I'll be back over there in a minute 16 17. 7 Day 17 it's not your 17. How do you say? 17 Again beautiful $16 78 17 year and now half a g $18 now 98 about 20 Where we going to start a 19 and 20? No text now on don't say you didn't have a chance. I guess I'll for another year. Try it. Anyway, if I wouldn't if I would have died. And you know what it cost a year to. Is bendy the other day? What are we going to do this winter? She said we used to have so much fun on the farm. She said it's the climb. Slide down the hill. Is it a good place to grow up some ways? I think and in some ways it, isn't it? I don't know. It seems kind of far off the other worlds and then you learn a lot more here. Like everybody knows everybody in urine. Everybody else's business and stuff in a big city. It wouldn't be that way maybe in a farm where you learn how to and you see more telling boys getting out and learn how to run tractors and everything. Where is there in the city, you know, you don't really know how to do nothing. You go to the factory and get a job to do one thing all you know. Only I like to hunt slap you hunting round. You don't have to even drive right on top. The people are really nice. Most of them mean everybody get to anybody does anything everybody knows about it. Well, I got out this phone and I went to Aberdeen, South Dakota. I want to know why I think more kids should do it to you know, and then come back and go to school and stuff. It's really something education at em and Central the people reacted to the Innovative education force all the time. You're walking to a classroom with 30 people and it's pretty easy for some people to go in there and make these people behave sitting in the corner routes on this sort of thing, but I think we've gotten away from this and I think parents have two in there and their own homes, and that's where they realize that the youngsters are little Older Morrow there probably more open and they get around more and they just have to be treated a little bit differently and they were treated in the past. They come at you pretty hard six guys up front for the block. Okay. Alfred Okay, I do believe there are many disadvantages in a small school system. However are there are many things that are hard to measure I do believe there is more of unity in a smaller School you feel more. I do think the teachers can spend more on a person to person base with individual students now rinse and hair Strasburg public. I know. I know all the students. I know their background somewhat. I know the parents background and Anna many times you can see the difficulties. Battery salt are because of some of these problems at home and so on. I feel in the largest city. You have more broken homes. You have more people that are just part of the part of the institution. Overall, I think if we could probably have a little more financing and if I think the state of Equalization on on on fans would be more equally distributed. I think we could do a much better job than we're doing now. We are lacking in many areas that it's impossible to implement these programs. But I've seen students from drugs Republic leave here and I'm done very well and and both private colleges and in the universe that is so we can say that it's a detriment to go to a smaller school. I think there's a lot of things to be to be desired. But yet at the same time, there's a lot of things that we have that a larger institution does not or will not offer or can because the very size of it. I've worked with high school students in Valley City and Tower City, which is a small town just east of Valley City. And I notice a difference here between both of those places. I think the kids here are. more open and they're not they're not quite so he's our deal with less sophisticated from where I stand, you know, they're not quite so worldly. but Really when you come right down to it. I think they're just nicer kids and the people I work with no Christian, there's exceptions to every rule but I think as a whole another the people are just the kids are just more good-natured and more friendly here than in the other two places and they're not Well, I don't know if this is quite the right word but seems to me they're a little bit less cynical to you think you're getting an education that will serve you well when you get out of town, so I don't. Cuz I'm not learning. I don't think there's much here as I would like in Bismarck or someplace like that. That's my opinion. I don't think so. Get out of here. You don't know too much usually. I think I think the only thing you know is what you not what you pick up in school. But what you pick up for online grown up now. Get out and learn different things when you go back to school and bring liquor out. I think it's what you learn out of school. Now what you did learn from your subjects in school find out. Strasburg North Dakota, our hometown one in a series of sound self-portraits illustrating the attitudes and character of life in small towns produced by Minnesota Public Radio Station K C serum with ones provided by the North Dakota committee for the Humanities and public issues producers of the series are Johnny, St. Denis Hamilton and Dosey meringue You may purchase a cassette copy of this program by contacting kccm, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota 56560.