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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
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Inside: The dark side of fairy tales intrigues painting student.
(USPS 650-640) • VOL.110 NO.149
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2000
WWW.KANSAN.COM
By Phil Cauthon
Kansas farmers weather hardships of wheat harvest
10 a.m. June 15 — Jerry Lampe climbs into his late-model John Deere combine as the heat begins to swell on the plains of western Kansas. The high-tech machine's plush interior is a far cry from the old days of suetting, dust-ridden harvest. An ergonomic seat, A/C, finger-touch shifting and Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story" on the radio remind the 61-year-old farmer from Kendall how different farming is these days.
Perched above the vast stretches of wheat he planted 10 months ago. Lampe pauses before firing up the combine and remarks that the combine along with other equipment and his land — is just about all he has to show for his life in the field.
Lampe, 61, expects this year's wheat crop — no worse than most of his and other farmers' most recent crops — to yield about a 3 percent return.
"Anyone in this business who would've sold out 10 years ago and put the money in the stock market would be a wealthy person today," said Lampe, a wheat veteran of 50 years. "Or at least they'd be a whole lot better off than they are now."
worry; even after substantial government subsidies, he might earn $30,000 this year. And that's an estimate, not a salary or wage he can depend upon.
Armed with more than a million dollars worth of land, equipment and other investments; after months of sweat and incessant
That's one reason he couldn't expect any of his five kids to take on the family land as Lampe did after his father retired. In fact, he says he'd probably advise them against it.
"Agriculture isn't attracting any youth because of the return on the investment," Lampe said.
"Basically you're out here slaving away for peanuts.
"My oldest son is working for a communications deal in New York making a lot more money than I'm making. How am I supposed to tell
him to come back and farm when I retire? And he'd like to farm, but I don't know if I can recommend it. That's sad. Real sad."
Big-time business or bust
To get the most out of costly machinery — especially given dismissally low wheat prices — the incentive is for farmers to take on more and more land, whether by buying the land or leasing it.
Thus begins a vicious cycle: larger and larger crops — which lead to flooded wheat markets — which lead to perpetually depressed prices.
Many farmers, including Lampe, try to stay ahead by cultivating as much land as possible. But more land requires newer and more expensive equipment capable of harvesting more wheat in less time. And the newer the tractors and combines, the less likely Lampe can make repairs himself, adding even more costs when the inevitable breakdown occur.
Dennis Carter, a 56-year-old farmer from Syracuse, gave up farming wheat on 4,000 acres of land that he had rented from an elderly widow in Kansas City, Mo., in favor of planting sorghum on his own 480 acres in Hamilton County.
By planting sorghum, a stalky green plant used for feeding cattle, Carter can sell his crop in the field to local dairies. The dairies harvest the crop themselves, allowing farmers like Carter to liquidate nearly all equipment overhead.
Other farmers cope with the stingy wheat market by reducing their financial commitments to the farm or getting out of farming altogether.
Carter has found other ways to reduce his family's dependence on the farm's income; by buying the town's liquor store and helping Lampa harvest his wheat every year for two weeks in June.
"Out here if you don't have 2,500 or 3,000 acres of wheat, why, it's pretty tough to make it," Carter said. "If you want to keep a smaller farm, you have to supplement your income with something else."
1997 Kansas wheat production
52.7 million acres total
Kaosas area
46 million acres of farmland
10 million acres of wheat
408 million bushels of wheat.
10 million acres of wheat
Source: 1997 Kansas Census of Agriculture. All figures are rounded.
"Wheat People," a traveling exhibit about Kansas wheat farmers, is at the Kansas Museum of History, 6425 SW 6th Ave., Topeka.
The exhibit will run through Dec. 3, 2000. A virtual exhibit is on the Web at www.kshs.org/wheat/wheat.htm
After farming for 14 years, Melvin and Ione Louk sold their land and eventually began work at a grain elevator that they run in Kendall.
Other farmers sell their entire farms when a seemingly insurmountable debt looms.
"I (farmed) because my folks did," Melvin said. "We did pretty well until the dust bowls around '54. From then on it just got to the point where I couldn't afford it. It's probably good we got out when we did."
