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Thursday, May 3, 1C34
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 83 No. 151
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Agricultural assistance to poor
countries hurts U.S. wheat exports
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By Gene Gentrup
UNL's efforts to help foreign countries improve
their grain production is hurting U.S. wheat exports,
a Nebraska Wheat Board member said.
Vic Haas, chairman of the wheat board,' said
Tuesday that as UNL research projects increase a
foreign country's grain production, U.S. farmers lose
an equal amount in exports.
"It's happening in India, Pakistan and Saudi Ara
bia," Haas said. "At one time these countries were
poor, underdeveloped nations, so the United States
spent some of our tax dollars and sent agronomists,
researchers and others to help countries bolster
their economies. Now they're not only self-sufficient,
but they're competing against our export markets.
It just doesn't make any sense."
Although Haas said UNL's international programs
have been a concern for some time, the issue heated
up in late March when a $19.2 million contract was
signed between the Mid-America International Agri
cultural Consortium and the government of Mor
rocco to spend five years improving the country's
wheat and barley production. The contract was an
extension of and earlier $4 million-plus contract
signed between the two organizations five years ago.
The consortium is made up of Iowa State, Kansas
State, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma State uni
versities. UNL is the team leader for the project.
The wheat board's work is financed by a manda
tory checkoff program in which producers contrib-
1
ute three-fourths of one cent for every bushel of
wheat sold. The board then allocates part of its
budget $G2,000 in fiscal year 1984 to UNL for
wheat research projects.
The Nebraska Wheat Board met with Robert Kleis,
dean and director of international programs at
UNL's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resour
ces, and Roy Arnold, vice chancellor for the agricul
ture institute, at a two-day meeting last month.
Haas said the two men tried to "shame or belittle
us," into signing some of the proposed 19 contracts
discussed earlier in the day.
"I felt they were trying to get us in a good mood by
serving us a fancy dinner and creating a very
friendly atmosphere, so we would sign the con
tracts," Haas said.
Kleis said the contracts are justified. The agree
ments are in the best interest of the United States
because they help maintain political stability, and it
also is a moral issue, he said.
Arnold said the U.S. government thinks Morrocco
is in a strategic location, and if the country is to
maintain a stable economy, it must maintain agri
cultural stability.
The development of agriculture is the forerunner
of greater economic development," Arnold said.
Arnold said only low income countries are quali
fied for aid and none of these countries will become
self-sufficient.
Haas said Arnold is wrong because many coun
tries already have started competing with the U.S.
export market after being classified "poor and
underdeveloped countries."
"Maybe Morrocco will never become self-sufficient,
Vut Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and India already have,"
he said. "They're even competing against our markets."
"The job of the Nebraska Wheat Board is to pro
mote and project wheat industry in Nebraska," Haas
said. "We're doing our job and we are in opposition
to letting UNL increase agriculture in foreign countries."
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. David TroubaDs!ly Nebrasksn
The crowd closes in cn Drcthcr Jim &s he preaches Wednesday near Broyhill Fountain.
Inside
Covert activites by the CIA are the topic
of today's Campus Quotes .....Pegs 4
Incumbent Sen. J. James Exon says
President Reagan's popularity in Nebraska
probably won't have an effect on the state's
senate race Pegs 8
Husker softball team heads to Oklahoma
for the Big Eight Championships... Pegs 19
Index
Classified ....23
Crossword . , 24
Editorial 4
Highlights : , 9
Off The Wire 2
Sports 13
a
otmnei!) cones
'oerks consumers ' iMsresi
Ly Chris Veicch
The addition of gourmet coffee and espresso in
the Nebraska Union Bakery has increased coffee
sales, and many students are drinking the more
expensive brew, said Carole Penas, assistant man
ager of food service production at the Nebraska
Union.
"It's been going very well . . . students are receptive
tp the idea," she said. .
The bakery offers two types of specialty coffee
every day. They include Chocolate Menthe, Colom
bian Supremo, Kenyan AA, French Roast and Ama
retto. The gourmet coffees are fresh ground and
brewed and cost 45 cents for one plastic cup full '
The bakery has a pitcher of half and half sitting on
the counter for those who use it.
The large copper and brass machine in the win
dow of the bakery makes espresso and cappoccino,
which costs 75 cents.
Espresso, favored by European coffee drinkers, is
made by forcing steam through fine grounds in a
fine metal filter. The flavor is stronger, but it does
not contain any more caffeine, said Fred Fisher, a
representative of the Coffee Development Group.
Cappucino is espresso with half and half added.
CDG, a coffee growers' promotional group, pro
vides the espresso machine, the grinders and brew
ers to the bakers free, as long as it continues to use
gourmet coffee, he said. The equipment is worth
about $2,000, Penas said.
Penas said representatives of the CDG will come
to campus in the fall for another promotion and
free-coffee giveaway to draw attention to the new
coffees and machine.
Fisher came to the Nebraska Union .April 5. He
gave away some free coffee, passed out literature
and buttons and extolled the virtues of gourmet
coffee.
The future to the coffee industry lies in the drink
ing habits of 18-to-30 year-olds, he said. Gourmet
coffees may cost more, but the flavor will lure young
people, who often choose soft drinks, back to coffee.
Three students interviewed in the Nebraska Union
Wednesday said they liked the gourmet coffee,
Steve Reeves, a junior geology major, said he pref
ers the gourmet coffee because of its strength. He
said he has tried the French Roast.
"I liked it. I like strong coffee," he said.
Brad Tell, a senior history major, was trying his
first cup of Colombian Supremo.
"It tastes a lot better than the stuff they serve in
the Harvest Room," he said.
. Tell said a similar size cup costs 30 cents in the
Harvest Room. The 1 5 extra cents is worth it for the
better flavor, he said.
Chris Hugh, a junior English major, said the coffee
was good and strong, but not strong enough.
"I like espresso," she said.
