U-S Senate democrats from farm states are meeting at this hour to discusswhat they say is a farm crisis — due to trade imbalances, foul weather andpoor prices. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin made brief comments before the panelwhich is hearing from mostly farmers and ranchers from all over the U-S.Among the witnesses, John Chrystal is President of Iowa Savings Bank in CoonRapids. While he grew up on a farm, Chrystal says he also sees the crisisfrom the financial perspective.Chrystal says current family farmers are getting out of the business and NOyoung people want to replace them because of the cost of getting started.Chrystal says family-run cattle and chicken farms have all but vanishedfrom Iowa while the family-run hog farm, once Iowa’s number-one industry, isalso on the brink of disappearing.North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad says his state and the entire Midwestregion are facing a serious crisis and the disappearance of a necessarystaple in our society. Conrad says Congressional action is long overdue.North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan says the media doesn’t appear to careabout the farm crisis. Dorgan says the “big three” T-V networks did15-hundred-69 stories on the economy last year, 389 of them on the boomingstock market and only 17 on farm issues.This marks the first-ever U-S Senate hearing broadcast over the internet.
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