2 p.m. June 15 — Lamp has harvested about 50 acres — or nearly 2,000 bushels of wheat — since morning, running his combine at a brisk 4 mph. Paul Harvey's radio program is interrupted by local news reporting that the county's average yield is just under 40 bushels per acre — not bad by some counties' averages, but not great compared to last year's 60 and 70-bushel acres.
The news update also reports a 20 percent chance of rain as a cold front works its way south from Montana.
See WHEAT on page 8A
KU student released from Mexican prison
By BriAnne Hess
editor@kansan.com
Kansan co-editor
Horowitz is a member of the organization.
Mark Horowitz, doctoral student in sociology, spent about 36 hours in jail in Mexico before he was released on charges of kidnapping and gang activity, said Judy Ancel, president of the Cross Border Network for Justice and Solidarity based in Kansas City, Mo.
Horowitz is a member of the top organization. Ancel said she had spoken with Horowitz at his home in McAllen, Texas, after he was released on $500 bail. She said he told her that he was fine.
He had been sent to a prison in Rio Bravo and was waiting for a judge to decide whether giving food to a person on strike is legal, said Christopher Lamora, a spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs for the U.S. State Department.
Lamora said Horowitz was arrested at 2 a.m. Monday morning in connection with a strike at Duro Manufacturing in Rio Bravo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Under Mexican law, the police must file charges or release the prisoner within 48 hours.
"Until the judge makes that decision, the authorities won't know what charges to file." Lamora said. He also said the department would wait to act until action had been taken by the Mexican government.
"He didn't ask the consul to complain about it or complain about the arrest," Lamora said.
Lamora said he had received information from an American consular official from the U.S. consulate in Matamoros, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, who had spoken to Horowitz in person on Monday. He said rumors of Horowitz being tortured were untrue.
"Horowitz was playing the role of international observer, which would be a natural role for Mark," Smith said. "They are usually sent to ensure fairness. As far as I can tell, the only abnormal thing that occurred is that the police attacked the strikers on public property and included Mark in the arrests."
palm about the importance of Horowitz moved last June to McAllen, where he works as an organizer for the Communication Workers of America, said Horowitz's adviser David Smith, associate professor of sociology. Horowitz also was preparing to do fieldwork for his dissertation.
ed Mark in the arrests. Ancel said the organization was trying to raise $2,000 in bail money for the seven Mexican strike leaders who are still being held by Mexican police.
The Duro plant where Horowitz was arrested is in the Mexican region known as the "Maquiladora zone" — where several U.S.-based companies have moved their operations. Ancel said the workers are fighting for the fundamental issue of the right to organize labor unions that are free and independent.
Horowitz helped unionize the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition on the University of Kansas cam-
By Jim O'Malley editor@kansas.com Kansan co-editor
Discrimination decision appealed by University, prof
Both sides have appealed the result in a civil rights lawsuit against the University of Kansas filed by a former assistant professor of art history.
Marie Aquilino was denied tenure in 1998. She sued the University last June in federal court in Kansas City, Kan. She alleged that she was denied tenure because of her gender and that the University retaliated against her for complaining about it.
Kathryn H. Vratil, U.S. district court judge, dismissed the gender discrimination claims before trial. But after a five-day trial, a jury awarded Aquilino $35,000 on her retaliation claims.
The University filed a notice of appeal in the district court May 10, and Aquilino filed hers on May 22, court officials said.
officials said
Filing a notice of appeal is the first step in appealing a case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Rose Marino, associate general counsel for the University, said neither party had decided which issues it would raise in the appeal.
Stephen Lanterman, one of Aquilino's attorneys, said his client would challenge the dismissal of her discrimination claims on appeal.
"We'd contemplated appealing all along," he said. "It's our position that there was enough factual evidence that a reasonable jury could find in our favor on the discrimination claims."
Lanterman said that he didn't know the precise issues Aquilino would raise but that he was looking into the possible effect of a recent United States Supreme Court decision that made it easier for employees to prove discrimination.
Last week, in Reeves vs. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., the court ruled that an employee who presented evidence suggesting that his employer fired him because of his age and showed that the employer's explanation for firing him was a pretext didn't have to provide additional evidence that the employer had a discriminatory motive.
Aquilino's request for attorney fees is still before the district court.
—Edited by Mindie Miller