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Show 2B The Salt Lake Tribune, Monday, Jan ua rj- 2(J, 1986 Utah Farmers Must Scratch Hard to Eke Out a Bare Living The Clarks, whose lamb feeding operation fattens 10,000 lambs annually, also run cattle and sheep on the deserts and mountains around Cedar City This year we sold lambs for 55 cents a pound and they cost us 70 in 1952 we sold lambs for cents 55 cents a pound, but they didn't cost us near that much to get to market, Mr. Clark said. Mr. Clark's comments echo those of other farmers and ranchers in southern Utah, who have seen costs rising while prices remained steady or declined. Editor's Note: Farmers throughout Utah, as well as the rest of the nation, have beei. affected by a decline In the prices they receive tor their crops or products and an Increase In the cost of money they borrow to operate, os well as other costs. This is the last In a series dealing with how Utah farmers are facing these problems. ... By James Howells Tribune Correspondent - A cold wind was CEDAR CITY blowing and rain was starting to fall from the clouds scudding across Cedar Valley as Bob Clark and son Mike wrestled with rusted bolts on a piece of farm equipment they were repairing I guess you could say were making it, OK, the elder Clark said, between turns of a ratchet wrench, but only because we work 10 to 12 hours a day, 365 days a year . . .and have learned to live on next to The problems in agriculture are widespread, said Lynn Esplin, Iron and County Extension agent, theyre out of control of the local farmer . . . rising costs of fuel, equipment, and electricity, a decreased export market, and diet trends away from red meat have all had their effect. For Gayle Wood, a Parowan hay grower who sits on the board of the " Federal Land Bank, the difference between costs and profits had bee come so slim that he put his alfalfa farm up for sale two years ago, but as yet has had no takers. Mr. Wood irrigates his crops with water drawn by electric pumps and cites the high cost of electricity as his biggest financial problem. My power costs have gone up 400 percent in the last five years, he said. My power bill for last year was 165,000. Out in the desert Enterprise and Beryl, both in Iron County where they have co-o-p power, some farmers pay half of what I do for electricity. I have to buy my power from Utah Power and Light . you can see that lower power prices would make a difference. Mr. Wood stated that falling land prices have reduced the farmers ability to borrow money for equipment and supplies. If you borrowed 50 percent of the value of a piece of land five years 700-acr- . . todays lower land prices, that loan may represent 100 percent of the value of the same piece of land, Mr. Wood said. Now there are a lot more farmers going out of business, a lot more foreclosures than in years past, Mr. Wood said. Some of these are inefficient, poor operators, and maybe they should be out of business. I have two sons, ones 19 and the other's 17. Theyre not interested in farming . . . they want something with a future in it, and I cant say I blame them, Mr. Wood concluded. The small family operation is at the heart of agriculture in southern Utah. Many of the farms in the region go back several generations. For these farmers, it is not just the balance sheet which keeps them at it year after year. A person has to be in farming for other than money, said Lee Bracken, who, with his brother and father, runs a diversified operation in Enterprise. You do it because you love the land. I have four sons who may or may not go into farming, but as theyre growing up, and they work on the farm, they learn how to work. They learn the value of hard ago, with work. Iron County rancher Bob Clark says the price hes getting for lambs is the same as i that costs have jumped. Utah farmers have had four straight bad years. in 1952, but Photos tY Correspondent Diversification has been the key to the Brackens being able to survive the lean years, according to Mr. Bracken. They raise barley, alfalfa, potatoes, and cattle on 2,000 acres, run a hardware store in Enterprise, and operate their own trucks to get their produce to market. The last few years barley has been down, because its dairy feed, and the dairy and beef industries have been hurting. But potatoes have done well lately, and the store's doing all right, Mr. Bracken said. Having our own trucks lets us get our crops to our markets on time, with a minimum of delays. Even with all this, weve just been meeting ends the last three years, Mr. Bracken said. We have