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February 22, 2002 Back to Basics “101”… Business as a Cranberry GrowerMary Brazeau Brown Whether you pray the Serenity Prayer or not, its message is worth consideration: …God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference. With this in mind, what can growers change to help themselves? Growers can: · Empower themselves with the legal and ethical responsibilities that have been abdicated. If you own something, you are responsible for it. · Write their own contracts with their best interests in mind (e.g. including covering cost of production.) A contract, in a grower’s case, is a negotiated supply/demand agreement that can be based on acres or barrels. · Elect people to represent them, whether it’s a state grower’s association, state research boards, the Cranberry Institute, the Cranberry Marketing Committee, grower councils, or the Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.’s Board Until Growers take back control of their destiny and muster the courage to change the things they can, the financial return to growers will remain at the mercy of the handlers. All the finger pointing and “would-of-should-of” that is going on will not go away until growers have the wisdom to know the difference between what they can change and what they cannot change. |