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Show vesting machinery is the only way to keep tomatoes on American tables. Dean Charles Hess says since the advent of mechanical harvesters, the number of acres of tomatoes being ; grown has increased dramatically. Mechanical harvesters harvest-ers have made possible a large growth in Utah's cherry industry. Nuts and many other fruits and vegetables are within reach of our consumers con-sumers because of mechanical harvesters. On a recent trip across Wallentine VIEWPOINT By Booth Wallentine Executive Vice President Utah Farm Bureau Federation Court test: Is progress legal? It could only happen in America! It looks like the courts will decide whether progress is legal or not. A suit has been filed in a California , court against the University of California Cali-fornia to stop research on mechanical harvesters. The plaintiffs are 19 farm workers who believe they will lose their jobs to machines. And guess who is paying for the lawyers? You are. The California Rural Legal Assistance group, a state and federally financed group, is handling the legal work. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs say using taxpayer funds at the University Univer-sity of California for research on better ways to harvest crops is illegal. Specifically the plaintiffs are after tomato harvesters at this time, but the suit could apply to all kinds of farm machinery. The University' dean of agriculture agricul-ture says newer, more efficient har- Europe, I found fruits and vegetables ; prices much higher in the cities. Machines hike living standard When I was farming I was ecstatic when our first milking machine re- ' placed my twice-daily task. Those milkers put a lot of hand labor out of business, but they also made a lot of ? people available for other jobs to keep America growing. Most impor- ; tant , those machines make it possible ': for American consumers to buy food f for far less of their paycheck than in 3 any other country of the world. ; I'll be watching that court deci- sion. I wonder if progress is really illegal? I m |