European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 26, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday August 26, 1990 the stars and stripes pa90 13 business news Randy Mcclain crisis. Sends Dollar sliding on Many fronts the West German Mark in t the Only currency gaining at the expense of the . Dollar As the military face off with Iraq continues in the Middle  s Dollar Britain s Pound and Canada s Dollar have All made steady gains against the Buck in recent Days because they Export More Energy Oil Coal and natural Gas than they import. The United states on the other hand imports about half of its Energy from abroad which makes America particularly vulnerable to Oil shortages in the event of an All out War with iraqi president Saddam Hussein currency analysts say. Australia England and Canada arc seen As More  aug. 2, the Day iraqi troops and tanks swept across the Border into Kuwait the Pound has risen 5,3 percent the australian Dollar has increased 5 percent and the Canadian Dollar has edged up 2 percent against the Buck. The West German Mark has increased 2 percent Over the same time  Canadian Dollar is now Worth about 88 . Cents and the australian Dollar equals 83.5 american  Tucich with the Bank of Boston in Frankfurt West Germany said he expects All those currencies to remain Strong while the Dol Lar  Cocker economist with chemical Bank in London said currencies in England Australia and Canada Are also being bolstered by High in Terest rates. In Canada and Australia Short term interest rates Are in the neighbourhood of 13 percent and rates England Are near 15 percent. Those numbers look pretty Good to investors in comparison with the 8 percent interest rates prevailing in the United states Teich said. Investors generally put their Money to work in countries where it can reap the biggest returns. Friday afternoon in Europe the Dollar was relatively stable against the Mark and Pound after losing ground earlier in the  Dollar stood at 1.555 Marks on the Frank Furt foreign Exchange Market with the military Exchange rate for . Service members fixed at 1.52 Marks for the weekend. That s the same rate that applied a week  Pound was Selling for $1.944 at mid after noon Friday on world markets after hitting a nine year High of $1.9570 a Day earlier. The Mil itary Exchange rate in the United kingdom was set at $ 1.99 for the  predicted that the Dollar has a Little More room to fall especially if the Middle East situation remains Uncertain. I think we will go Down further at the moment perhaps to 1.50 Marks he  will Cost the United states a lot of Money to fight a War Tucich said and this will not help the . Budget  shooting starts Cocker said the Dollar might Rise quickly to 1.60 Marks As sort of a knee Jerk reaction to the bad news. But he does t see big gains beyond that perhaps a High of 1.70 Marks at most. And that Peak would t last  longer a War with Iraq drags on in fact the worse it might be for the Buck Cocker said. A Long War and disruptions in Oil supplies would Peak havoc on the United states and most european economies with the possible exception to Britain he  s because War would probably drive up in prices from their current $32 per barrel level " at least $50 per barrel and that should Spur Iva Ter exploration and drilling for Oil in the a rth sea off the coast of England Cocker said. " 1 he Only one that could gain from a Long War the u.k., where even $40 per barrel Oil would St exploration Cocker said. Drilling for Oil deeply entrenched North sea Fields would my ii become economically feasible at those. A the Lic Miculs Bank economist said. The stars and stripes midwestern farms rebound from Depths of 80s crisis by James risen los Angeles times Milo Iowa the midwestern farm crisis which ravaged the nation s agricultural base and prompted a outpouring of sym Paliy from Urban America and Bil Lions of dollars in Aid from the Federal government is Over. And the family Farmer one of the most romanticized figures in the modern lore and an american Ideal who seemed threatened with extinction during the Depths of the crisis in the mid-1980s, has not Only survived the ordeal but is once again prospering. All things considered we weathered the 80s a whole lot better than anyone expected Back in 1985 or 1986," said Ross Korves chief economic policy analyst for the american farm Bureau federation. Indeed As Congress and the White House wrestle with new farm legislation which experts agree will almost certainly maintain the current High Levels of subsidies for Farmers Many Farmers in the mid West s wheat and Corn belts Are having one of their Best growing seasons Ever. Higher Oil and gasoline prices resulting from Iraq s invasion of Kuwait could Hurt Farmers who Are big fuel Consumers but otherwise this fall s Harvest should provide Good  1990, Kansas is going to have its Best wheat crop in 25 years said Barry Flinchbaugh an agricultural economist at Kansas state University. In addition Farmland values livestock prices and Overall farm incomes have been soaring Over the last two or three years so Farmers Are now More financially stable than they have been in Over a decade agricultural economists  Nebraska prices for Farmland have risen 40 per cent Over the last three years and farm incomes in the state have set new records in