Editor, Daily Press:
A quote in a recent story published in the Tahlequah Daily Press “2010 Gubernatorial Race Picking up” concerns me.
Isabel Baker said, “I also know the poultry industry and some farmers are opposed to Drew (Edmondson) but I believe there are a whole lot more of us environmentalists out there who want clean rivers and streams than there are poultry people.”
Poultry farmers are environmentalists. We live and work on the land each and every day. We depend on this land and water for our survival, and we respect it. I take my grandchildren to Flint Creek to play, swim, and fish and catch crawdads several times during the summer and have for many years.
I love the rivers and streams as does my family. My parents and grandparents are/were outdoorsmen, hunters, fishermen and farmers. The same story is true for my husband and most every other poultry farmer in northeast Oklahoma that I know.
One American farmer today feeds 130 people. Instead of believing what some politicians and extremists are saying, I invite those 130 city and town folks to the country and see the disciplined and state-regulated environmental and agriculture practices of that one farmer who feeds them. Be assured – farmers demonstrate a love for the land and water that is equal to or above anyone else – whatever they call themselves.
When talking about numbers and “poultry people” stop and think about who benefits from the “poultry people”… our local school districts, banks, insurance agencies, feed and supply stores, automobile dealerships, implement dealerships, insurance companies, hardware store, groceries, restaurants, doctors, lawyers, colleges, churches… and the list goes on and on.
Show respect for American and Oklahoma farmers and don’t cuss a farmer with your mouth full.
Bev Saunders
Colcord
