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I am writing this letter in response to your section “The Pulse” in which you naively insult a large portion of our campus by stating that there is no such thing as a “successful farmer.” First of all, I believe you are referring to the magazine Successful Farming, not “Successful Farmer.” Secondly, I, coming from a farming background, find your article very disrespectful and I am sure numerous other students on this campus agree with my feelings.I am very proud of my family farm background, and upon graduation I intend to return home and join my brothers working on our fourth generation family farming operation in Iowa. I would guess that whoever wrote this article certainly does not come from a farming background, and probably has only seen farms in pictures. You mention that small farmers should “give up” or “join the corporate farm movement.” With proper management, small farms can be run just as effectively and efficiently, if not more so, than large corporate farms.I am very aggravated that you would have the nerve to offend so many people on this campus with this article. In case you have forgotten, you live in South Dakota, and SDSU is South Dakota’s only land grant university. If it weren’t for agriculture, SDSU would not be here. A very large percentage of this campus has agriculture-related majors, and most of these people come from farming backgrounds. I am disappointed with your ignorance and disregard for the backgrounds of many of your readers. I would expect something like this from a person at USD, but not SDSU. I am ashamed to share this great campus with you.

Kevin RehderGeneral AgricultureSophomoreBrookings, SD692-5933