Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1987)
Farm program is cut back By Anne Mohri Staff Reporter The University of Nebraska Lincoln’s Agriculture College’s farm management program has been cut back due to lack of interest, said Larry Bitney, professor of agricultural eco nomics at UNL and an extension farm management specialist, Bitney said the the program was cut back because of a decline in en rollment last year. In the winter of 1984-85, 6(X) families were enrolled; in 1985-1986, 3(X) families enrolled; and in 1986-1987, 100 families en rolled, he said. The number of classes is being drastically cut back, Bitney said. Enrollment figures for this year’s program now are unavailable, he said, Bitney explained that the pro gram is scheduled to begin after the first of the year and dales arc tenta tive. He said the lack of interest may be caused by the “general intensity of the farm crisis.” There is a possibility that the farm ers don’t see the program and its workshops as a priority, that at this point there is little a farm manage ment workshop could do to improve their situation, he said. “A lot of people are working part time off of the farm, or the wife is working and they don’t have time to attend our classes,” Bitney said. It casts $2(X) to enroll in the work shops, Bitney said, but “we have never turned anyone away if they couldn’t pay the fee.” The program gives a type of scholarship to the i family so that it can attend the work shops, he said. Often the farmer’s bankers will help with the fee because they believe the workshop will help the farmer’s situation, Bitney said. Although the enrollment fee is somewhat high, the actual cost per family is $1,000, Bitney said. Through federal and state financing, the programs are made possible and the $800 difference is be paid. However, Bitney said, the money is runt ,ng out, which is another reason for downsizing the program. In the fall of 1984, Bitney launched “Managing for Tomorrow” as the start of a series of farm manage ment workshops. He said “Managing for Tomor row” is designed to take a longer-run look at agriculture. He said the staff of “Managing for Tomorrow” works with farmers one-on-one to help them evaluate their present situation. The workshop begins with a de tailed sheet of the five previous years of the farmer’s operation to deter mine the downfalls, Bitney said. From there, farmers are given op tions, such as whether to buy, sell, rent land or close down different operations, he said. However, Bitney said, at times after evaluating a farmer’s situation, he or she may be unable to come up with any comparable alternatives. After evaluating the operation, the family is encouraged to develop a reasonable set of goals, Bitney said. The staff then helps the family through a detailed plan that will help them to attain these goals. The workshop is “directed at not just the farmer but the farm couple,” Bitney said. He said that if it is a father/son operation, they try to get the mother and daughter-in-law in volved. His reasoning for this was that since “decisions that are made in the business have an impact on the entire family,” the family as a whole should be a part of it. Through the workshop the farm fam ily learns to work together and com municate about the operation; Bitney termed this “Team Building.” The workshops for “Managing for Tomorrow” meet once a week for four weeks, Bitney said. Then there is a follow-up meeting with the family on its farm. Later, Bitney said, a focal point is chosen and families will go there to meet again with staff mem bers. Since the fall of 1984, 1,000 fami lies have gone through the “Manag ing for Tomorrow” workshop, Bitney said. Of those 1,000, he estimated, 10 per cent went under. He said he has received much positive feedback from the families that went through the program and from their bankers. For example, 87 percent of the bankers “felt that people had made meaningful changes in their record-keeping and manage ment as a result of going through it,” Bitney said. Although the program is being cut back because of lack of interest, Bit ney said, “I’ve never worked with a program that has been as effective as this one because we’ve never had one that’s been this intensive.” -1 Mexicana spices up FarmAid VENDOR from Page 1 Twelve people worked in the stand with Jimenez. For the five days before the concert, they worked until 5 a.m. making burri tos and enchiladas. Jimenez said they started out with enough burri tos and enchiladas to feed 10,000 people. But just in case, Jimenez rented kitchen space for the day from George’s Greek Gyros in the Atrium. Jimenez estimated that he sold 70 percent of the food he prepared. The remaining food was donated to the People’s City Mission in Lin coln. A percentage of Jimenez’s earn ings will go to the university as rent for the stand. Jimenez isn’t giving financially to FarmAid, but he said lie is contributing by promoting Nebraska products. Eric Gregory/Daily Nebraskan Art Jimenez holds a sampling of his Nebraska-grown Mexican-style food at his stand in the southwest corner of Memorial Stadium Saturday during the FarmAid III concert. Test reveals the real Royko ROYKO from Page 4 Although 1 am no longer a teen ager, at least most of the time, I decided to take the test anyway. My answers were based on the things 1 had done through my 19th year. Since drugs weren’t widely used then, I sub stituted liquor in questions that dealt with them. Answering the questions was a real nostalgia trip. Several times, I had to sit back and chuckle at memories of what it was like when I was fondly known in my neighborhood as “the wolfman," “the creep” and “stay away from my sister, you!” Then I added up the total points. And 1 couldn’t believe the results. I had scored 19. Nineteen? Even Jack Arm strong or Andy Hardy would have had higher scores than that. 1 figured something was wrong with the test, so I asked a friend of mine, who is about my age, to take it. He is a rather straight sort, who came from a decent neighborhood, and spent much of his youth reading books, playing ping-pong and working on a Junior Achievement prqject He got 35 points, putting him on the edge of dissipation. He smiled and said: "Someday, I’ll tell you about the girl next door." So I asked a woman in her 30s to take the test. She is a proper sort who attended parochial schools, and I’ve never known her to swear, spit or kick children. And she got 32 points. "You want to tell me about the boy next door?" I asked. She just winked. It made no sense and left me feeling depressed. Me a goody-goody? It was impossible. In every neighborhood, there is a youth who is so dangerous an influence that all the parents tell their kids that they can’t associate with him. Well, I was so dangerous an influence that my own brother wasn’t permitted to associate with me. Respectable girls blushed in my presence. In a survey taken by adult reprobates in the neigh borhood, I was voted Rookie of the Year. I’ve had that test in my wallet for days now. Every so often, 1 take it out, take the test again, and the results are always the same. So I have to face it and be honest with myself I just wasn’t the young man I thought I was. Just as that youth ful home run wasn’t as long as we remember, that touchdown run as spec tacular, that winning basket from as far out — my evil acts weren’t as loath some as 1 prided myself upon. In brushing away the webs of time, I now realize that I sincerely wanted to do all of those things. Me and Slats Grobnik used to spend hours planning, anticipating, slobbering. But nobody would cooperate. Bar tenders said: "Take off the false moustache, punk, you ain’t no midget." And girls said: "Try it again, goof, and my brother will maim you." I’ve since taken the test one more time. And my answers were based on what I would have done if I had been given any cooperation, Boy, oh boy, oh boy! My score was 92. Even Mr. Hyde couldn’t have done any better in Lon don fog. I feel good again. Maybe I didn’t do anything terrible. But at least my intentions were bad. © 1087 by The Chicago Tribune Royko la a Pulitaer Prise-winning columnist with The Chicago Tribune. r-1 Dip Dip Hooray! j Waffle Cone i Sundaes UNL DAIRY STORE | 2 for 1 : $1.30 i Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 730-930 pm. East Campus City Campus 38th & Holdrege Union HORNY BULL Trouble Shooter Tonight thru Saturday FAC 5* 4:30-6:00 Monday, September 28th AN Female Review BARELY LEGAL 464-7248 * 27th & Comhusker ★ 464-1492
