Ignored Agriculture Study Illustrates Why Corporate Power Hurts Common People

The New York Times reports on a USDA funded study conducted by the University of Iowa that illustrates that farming can be done with fewer chemicals.

The study was done on land owned by Iowa State University called the Marsden Farm. On 22 acres of it, beginning in 2003, researchers set up three plots: one replicated the typical Midwestern cycle of planting corn one year and then soybeans the next, along with its routine mix of chemicals. On another, they planted a three-year cycle that included oats; the third plot added a four-year cycle and alfalfa. The longer rotations also integrated the raising of livestock, whose manure was used as fertilizer.

The results were stunning: The longer rotations produced better yields of both corn and soy, reduced the need for nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides by up to 88 percent, reduced the amounts of toxins in groundwater 200-fold and didn’t reduce profits by a single cent.

In short, there was only upside — and no downside at all — associated with the longer rotations.

I admit that I haven't searched every South Dakota newspaper to see if this article has been picked up, but I couldn't find the study mentioned in the Argus Leader or the Yankton Press & Dakotan. The Times points out that many publications seem to ignore this study; it has been ignored by " has been largely ignored by the media, two of the leading science journals and even one of the study’s sponsors, the often hapless Department of Agriculture." The article documents the journals that might fear corporate repercussions if they publish the findings.

The agency declined to comment when I asked about it. One can guess that perhaps no one at the higher levels even knows about it, or that they’re afraid to tell Monsanto about agency-supported research that demonstrates a decreased need for chemicals. (A conspiracy theorist might note that the journals Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences both turned down the study. It was finally published in PLOS One; I first read about it on the Union of Concerned Scientists Web site.)

The Times points to the obvious conclusion:

So this is a matter of paying people for their knowledge and smart work instead of paying chemical companies for poisons.

Since the people who have the knowledge and are willing to work smart aren't going to increase Monsanto's bottom line, it's obvious that the sponsor of most corporate agriculture practices will continue to prefer poisons to people.

What Does The Yankton Press And Dakotan Have Against Emilie Weisser?

I carefully cultivate my curmudgeon credentials; I follow Groucho Marx's advice and avoid joining any club that will have me for a member. The only time I want my name in the paper is for my obituary. I really don't want it in then, but my wife says she's going to publish my obituary, and I want to keep her happy, so I won't argue with her.

I also was taught that sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. That's why I was confused last February when the Yankton Press&Dakotan published a front page feature about Sadie Stevens earning a Critical Language Scholarship to study Arabic but made no mention of the fact that Emilie Weisser had earned a CLS scholarship to study Russian. I did a bit of rationalization and concluded that Arabic is the hot new language, and Russian is a bit passe. The United States is after all fighting wars in Arabic speaking countries, and the Cold War is over.

Frustration replaced my confusion when the October 10 P&D gave Laura Johnson front page honors because she will begin working with Peace Corps early next year but again ignored the fact that Emilie will be serving with the Peace Corps. Laura is going to Africa; Emilie will begin working with the Peace Corps in Albania next summer. I have no rationalization available for why a service in Africa is more newsworthy than service in Albania.

If I were Emilie, I'd wonder what I'd done to offend the journalism gods or the P&D.

I'm not Emilie, but I find the P&D's selective omissions odd and insulting. If CLS and the Peace Corps service are front page stories when some earn them, those honors should not be ignored when others earn them

I claim no expertise in journalism; I took my only journalism class in the late 1970s. It does, however, seem logical that if one local person has earned an honor, a reporter would contact the organization to discover whether other local people have earned similar honors.

As a news consumer, it seems that local news operates on a basic principle: if one local success story sells, two will sell better. In this case, stories about one attractive recent graduate of Yankton High School would have been enhanced if it had also reported about a second attractive graduate who had achieved a similar honor within the same time frame.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the honors and hard work aren't the newsworthy principle. Perhaps the P&D is governed by the principle the public prominence of one one's parents determines whether achievements are newsworthy. Or maybe, the people running the paper just hate Emilie Weisser.

Yankton Paper Joins Rapid City Paper In Pay To Publish Folly

The Yankton Press& Dakotan is joining the Rapid City Journal and charging those who wish to have political letters to the editor published during the remainder of this campaign season:

While we encourage legitimate letters to the editor on almost any subject, we’ve made a crucial decision that we believe will and should have an impact on this year’s political season. Letters to the editor endorsing or criticizing political candidates or issues will no longer run for free. The authors will be contacted if contact information is provided, and they will be offered the opportunity to use advertising space for their support or criticism of a candidate or an issue, just as they would have the opportunity to buy air time on radio here in Yankton and the surrounding region. These “letters” will be labeled “paid advertising.” Of course, the writer may choose not to pay to have his or her advertising letter printed.

