Page 11 - aruba-today-20201127

A11
BUSINESS Friday 27 November 2020
Farm Rescue shifts to help farmers sickened by coronavirus

By DAVID PITT my, leading to yet more
Associated Press bankruptcies.
The wet spring offered only "It's affected farmers dras-
a tiny window for plant- tically. They were already
ing, so when North Dakota at what I feel was the
farmer Paul Ivesdal fell ill breaking point," Gross said.
with the coronavirus he "There's been persistently
knew the timing couldn't low commodity prices,
be worse. natural disasters and now
The 63-year-old man knew COVID, and then when you
if he didn't recover quick- add a major injury or illness
ly and plant his crop of to the challenges they al-
wheat, barley, canola and ready faced, it just can be
flax, it could mean an end overwhelming to them ... fi-
to his decades of farming nancially and emotionally."
2,300 acres (930 hectares) Farmers and ranchers can
just south of the Canadian apply for help from Farm
border. But his condition Rescue by filing out an
deteriorated and, due to online application, and
the bad weather, even his some are referred to the
neighbors had no time to organization by concerned
help. friends. Gross said many
"We didn't get some crop In this photo provided by Farm Rescue, volunteer Emil Baranko watchers as other volunteers plant farmers initially resist the of-
in," Ivesdal said. "It just got crops on Paul Ivesdal's farm June 3, 2020 in Edmore, N.D. fer of assistance.
too late and started raining Associated Press "They're prideful, hard-
again." working people and typi-
That's when Farm Rescue but if it wouldn't have been card table and asked for in North Dakota, South Da- cally don't want to ask for
stepped in. When Ivesdal for them we might have just donations. With help from a kota, Montana, Minnesota, help," Gross said. "Some-
was rushed to a hospital decided to quit." John Deere dealership, he Iowa, Nebraska and Kan- times it takes convincing
where he spent eight days The founder of Farm Res- bought a tractor and that sas. The group usually helps only because, God bless
on a ventilator, volunteers cue, Bill Gross, is a North first year provided assis- farmers beset by injuries, them, they always feel that
from the nonprofit planted Dakota native who grew tance for 10 farming fami- illness or natural disasters, there is someone else that
his crops and made sure his up on a farm, but he did lies. but volunteers have this needs the help more than
farm would endure. not follow in his parents Over the years, individual year been helping those them." The group is plan-
Ivesdal spent the summer footsteps. Gross went to donors and big companies, taken out of commission by ning a country music bene-
in rehabilitation, regaining college, became a pilot such as Deere & Company COVID-19. fit concert on Dec. 9, to be
the strength and ability to and has flown Boeing 747s and Chevrolet trucks, have "We've helped several streamed live on YouTube
walk, and he said he tires for United Parcel Service for stepped up, and Farm Res- farmers that have had CO- from the Brooklyn Bowl in
more easily than before, 27 years. cue now has 1,000 volun- VID, including some who Nashville and featuring
but that he plans to con- But in 2005, he launched teers nationwide. have been on a ventila- performers including Dustin
tinue working the land. Farm Rescue, inspired by "My heart never left the tor for three or four weeks Lynch, Maddie & Tae, Mick-
"If we wouldn't have got the 1980s farm crisis that farming community," Gross and have survived and are ey Guyton, Travis Denning
what we did, I don't know if forced his parents to sell said. back farming now," Gross and Tyler Farr. Viewers can
I would have kept on farm- land and most of their The group has given assis- said. watch the event for free,
ing," he said. "I'd like to farm cattle. He traveled to farm tance to about 700 farm The pandemic has rippled but all donations will go to
for a couple more years shows where he set up a families in the last 15 years through the farm econo- Farm Rescue.q

E.U. parliament backs lobster deal and E.U.-U.S. mini trade pact

By RAF CASERT U.S. lobster imports to the prepared meals, crystal
BRUSSELS (AP) — Thanksgiv- EU came to about $111 mil- glassware and cigarette
ing just got a little bit better lion in 2017 before falling lighters. The tariff cuts will
for the Maine lobster indus- off in the face of rising ten- be retroactive to Aug. 1.
try. sions between the trading The deal approved on
The European Union par- partners, and an EU trade Thursday covers only a tiny
liament on Thursday ap- agreement with Canada portion of trans-Atlantic
proved a mini trade deal that allowed its lobsters to trade with the U.S., but the
with the United States, enter the bloc tariff-free. EU hopes it will have some
which includes the elimi- Because of it, said EU leg- symbolic value. And for the
nation of customs duties islator Bernd Lange, "we lobster industry, already hit
on U.S. lobster imports. The have seen a drop in de- hard by the coronavirus
passage with 638 votes for, mand by 50% in Maine, crisis, every piece of good
45 against and 11 absten- which is obviously quite seri- news is welcome.
tions was the last major po- ous. So now we are making For the EU, which has had
litical step for the deal to an offer to allow American acrimonious relations with In this Friday, March 13, 2020 file photo, Issac Nicoll packs lob-
come into effect. lobster to come tariff-free the Trump administration, sters for shipment at the Lobster Company in Kennebunkport,
As a result, the 27-nation into the EU." a sign of goodwill will never Maine.
EU will drop its 8% tariff on For its part, the U.S. agreed hurt. Associated Press
U.S. lobsters for the next five to cut in half tariffs on EU im- "We have more in com-
years and work to make ports worth about $160 mil- mon than divides us," said islation is an offer: it's not about cooperation instead
the move permanent. lion a year, including some Lange. "This piece of leg- about lobster for all. It's of confrontation."q