Eaters of the world, unite. (Letters: you may be right).

I WANT TO COMMEND U.S. CATHOLIC FOR AN OUTSTANDING grouping of articles on agricultural and food issues in the March issue. Thank you for drawing the attention of us "eaters" to the plight of family farmers, who produce our food and protect our environment. I encourage you to continue to remind us that "eating is a moral act."

The cover story by Bob Zyskowski ("A tough row to hoe") makes real the increasing helplessness of family farmers in earning a living while growing our food. I would add to his list of things we can do to change the situation: contacting state Catholic Conferences, which provide information and help in encouraging legislation supportive of family farmers.

The image presented by Holy Cross Brother David Andrews ("Lift your fork to help a farmer") of the power of our forks as levers for change of our food systems is permanently etched in my mind. Farmers must rely on the actions of us eaters in urban and suburban areas to change the system, which gives unfair advantages to large factory farms and denies small farmers the chance to earn a decent living for their labor.

Kevin Clarke's Margin Notes ("When chickens come home to roast") draws attention not only to the plight of workers in the poultry industry, but to the role of bishops and those of us in the pews in promoting the common good and protecting human dignity not only in urban centers, but in rural America, too.

And finally, Joyce Rupp beautifully reminds us in "Hope grows" of the hope of Easter. It's that hope alone that may fill the hearts of small and medium-size family farmers at this time of year when they prepare to sow another crop -- hoping that it will bear enough fruit so they can do it again next spring -- on their own land, and with their families and neighbors.

Tim Kautza
Ankeny, Iowa

Bob Zyskowski's article "A tough row to hoe" was very good. I operate a family farm in upstate New York (75 milk cows), and I have deep concerns about the number of family farms that are disappearing.

Rural America is in decline. Gone are the well-kept farmsteads, gone is the hustle and bustle of small towns, gone are the mom and pop stores, gone are the young folks, gone are the open doors to our churches, and gone is the spirit of the rural populace.

Name withheld
Watertown, N. Y.

Thank you for the excellent articles on the state of small farms in our country. In addition to the suggestions and organizations that are listed as ways we can help preserve farmland, I would like to add one more: the American Farmland Trust.

Through the generous support of its members, AFT buys farm and grazing land, and then sells only to those who sign an agreement to keep the land as farmland. I grew up on a farm until I went to the seminary and was ordained, have been a member of AFT for years, and am very proud of the work it does to help farmers. To learn more, check their Web site at www.farmland.org.

Richard T. Szafranski
Saginaw, Mich.