Sadly, the abuse by some of the candidates and their campaign managers with our “letters to the editor” section has probably stifled some exchange of opinion, but we know of no other way to stop the abuse.

Thanks in advance for your understanding and feel free to contact me with any questions that may arise.

Both publications argue that the fees are necessary because campaigns organize efforts to get letters to the editor published and that the letters constitute free advertising. If I may be trite, allow me to post the following clip that has become de rigueur for situations such as this one.

Not only am I shocked, SHOCKED that politicians would attempt to gain free advertising. I'm also confused about the distaste for "free advertising" for politicians but the acceptance of it for local businesses, some of whom must also buy ads. On October 12th, two days after the paper announced its pay to publish policy, the P&D carried the following letter to the editor from the Yankton Youth Soccer Association:

The Yankton Youth Soccer Association would like to thank the following businesses for their support this soccer season:

Riverfront Dental, Cork and Bottle, Ron’s Autoglass, Collision Center, ATI, Home Federal, Lewis and Clark Specialty Hospital, Becker Body Shop, Midwest Marble, Stepping Stones Daycare, Broadway Chrysler, McDonald’s, KFC/Taco Bell, Vision Care, Menards, Chesterman’s, KPI, Northwestern, Andera Tax Service, Cortrust, Affordable Expressions Photography, Riverside Autobody, Slumberland, Paul’s Kwik Stop, and Brian’s Electric.

Local business support helped to sponsor 39 youth soccer teams from age 4 to age 12. The youth of the Yankton community had a successful season due in part to your support.

Perhaps I am unable to grasp the subtleties of free advertising, but the difference between this letter praising Menards and McDonald's, both national chains, and letter praising either Obama, Romney, or Libertarian Gary Johnson, all national candidates eludes me. Likewise, this letter praises local businesses like Cork and Bottle and Ron's Auto Glass. The difference between this advertising for a business and a letter supporting Bernie Hunhoff or Mike Stevens once again eludes me. (For the record my wife loves Menards; we both buy items from McDonald's Dollar Menu, and appreciate the service that we receive when we patronize Ron's Auto Glass. The preceding sentiments about local businesses are sincere even though the tone may be snarky.)

The truth is that every election story that local media does is free advertising. Candidates at all levels have the opportunity to shape the story and use the local media to their advantage.  The larger truth is that these policies are one more step to creating a political climate totally dominated by the wealthy and the politically connected. Campaigns will now set up a "letters to the editor fund" and give their most loyal and fervent supporters the equivalent of "street money" to pay to publish. Meanwhile, those on tight budgets who get only candidates' limp handshakes, plastic smiles, and empty promises have one more avenue of expression taken away from them.

If A Newspaper Article Doesn't Mention An Unruly Person Being Escorted From A Meeting, Did The Event Happen?

Yeah, the post title doesn't quite have the ring of a tree falling in forest making noise.

I didn't get to the Yankton School Board meeting on Monday night. Call me crazy, but picking up a young'un who has been teaching English in China, and who hasn't been home for nearly a year seemed a priority.

According to this P&D article, there's a new president and continued consternation about the self insurance fund.  The only conflict mentioned is Dave Baumeister's effort to get the Yankton County Observer to be considered as the Yankton School District's official paper.

On the other hand, today's "Daily Record" reports: "A request was received at 7 p.m. Monday to remove an unruly person from the Yankton School Board meeting. The individual was escorted out of the building without incident."

Removing an unruly person should not necessarily lead the article, but one shouldn't have to read two reports over two days to get a complete report of an otherwise uneventful meeting

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader Channels Weird Al Yankovic and Mighty Mouse

It even brings to mind ABC's Wide World of Sports.

I know that newspapers have it tough, even a Gannett publication that dominates an entire state might have to watch the bottom line and think up new ways to attract readers.  Even with that caveat, this Argus Leader commercial seems a bit over the top.

I eagerly await John Hult telling me about drama of everyday life, but hasn't that been done albeit with the addition of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat?

Now that I think about it, the challenging of assumptions about right and wrong has been done too.   At least we've been told that everything we know is wrong.

I guess the biggest problem with the ad is Hult's assertion that reading the paper will keep readers safe.  We don't need no stinkin' newspaper. Hult has nothing on Mighty Mouse.

Update:  Maybe it's just me, but I wonder if the Argus powers that be decided to chose Hult as spokesperson because he evokes memories of the character Animal from Lou Grant.