University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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horizon? € Things are turning around again. There are great opportunities for agri- business majors, f Obia studies farm impact Lewis ing sooner and continued later than usual. Thus farmers remained concerned about the 89 crops due to a warm, dry fall amd mild winter with temperatures in the 60s as late as December. By the end of December Nebraska’s normal snow- fall would be 29 inches but was only an average of 2 inches, according to the National Weather Bu- reau. Depleted soil moisture was not being re- placed. Lewis agrees that the farm economy is better now than six or seven years ago. He said that land values have regained up to 20 percent of what was lost, and debts are not as bad due to rewriting of loan papers. He predicts great opportunities for agri-busi- ness majors as Nebraska seeks to revitalize its rural base by finding new ways to use agricultural prod- ucts. Businesses which process the output of agricul- ture: food processing, beef packaging, conversion of agricultural products to biodegradable plastics, grain products to fuels and as bases for paints and varnishes will seek agri-business majors, he said. Students heard the folklore of the Dirty 30s from parents and grandparents and learned its les- sons in the classroom. They remembered the drying winds, the lack of rain and the intense heat of sum- mer 88 and felt the impact on their own lives. By John Shultz and Pam Wood Photo by Michelle Thompson The real impact of the trou- bled farm economy is yet to be assessed, but one KSC pro- fessor is making a notable contri- bution. Dr. Godson Obia, geography pro- fessor, is researching farm bankruptcies in Nebraska and their impact on rural communities. Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy was intended to help farmers who didn’t have enough resources to pay their debts reorganize to reduce debts to a level they can pay, said Obia. Designed to help family farms on the brink of fore- closure, it offers them an opportunity to continue farming, but doesn’t guarantee success. Obia’s objective is to look at spatial variation of bankruptcies, finding in what counties and regions farmers are filing the most bankruptcies. Many farmers don’t file for bank- ruptcy because it is a taboo. It is seen as a failure to them, he explained. Obia said he takes the listing of bankruptcies filed in court, organizes them into eight agricultural regions, then finds the number of bankruptcies for each year and an overall total. With this information, Obia makes up graphs and charts of results. Eventually, Obia wants to do a sta- tistical analysis to see the relationship between bankruptcy and all factors of agricultural production in Nebraska. He will compare the number of bankrupt- cies to farm income, the number of farms, population and taxes. Obia said he wants to see how bank- ruptcies affect rural areas, including checking for depression among farmers who filed for bankruptcy. In March Obia presented a paper on his research to the Association of Ameri- can Geographers in Baltimore, MD. He has been asked to submit his research for pub- lication. His study was made possible by a grant from the KSC Research Services Council. By Carol Doerr Statistics and graphs compiled by Dr. Godson Obia give a paper pic- ture of farm bankruptcies. Photo by Linda Major Farm economy 17 m incomes by reducing yields by as much as 30 to 50 percent of the previous year’s for dryland acres, ac- cording to Ralph Anderson, Buffalo County exten- sion agent. Reduced farm income meant more students became eligible for financial aid in the form of scho- larships, grants, loans and work study, according to Jim Armagost, financial aid director. Even as students adapted to the effects of the drought of 88, they wondered about its future im- pact. Modern conservation and irrigation saved crops from the full damage of the 88 drought, An- derson said. Most Nebraska farms have irrigation on some or all fields, but farmers had to start irrigat- Working in the dusk and dust, the dryland farmer harvested what was to many a disappointing yield. Photo by Mark Bates

