I am totally confused. Now that shouldn’t surprise anyone but my confusion relates to the issue of immigration…legal or illegal. I have lots of good friends in agriculture and obviously, like all of us, I want to see agriculture thrive all over the country. And when you talk with agricultural experts as in  growers, economists, politicians, dairy and cattlemen, they’ll make a very strong argument that their very survival depends on the availability of a labor force. Further, the majority of that labor force is comprised of people from other countries (primarily South of the border) because we can’t get Americans to do agricultural labor.

That said, listen to some numbers and words published by the Magic Valley Newspaper. Is one Idahoan in 14 an illegal alien? The Idaho Freedom Foundation, a right-wing public policy advocacy group, says that may be true — and that the cost to Idaho taxpayers runs hundreds of millions of dollars a year. In 2005, Pew Hispanic Research Center estimated there were 25,000-40,000 illegal aliens in the state.

On another note, controversial sheep researcher Dr. Marie Bulgin, who was expelled and then re-instated at the U. of I. recently announced her retirement. : “I am 71 and there comes a time when you wear out. It has nothing to do with what happened last year.”

 Now here’s Lacy with Food for Thought. There are crisis hotlines for nearly everything and everyone these days, and farmers and ranchers are no exception. Not generally recognized as a highly stressful career, but stressful none the less, farming and ranching comes with its own unique set of stress variables; weather, commodity pricing, government regulations and animal rights activists to name just a few. Add to those the fact that most farmers lead a fairly solitary existence in the work place, spending nearly all their work day alone in the field and the problem is compounded. Crisis hotlines for farmers were first launched in the 1980’s when farm foreclosures were abundant. Now a new generation of farmers are suffering through the fear of a potential or actual loss of a farm that has been in the family for generations; the feelings of having failed their ancestors, their present family and their descendants can be overwhelming.  Farming is a stressful business but the majority of farmers often find it difficult to admit they may have a problem, and that they need outside help in dealing with it. But help is out there and it is only a phone call away.