three of the last four years said Roy Frederick a University of Nebraska economist and former director of the Nebraska department of agriculture. Farmers have been using their extra Cash to get out from under the Mountain of debt that nearly crushed them in the mid-1980s. Nationally total farm debt the crucial economic ingredient that led to the crisis is Only about two thirds As High As the Peak Levels reached five years ago experts  Indiana for instance 45 percent of the state s newly flush Farmers have been making extra loan pay ments _ above their scheduled payments to reduce the principal amounts of their mortgages and Machin Ery Loans according to Purdue University estimates. Now even the most militant farm activists who led protests against Federal farm policies during the mid 1980s and demanded greater Protection for family Farmers grudgingly admit that the crisis has generally passed. I think the Sharp edges of the crisis have been taken off said Dave Ostendorf director of Iowa based Prairie fire which organized some of the most militant Farmers during the crisis. Many Farmers in Iowa the nation s leading Corn and hog producing state say they Are in their Best financial shape since the late 1970s, when runaway inflation led to soaring crop and land prices. Iowa state University estimates that Only 18 percent of Iowa s Farmers Are still in financial trouble Down from 33 percent in 1985."in 1985, my world was at an end recalled Craig Hill a 34-year-old Corn and soybean Farmer in Milo. In l985, i was so close to going to town to work in a factory it was t  now i m Back to where i can relax and not feel threatened Hill added. For me things Are 180 de Grees  today after surviving a deflationary depression in the Early and mid-1980s, Farmers Are More prudent than Ever before. They Are still wary of borrowing Money and. Bitter about the losses that the farm Community  farm Economy is better for the ones that Are left but you Are forgetting the ones that we lost said Don Sutler a Farmer in Pleasantville Iowa who just barely survived the crisis by Selling off All of his livestock and farm equipment. Our farm went from 800 acres during the crisis to 2,300 acres today so you know seme Farmers Are out of business he added. Despite the suffering the family Farmer survived and still dominates midwestern agriculture thou Sands of Farmers were forced out of business but near is ail of their land  taken o or b other tamil , economists and user Emertt Utti Cial say. In 1,-. Naira aka and other midwestern states the  i  the i and held by Farmer who lilo Farmers protested the plight of . Agriculture in the Spring of 1985 at the statehouse in Columbus Ohio. Went through bankruptcy proceedings or foreclosure was bought of other family Farmers. As a result the great fears that huge conglomerates and foreign investors would gobble up distressed farm land and begin to dominate midwestern agriculture. Those fears voiced in the mid-1980s by populist farm advocates and Given nationwide play by sympathetic celebrities proved  of the credit for the recovery in midwestern farming must go to Federal farm subsidies which ballooned to unprecedented Levels under the 1985 farm Bill legislation hammered out by Congress during the worst Days of the  Many farm activists assailed the Bill at the time virtually All farm experts now agree that the 5 year legislative package gradually brought the crisis Toan end by pumping Oili ions of dollars into Farmers pockets. At its Peak subsidy Levels in 1986, the legislation sent a staggering $26 billion in Federal Money to the nation s Farmers. The Bill s Price support Levels have gradually declined since then but in 1990, the legis lation s fast year the government will still provide be tween $10 billion and $11 billion in payments to farm  the legislation had dramatic positive Side effects for midwestern Farmers. Massive government subsidies for production of cheap Corn and other grains the main raw materials for cattle and hog feel made it possible for Farmers to reap enormous profits from their  for the first time the Bill provided Farmers with a Long term source of steady Cash by creating a 10-Yearland conservation program. Under the program about 34 million acres of  nationwide we retaken out of farm production for 10 years beginning in 1986. Farmers who participate receive Cash each year in Exchange for letting the land sit  know one Guy who put his entire 600 acres into the conservation program and moved to town to col Lect his checks Farmer Craig Hill said. That program retired a lot of  is no wonder then that Farmers and the farm lobby have been pushing hard in Washington Tor a continuation of the 1985 Bill s provisions in the 1990 Bill which has been under debate this summer in con  despite rising resentment from some Urban critics of farm subsidies farm experts say that the new legislation probably will maintain subsidies and Price supports for midwestern family Farmers at roughly the same Levels provided for under the 19h5  All is said and done we will probably just Fine tune the 85 farm Bill without much change i target prices said Iene Maahs executive director of the Iowa farm Bureau. Farm experts defend the subsidies and say that de spite the farm reeo1. Or Federal support is still needed v pro ule  to a i Futural markets