Juvenile nonfiction
"Whispers spread over morning coffee about father-son operations that folded. About newspapers advertising six farm auctions at a time.
If this kept up, who would be left to feed the nation?"
Those of us fortunate enough to be food secure tend to not give much thought to where it comes from before it ends up on the shelves at Hannaford or Walmart. We may kvetch if prices go up. But for the most part farm crises fly under our collective radar. Kansas farmer's daughter, Lindsay H. Metcalf, brings a severe farm crisis to life for young readers in Farmers Unite!: Planting A Protest For Fair Prices.
In 1977 things were looking very bad for farmers. Prices of all they needed to grow crops were soaring at the same time as their revenue was going in the opposite direction.
"'When a bushel of wheat costs me $3.20 to raise and the selling price is around $2.40, something is wrong,' said Fred Bartels, a Colorado farmer.'"
Farmers wanted to hold on to a vocation that was also a way of life. Seeing friends and neighbors driven out of business made them desperate. Government was refusing to do anything to ease their plight.
Well what if farmers from all over the country drove their tractors to DC and parked in inconvenient locations?
Farmers Unite! presents a lively, engaging narrative brought to life by an abundance of photographs. It will give both kids and parents much food for thought.
On a purrrsonal note, I had a great weekend. Saturday we drove up to Island Falls which is in the Kathaden region. We saw some great scenery and had a riverside picnic. We saw foxes. Today we drove to Winterport. On the way we saw a bunch of turkeys foraging in a field. We still have a week til classes start. But I go back to dining, only working at Hilltop instead of Wells. Noooooooo!!! So not ready. (Jules)
So not ready. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
No comments:
Post a Comment