District 5 Director James Maxton of Omaha is not a member of the Farm Bill Study Committee as previously reported. Food Check-Out Day, the 38th day of 2001, commemorated the day Americans would have earned enough income to pay for their yearly food supply. The Ronald McDonald program provides food and shelter for the families of critically ill children during hospital stays. In Hill County, the donations collected went to Hillsboro Interfaith Ministries, a community food pantry that distributes food to needy families. According to Bill Friend, general manager of the La Feria Irrigation District in Cameron County, many of the 50 full-time farmers within the district will only be able to irrigate their crops once, rather than the two or three times necessary.
Friend says the outlook for the year's spring cotton, corn and green sorghum crops is bleak.
Compounding the problem is the dispute between the United States and Mexico over water debt that has left Valley farmers short more than 1 million acre-feet of water. A full repayment would double Texas growers' water supply, according to Wednesday's edition of the San Antonio Express-News. However, a full repayment is unlikely. Friend and other Lower Rio Grande Valley irrigation managers are urging state and federal lawmakers to take action to get their water back. The scholarship recipient will be selected by a committee of college faculty and administrators from Baylor University and McLennan Community College, Waco.