LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

Anticipating the new year

To the editor:

As we look at the end of 2018 with Christmas cheer and hope of a prosperous New Year, I can only look at my past year with great despair.

An extreme drought this summer caused extreme challenges to produce enough feed for my cattle operation to be prosperous and successful for the year.

I had to borrow money to pay my 2018 taxes, like many other farmers in the area because they were not profitable either.

The city of Marion’s quest to move my silage pile by a certain deadline lead to hiring extra trucks and extra equipment. This unnecessary extra expense would have paid the $7,008.14 yearly taxes for the next 2½ years on my Marion property.

Let’s hope for a better year in 2019.

Mike Beneke
Lincolnville