over $1 million invested, and we make a modest living for three of us with the risk of losing it all. We dont live high, we drive old cars, put engines in our pickups. The biggest problem we have is that commodity prices are at a seri- - sign of the times in farm country dropped over 30 percent in 5 years A drive 125 miles of gravel road every day to chop ice and check fences. Thats a lot of gas every day. We used to market to California, but high taxes closed the packing plants down there, so now we have to ship to Nebraska. That costs a lost more. Mr. Wood, who is the first vice president of the Utah Cattlemens Association, hopes his son will become the sixth generation of Woods in the cattle business. My great-grea- t grandfather was the second boy born in Cedar City, Mr. Wood said. That was in 1853. 1 guess youd say I have it in my versus costs. The cost of power to farmers is one of the biggest problems. UP&L has a stranglehold on farmers. We dont have any difficulty marketing our products, but costs keep rising while prices stay just about the same year in and year out. You know, people scream when the price of beef or lettuce or potatoes goes up, Mr. Bracken said. The only thing we have been able to do is run a lean operation, a more efficient operaous imbalance tion. Rising operating costs also affect Gerald Wood, a fifth generation Cedar City rancher. We get the same price for livestock as we did in the 60s. Back then, a new pickup cost $2,600 and just look at what it costs today, Mr. Wood said. Fuel has gone way up, too. I have 500 head of cattle out by Lund Iron County and I have to blood. Would he ever go out of the BOISE (AP) grine falcon in an Take Isaac Asimovs Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2 points on the Graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph.D. level. MUSIC Ph.D. Level Freshman level Their big hit was the Clock. Answer Rock Around 2. Whom did Ringo in the Beatles? Starr replace 1. 8. In 1967 she had a hit record with Answer Carradine was the first country song to win an Academy Award for Best Song. Answer Answers ..ofueg ,,sll38 JEinqnj.,, 4. This drummer of The Who died in the same apartment in which Mama Cass Elliot died. Answer 5. eleven h gold period puouiso ,.SU3 UIJ,, ' '8 7 ussnft 'f uoo$ mPN JS3g 313J 7 S13UJ09 3qi puu X3BH Il!0 'I - 18 Congratulations, points Honors doctor; 17 to 15 points Youre graduate; 14 to 10 points plenty smart, but no grind; 9 to 4 You really should hit the points books harder; 3 to points -Enroll in remedial courses imWho read mediately! 0 points the questions to you? 19M Ken Fieher Publlthed with pr mission ot Red Dembner - - 1973-7- For which group Mercury a singer? Answer 9 Scoring Answer 6. instrumental hit from the movie Deliverance. Answer 3uiPna,, '6 Xjiu39 3iqqog Graduate Level in Ode to Billy Joe. Answer 9. Name the 3. This song by Keith They collected records in a twelve-mont- for The The theme music Exorcist was called. . . Answer 7. 1 is Freddy - Enterprises A wounded pere- endangered-specie- s category was transported to Boise from Provo and is in satisfactory condition at the World Birds of Prey Center. Falcon breeding specialist Cal Sandfort said the birds broken wing had been set and pinned Thursday by veterinarian Dr. John Lee. The bird will be kept in a chamber for four weeks, longer if it has sustained joint damage, he said. The bird will be exercised in four weeks, and officials will know then whether the birds joints have been damaged. The bird, a year-ol- d female, had one broken wing and was bruised. At first, authorities thought the bird had been shot, Sandfort said. The didnt show any lead particles, but they couldve used steel shot, which wouldnt show up on the Sandfort said. Peregrines are an endangered species that wildlife experts have been in the attempting to United States. The bird had bands on its legs indicating it had been raised in captivity and released last spring in Grand Teton National Park. It was found near Provo. The Boise Center was built recently to breed new peregrines for the wild. Division officials said Thursday that news accounts of the shooting had yielded them a suspect, but they would not identify the person. A falcon trainer in Provo received an anonymous telephone call Tues- - IPP Legal Action May Cut School District Funds Listed on Historical Register Drive May Keep Old Cafe Open CACHE JUNCTION, Cache County A Utah State University histo(AP) rian is leading a drive to keep a Union Pacific Railroad cafe here open for business. Union Pacific officials have notified Garold and