It contains a quotation from Tim O'Malley, a farmer in Iowa. I want to share that quotation because it helped me get a feel for farming's anxieties. I might be able to hang on. Every job has stresses and fears and uncertain ties. I know that.
Farmers know that.
But the stress of farmers is often for gotten because the percentage of Americans involved in that industry is so small. But our dependence on that industry is fundamental. Food crops and livestock for nutritional sustenance and fiber crops for clothes are meeting needs that are essential to our lives. My assistant, Shannon Davis, attended a recent meeting of the Plains Cotton Growers to learn more about the problems farmers face. Many items learned from that meeting have already been mentioned, but one item specif ically referred to at that meeting I have not yet reported.