Wheat sales

could be lost

By DAVID CLOUGH

Fessenden

Agriculture exports and free trade are very important to U.S. farmers. North Dakota's No. 1 crop is wheat, with one-half exported, along with about one-third of the soybeans and nearly one-fourth of the corn.

I recently returned from a wheat trade mission with U.S. Wheat Associates to Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Mexico.

In all of the countries we visited, the economies are booming, incomes are growing and the demand for quality food products increasing. With construction going on everywhere and more of a middle class of people developing, in the future their countries will be buying more of our products.

Free trade and globalization are here to stay. If the United States tries to ignore it, we will be left out of the world economy.

The Columbian Free Trade Agreement has not been brought up for a vote because House Democrats have decided not to bring it up. Therefore, the agreement is being killed. The Columbian government has passed the FTA and our nation is waiting for Congress to act, but they aren't.

While in Bogota, we visited with about 25 millers of the Columbian Millers Association. They said without the FTA, Columbia would not be buying as much wheat from the United States because of the tariffs that would be added. They would be buying from countries they have free-trade agreements with, such as Canada, the Andean Community, the European Union and so forth

For the current marketing year, Columbia has purchased more than 35 million bushels of U.S. wheat, including more than 8 million bushels of hard red spring wheat. The U.S. generally has about a 55 percent market share in wheat exports to Columbia; this year it could be closer to 70 percent.

United States farmers, including those from North Dakota, will lose a lot of wheat sales if the FTA is not passed by Congress. People should write or call their representatives, urging them to act soon, vote on the Columbian FTA and pass it.

An honor

richly deserved

By DAVID GIPP

Bismarck

It was heartwarming to learn that the late Woodrow Keeble has been selected for North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award.

Many North Dakotans and Americans have only recently learned of Master Sgt. Keeble's heroism in the Korean War. His record and his life demonstrate the highest degree of loyalty and courage that a nation can witness from a citizen.

This humble Dakotah warrior from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation did not and would never have sought to be recognized for saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. That his recently bestowed Medal of Honor was long overdue is a measure of past injustice. That it was awarded is a sign of welcome change in the national consciousness.

In tribal life, Woodrow Wilson Keeble is one of the most respected warriors of the 20th century, who brought honor to his family and tribe. It remains the work of good people now to commend this honorable man, tell his story and affirm his legacy as a hero for all people of the nation.

North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven, along with the many people who have worked for and supported the nomination of Woodrow Keeble for the Rough Rider Award, are to be commended.

(Gipp is president of United Tribes Technical College. - Editor)