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Letters from our readers
Governor Pillen’s no bid award to his friends at so called Global “ Sustainable “ Developers has rightly raised questions of favoritism.
In addition, this award involves industrial agriculture receiving taxpayer dollars for projects that are anything but “sustainable.” Their specialty of removing baled cornstalks from agricultural lands instead of incorporating them into the soil where they grew is the height of unsustainable practices.
Any sensible farmer, Amish or not , as well as any common sense soil scientist with advanced degrees knows that mulch in its many forms, including rotting corn stalks incorporated into the soil, is a true sustainable practice.
It retains moisture in droughts, aerates the soil, resists soil compaction , promotes earthworms and microscopic soil bacteria, fungi and protozoa that contribute to the release of essential minerals into the foodstuffs that animals and humans require to be healthy.
These essential principles, if crippled by Pillen’s unconscionable cornstalk removal blunders, will lead to depleted soil productivity and consequently the loss of our farmer’s children and grandchildren’s ability to sustain profitability.
To add insult to injury, massive semi trucks hauling baled cornstalks to processing centers will destabilize rural roads and add to the tax burden of already over-burdened rural residents.
Pillen and his crowd of industrial agriculture cronies have it totally wrong. They and our reps in the unicameral need to hear this.
— Ken Lindberg Newcastle
