Bill of rights, I mean Farms

            The Farm Bill as we know it is a piece of legislation that is re-visited every 5  or so years.  In this bill, there are many facets.  President Barack Obama called it a Swiss army knife.  Like the knife, the bill has a lot in it.  There is legislation about conservation, infrastructure, jobs, health and nutrition. In a document published by the White House, there is a list of 5 ways the Farm bill will help the economy.  The reasons are stated as follows.

whitehouse.gov

Although the farm bill comes under a title relating to agriculture there are many things that are not ion direct correlation with farms.  For example, over 70% of the nearly 480 billion dollar budget, is used for "nutrition" or welfare assistance.  That is a pretty big chunk of the pie. Very little actually ends up in the farmers hands.  The list of ways the farm bill strengthens our economy may be a little ambiguous but this farm bill really can have an impact on many people.  With nutrition and welfare aside there is another category that has a large reach. The subsidies to farmers to help offset the price of products in the market.  For example the subsidies for dairy farmers.  This Farm Bill will provide protection against the oversupply of milk in the market.  If there was a supply influx, it would force the farmers to sell at unreasonable losses.  With this protection, dairy farmers are covered by limiting their production to help protect prices.  This will be good for supply and demand.  Many of the farmers are in favor of this type of legislation but there is sum resistance in some farmers.   

"Here's How a Comprehensive Farm Bill Goes Way Beyond Our Farms:." The White House. The White House, 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

SUOZZO, ANDREA. "Long-fought Farm Bill Substitutes Dairy Subsidy Program with Insurance - VTDigger." VTDigger. 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

Farming. The mystical and the real.

Balloon Farm,Walt Disney Home Video 1999 DVD.

            Based on the children's story book Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm written by Jerdine Nolen, this story is fun for the whole family.  With the opening scene including a fresh pie being made from nothing but a single pecan and a pie tin, it is easy to be captured by the magic in this show. This story takes the audience into a day and life of a farming community plagued by a long onset drought.  This film makes a visual representation of the struggles framers deal with in the real world.  When town spirits and water levels are at a low, a mysterious new farmer moves in  and hordes of strange things start happening.  The new farmer not only makes pecan pies but grows a whole field of assorted colored balloons.  Looking at this as some kind of  miracle, the town seems to find new hope.    

            Though the film emphasizes the mystical, the farming themes are very prevalent.  For example,  droughts and farming seem to go hand in hand.  It seems to be inevitable that eventually farmers will be faces with the lack of water.  Without water, the crops will not grow.  When there is no end in sight the farmers seem to lose hope.  Balloon Farm paints this picture as the towns' people are spotlighted in each of their lives.  They all know there is a drought and they all deal with it differently.  They all have their own secrets and struggles.   For some farmers, the solution is to sell what they can and move on before they are left with nothing.  For others, it is to rely on some unseen power to help them make it though the drought.  Call it faith or call it magic either way it seems to come on its own and is successful in sustaining hope.  So when balloons start growing from            un-watered soil, the people of Waterston start to believe in magic. 

Drought of 2012 Journal news. web

            Farmers of old as well as farmers today have sought different forms of help to bring water down from the skies.  The American Indian farmers of the south, would offer up dances in hopes it would bring rain. Some ancient farming cultures, believed in offering sacrifice of animals or people would bring rain.  Still today many farmers pray to God to send rain down to quench their crops.  Although these are all different examples, and all manifested in different ways, they all have the same result, hope that the rain will come.  Balloon farm brings this age old problem to life in a fun and silly way.  Facing the problem with a new tactic and medicine, magic.  Newcomer Potter, played by actor Rip Torn from Men In Black, seems to have come to Waterston to bring new hope. Town youngster and trouble maker Willow Johnson, played by Mara Wilson from Matilda, is the first to believe in this magic. The town antagonist and grumpy old man, Mr. Wheezle does not believe in such nonsense and would like Potter to leave town immediately.

           

             From a film critics perspective this film may lack in many ways including quality acting, special effects and even the main plot.  With many silly scenes and balloons that can understand verbal communication, this film may be too much for some people.  The movie tries to bring to life the original storybook magical feel as well as adding relatable struggles like the drought. Trying to keep it entertaining for all audiences would be its' greatest challenge.  With a young audience or for those who can suspend disbelief, this is a fun show with farming parallels one of which is the fact that droughts greatly affect real farmers all over.  In Cache Valley there have been droughts that have claimed thousands of acres of crops.  Looking past the silliness, the audience can gain a sense of what it would be like to have a multi generational farm facing foreclosure, and have to decide whether or not to try and keep it.  Through the lens of the camera, the audience sees a small farming community whose livelihood is dependent on the crops from the soil.  With the struggle of the drought this community tries to work together to pull through this difficult time. Neighbors band together to help one another keep their farms.   

            This made for TV film was presented by The wonderful world of Disney and directed by William Dear. It was aired on March 28, 1999 with a runtime of 92 minutes.  Later released on DVD.  IMBD gives this film a rating of 5.3 out of 10.   

       

 Balloon Farm. Dir. William Dear. Perf. Rip Torn, Mara Wilson, Laurie Metcalf. Walt Disney Home Video :, 1999. DVD.

Nolen, Jerdine, and Mark Buehner. Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1994. Print.

"CACHE COUNTY MAY BE 1ST TO SEEK DROUGHT STATUS." Deseret News 23 July 1988. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Now these are facts and not fiction.

        From a young age I remember my father telling me a story about a bear named Old Ephraim.  It was one of many bedtime stories that I remember from my childhood.   The greatest thing about this story is that it is said to be true and it takes place here in Cache Valley.  After doing a little bit of research I was able to track down the original story from the words of its' author.  The man in this tale was named Frank Clark, a sheepherder in Logan canyon.  His version of the story tells about his encounters with a grizzly bear named Old Ephraim.   As a sheepherder, he became familiar with Old Ephraim in 1912.  The bears were a problem for the sheepherders because they would eat the sheep.  Clark says that in one season, bears were responsible for the death of 154 adult sheep.  According to the legend, Old Ephraim was a different kind of hunter.  He would kill the sheep then take the sheep to eat at his leisure.   In August of 1923, Clark took down the bear  with six shots from his gun.  Old Ephraim was finally taken, all 9 feet 11 inches of him. 

        This piece of Cache Valley history paints a picture about the dangers and struggle of a rancher in the mountains that surround us.  To this day there are sheep and cattle grazing this same area up Logan canyon.  Although times have changed and bear population is not what it once was, ranchers and herders face the danger of wild animals.  I can only imagine the emotions that Clark faced in those final moments leading up to the death of Old Ephraim.  As one who is unfamiliar with ranching and range farming , I would guess that bears are the most dangerous part of the job.  This story helps people like me with little or no experience in ranching, relate to a scary situation that ranchers had to face.  This story also has been a great campfire story told to many boy scouts around the country.   Because of its' popularity it has brought many visitors .  Right hand fork is a popular place more many reasons including visiting the grave of this old legend.  At this grave there is a headstone monument that boy scouts place to remember this big grizzly bear.  Words at the bottom of the monument it read:  

Lucero, Eli. A poem by Nephi J. Bott. 2011. JPEG. 

Clark, Frank. "The Killing of Old Ephraim by Frank Clark." The Killing of Old Ephraim by Frank Clark. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.