Dear Editor,
It seems strange that the reaction is “Oh! Look what it is costing for gas at the pump!” Which is pretty bad when you have to go to work every day, pay your heating bill, or like a lot of Nevadans who must make over 150 mile round trips to see their doctor. But it is really insidious when neither the news media nor the majority of our elected representatives seem to have tumbled to the fact that Biden’s energy policy, as soon as he came into office, of shutting down some of the gas and oil production in the United States and forcing us to become dependent on other countries, is drastically impacting our agriculture. Not just for now, but potentially for the future. It is hurting our food production but also the by-products we use. Soil needs to be kept healthy and needs care, which means the use of tractors and soil amendments, fertilizers, rodent control, and harvesting. Livestock need care and feeding, which use equipment. And then all this must be delivered to where it is prepared and then to the cities.
Farmers and Ranchers are “price takers not price makers”. That means they do not have the choice of raising their prices to cover the increase in expenses. A farm or ranch which has been abandoned takes years as the soil and other things need special treatment to get back in production if it is available at all. Where will we be in 30 years?
The increases in the price of food will be horrific to low-income and middle-income families. So every time you go to buy something at the store and look at the increased price, realize that a high percentage of the increase comes from our not having our own fuel available. Yes, we need to be working on other affordable energy sources, but until we do, we need to be self-sufficient. A couple of years ago, one in seven children went to bed hungry. This is unacceptable.
Sonya Johnson
Fallon
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