Marva Richardson, who have operated the Cache Junction Cafe for 20 years, that their lease will be terminated in February because train traffic along the route has dwindled. But A.J. Simmonds, a USU archivist and author of a number of books on the history of the Cache Valley, says the move would be a public relations disaster for the railroad. The cafe is listed on the Utah Historical Register, and Is probably the only railroad cafe In this part of the country to have been In continuous operation since it opened, he said The railroad has paid the Richardsons a subsidy through the years to operate the cafe, which still serves as a stopping place for train crews needing a place to eat and rest. acknowlBut Mrs. Richardson edged that train traffic has declined in recent years. She said the depot, along with many other old buildings, was torn down a decade ago. "They want to tear down the few remaining section buildings now, along with the cafe, she said. "But even if they left it on railroad property, there is no insulation and the utilities would be too high to pay without a subsidy." However, she said in 1974, the railroad workers, members of the United Trainmen's union and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, opposed an earlier plan to close the cafe She said the workers made its continued operation part of their contractural arrangement and helped keep the cafe open. This time, Union Pacific bypassed the union and all of the train men are really upset. They consider this an oasis on their runs, and always enjoy our hot meals," she said. Mrs Richardson said the cafe also remains a popular stop for Cache Valley residents and tourists. Simmonds said Cache Junction, the valley's only railroad town, was laid out in 1890 as a junction between Union Pacific's main line, which ran up the west side of the valley, and its Preston, Idaho, branch Special to The Tribune BRIGHAM CITY Box Elder School Superintendent Darrell White said a legal challenge issued by the Intermountain Power Project in Southern Utah on the assessment of property as set down by the Utah Tax Commission placed 43 percent of the taxes paid in an escrow account and, if upheld, state aid to the district could be cut by $75,000. - Superintendent White said this would be in addition to the $65,000 reduction that went into effect in the district earlier this year as a result of the closure of Kennecott Copper and the corresponding decline in taxes. He said the reduction to local school districts comes in the form of lower state aid for each student enrolled in school. Mr. White said the Weighted Pupil Unit used in state funding for local districts is worth $1,180 in state funds to all districts per pupil per year and makes up 60 percent of the Box Elder School District's maintenance and operations budget. He said there is still some discussion in the Utah Legislature regarding a proposed 2 percent cut in current revenues. He said if this comes about, the Box Elder district w ould lose an additional $300,000 in the current year. day saying that she should look on her back porch. There she discovered the injured peregrine in a gunnysack. The bird was treated by a Provo veterinarian and then was taken to Boise. cattle business? Nd sir, Mr. Wood said, Im a buckaroo. I guess Ill still be doing this when the tulips are growing over me. Sandfort said Lee did not feel that the bird had been shot and could only guess what had happened to it. The bird could have possibly flown into a wire, Sandfort said. Chances are we may never know. If all goes well, the bird will be released in the Tetons in June. Hurt Falcon Sent From Provo to Boise Center ISAAC ASIMOVS SUPER QUIZ Jim Howells where land values have is the For Sale sign. It is illegal to shoot at endangered birds. The maximum criminal penalty for killing a federally protected endangered species is a $20,000 fine and a year in prison. WE MAKE COMPAQ COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR CASH FLOW COMPAQ computers have always been compatible with IBM.8 Now Businessland makes them compatible with your cash flow Because now you can get the COMPAQ your business needs, on financial terms that your business can afford. The COMPAQ" Portable might be right for you. Or their most sophisticated and powerful system, the COMPAQ DESKPRO 286 Or the entry level hard disk system the COMPAQ DESKPRO." But which is the best way to pay? With our new revolving credit card you can take 30 days to pay. Or you can make monthly payments at an annual interest rate of 18. 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