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Students find heat, drought of 88 living lecture on 'Dirty Thirties' ust on the Too little rain and too many dry, windy days last summer gave to- day’s generation a glimpse of the Dust Bowl days in the 1930s. While many students remember only the heat or the great suntans from last summer, students who who come from farms or families in agricultural-relat- ed businesses know how a drought affects the farm economy. Most of the 60 students in the agri-business pro- gram come from such backgrounds, according to Carl Lewis, department of economics chairman. “It is not uncommon for students to get such a degree to fall back on,” Lewis said. After a three to four year drop in agri-business majors, Lewis said the number has remained steady. Some graduates return to the farm, but some go to graduate school or to regular business positions, Lewis said. Rural banks hire agri-business graduates because of the farm background and business abili- (Reduced farm incomes meant more students became eligible for financial aid. f Armagost ties. However, very few ag-businesses conduct inter- views at KSC, according to Jackie Rosenlof, Career Services director. Dick Carlson, Kearney senior, plans to work for a bank or farm credit system after graduation because he has a strong agricultural background. He farmed near Harrisburg in the Panhandle for 21 years until financial problems forced him to quit. He entered KSC in the fall of 1987 as a business and finance major. “I've sat on the other side of the desk. I know what the farmers are feeling and I think I can serve them better because of that,” he said. The farm economy has also encouraged some students with farm backgrounds to prepare for futures in other fields. “I would go back to farming if it wasn’t such a big gamble,” Dan Placke, St. Libory junior, said. Instead he decided to attend college to major in ac- counting because it is too hard for young people to get started in farming. In his free time he still re- turns to the farm to help his parents. The farm situation did not cause Troy Casper, Kearney senior, to change his career plans from farming because he planned to attend college even before his family lost its farm near Hildreth during the farm crisis. Then he had his sights on an agri- business degree. Now he is an elementary educa- t I’ve sat on the other side of the desk. I know what the farmers are feeling and 1 think lean serve them better because of that, f Carlson tion major because he wants a career that is “safe and stable”. KSC has felt some impact from the farm econo- my in its swelling non-traditional student enroll- ment, according to Wayne Samuelson, associate vice president of student services and director of ad- missions. Farm wives are seeking degrees in order to obtain jobs to supplement their husbands’ farm income, he said. “Many farmers see retraining for another career as an opportunity.” In the past two summers and throughout this year, 28 30 percent of the non-traditional students consulting the Career Services Office came from failed farms and sought advice on other career op- tions, Rosenlof said. Nebraska’s sagging farm economy not only af- fected students’ career choices and opportunities, it also had immediate impact on their education in progress. Last summer’s drought affected farmers’

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I I ( We wanted to know the strengths and weaknesses in women’s studies, f Becker-Theye Jm seed planted three years ago may reach full bloom in a Women’s Stud- Aies minor program for introduction next year. The seed was nurtured again last year by the Third Annual Conference on Women’s Studies “The Worlds of Mari Sandoz,” hosted by KSC in Septem- ber. Helen Stauffer, English professor, portrayed Mari Sandoz in a question and answer session. She and other speakers offered insight into writings, phi- losophies and surroundings of Mari Sandoz. One of the factors that influenced the decision to begin a Women’s Studies minor was the involve” ment of students and faculty in past conferences, ac- cording to Betty Becker-Theye, dean of the School of Fine Arts and Humanities. “We developed the Women’s Conference in 1986 because we wanted to know the strengths and issues in women’s studies on this campus,” she said. Nearly 750 colleges and universities in the United States offer such programs. “Women’s studies programs have a solid national record,” Becker- Theye said. A 15-member committee from various depart- ments worked for over a year on developing the mi- nor. Students with majors in pre-law, pre-medicine, business, counseling, science, education, social sci- ence, arts and humanities will benefit from this minor since it informs, challenges and directs men and wom- en students toward a more equitable assessment of society, according to the statement of purpose for the minor. It will focus on the contributions women have made in society, and about women’s roles. Karen Bloomfield, Kearney junior, is considering the minor. “It’s wise to go back and look at why we are as we are today, to see what worked and what didn’t work,” she said. She feels men and women should both be in the classes for better communication skills. “The very people who should be in there are the men,” she said. Jane Jensen, Minden senior, said, “It (the wom- en’s studies) is essential to give historical and literary studies based on both women’s and men’s perspec- tives.” In their studies, students will investigate as- sumptions about women in academic roles and ex- Helen Stauffer (with hat) as Mari Sandoz, (in uniform) as Elizabeth Custer in her riding habit 18 Women’s studies