To the Editor;
Thank you for printing my letter regarding the Viterra influenced ad about how many people one farmer fed in 1900 and how many he supposedly feeds today. However, the line “ – a farmer would have little left to sell,” somehow was changed to “ – a farmer would have little left to seed.”
There's quite a difference.
And still on the subject of growing things, some people have asked if I had an answer from the Department of Agriculture about the devastating plant problem of last summer.
The answer is still no.
The department either doesn’t know or doesn’t care; is there any difference?
The main loss here this year is the potato crop, so completely curled that I have decided to destroy the plants.
I did see the curling problem in the greenhouse of a big box store. I didn't tell the manager. At one time I would have felt obliged to help, but life has given me my own slant on the poet Charles Kingsley’s well-known line about being obliged to help dogs over fences. I have found that very often the dog has kicked me in the face as I help it over and onward, and the last I see of it is its rear end. It's probably then off to tell other dogs it got over the fence all by itself.
Big box stores can get along without me. I'd make no difference to their bottom line over a few curled up plants. But let the buyer beware.
Christine Pike
Waseca
