Q240 Transcript

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(Note: Transcript prepared by Don Beck. The editors gratefully acknowledge his invaluable assistance.)

Wanda Swinney: (very faint) –meet with farm equipment. We have to meet with this. We’ve eliminated some of the expense of buying this new product. Um– one problem that we have is that during this time that there won’t be the cassava to eat, so we’ll have to buy uh, commercial feeds for the li– uh, the pigs during this time.

(Pause)

Female 1: Wanda, this might seem like a silly question, but what’s the difference between a cow and a heifer?

Wanda: Okay. A heifer is a– is a young female cow before she has calves. A cow is a milk– uh, it’s a milk cow or any kind of cow that has dropped several times and had a calf. (Pause) Dropped means to have a calf.

Female 2: How long’s it gonna take for the bull to be uh, eat-able? (Pause) (unintelligible word)

Wanda: Well, I’m not quite that familiar with that breed, but it looks to me that it’ll be about another six months before he’ll be to the weight that we’ll need. (Pause) Is that it on the questions? Okay, well, just wait before you go to the next question. You want me to do that now, Wesley [Breidenbach], wherever you are? (Tape edit) Agricultural Commission. Um. January 19th, 1978.

Male 1: If a problem arises with ticks or fleas or anything with the cattle, do uh, they have, you know, means of uh, taking care of that?

Wanda: We already have the medication which was applied on the cattle twice called berkatok [phonetic], and it’s very effective. It– It eliminates all the fleas and the ticks on them. We’re in the process of– we thought we already had so– one type of malathion that we could use for flies on the cattle and the horses, but we don’t, so we’re trying to obtain it in Georgetown now.

Female 3: How soon will the cows be ready for milking, you know, some of them?

Wanda: Oh, we’re not quite sure of the pregnancy dates on ‘em. We have one that’ll be– that should be having a calf within three months, and the rest it’ll be longer. And we’ve got– some of the heifers I bought are quite young and we can’t even breed them for about another four to six months. We’re starting out with a young herd. (Pause) Yes, they have to have a baby, and even after the first baby, they don’t produce that much milk. It takes uh–

Male 2: All right, now let’s conduct the meeting right, okay? If someone asks a question they don’t know, then I don’t see any, you know– she– it’s obvious she didn’t know, and a lot of us are from the cities and never had a chance to uh, live on a farm till now. So I think it’s really unfair on all your parts when you decide to laugh at that. So I think you should knock it off.

Wanda: As I was saying, there– a cow does not produce milk until they have one calf and it was very good question on her part, ‘cause a lot don’t know, but then the first– after the first calf is when– they don’t produce that much on the first year. Uh, from the second calf on is when you get into your higher milk production. And one of our plans which I left out is that we’ll be breeding first with this– this uh, Holstein bull that we have, but he’s not a purebred Holstein and so we plan to later upgrade our herd through either purchasing a– a– a better quality Holstein bull or else through artificial insemination, and thanks to Jim making these good contacts here, it’s uh, being made possible for two of us to go to the government dairy farm, and they’re going to teach us artificial insemination, so we can do this for our own herd.

Male 3: After the– uh, after she has her first calf, how long till she can be– be bred back up?

Wanda: Uh, she can have a calf, but uh– you can breed her back, I think it’s three months after that, because it takes– uh, the gestation period or the period of their pregnancy period is nine months, so they’ll give, they give milk 300 days out of the year. So they’re only dry uh, 65 days out of the year. You breed them back during their milk (unintelligible word). (Pause) Questions?

Jones: (Over P.A.) –times a week to cut down on use–

Anthony Simon: Okay, um, the egg count for– for this week was– for 1/11/7– for 1/11/78 we had 268 eggs (unintelligible word). For 1/12/78, we had 285 eggs, for 1/13/78 we have 281 eggs. For 1/14/78 we have 254 eggs, for 1/15/78 we had 198, for 1/16 we had 381, for 1/17 we had 289 eggs, and for the 18th we had 270 eggs. And uh– uh, for the chicks that we hatched out of the incubator, we had uh, set 186 eggs total, and out of that only 90 have hatched. And uh, out of the 90 that hatched, we lost four in the incubator, and uh, that makes 11 we lost out of the chicken house from a– a cold, from draft. We was told to use a– a kerosene lantern which did not provide much heat for the chicks, and so we lost 11 down there. And for the eggs that uh, did not uh, the remaining eggs that did not uh, hatch, uh, hatch out, which was uh, (murmurs as he counts) 96 eggs, uh, we had checked the eggs by candling, which we couldn’t tell they were fertile. So what we did was we cracked all the eggs the day before in the kitchen as they were being used, and we had a– about a 90% fertility of eggs, so we went on that. And I think the reason why the majority of them didn’t hatch was because we had the incubator in the laundry room where we used to have it in Dorm One, and I think we have a problem with too much draft, because the eggs in the center of the incubator, they hatched, but those towards the outside didn’t, so uh, I got to work and see if I can get rid of the draft and see if that was the problem. (Pause) For our needs. What we need for the chicken house, uh, Wanda had told me to get together uh, how many bottles of vaccine we need for the year. And we need five bottles of Newcastle vaccine. Also we need uh, three automatic tray-type waters for the chickens. (Pause) And also we got to make some kind of arrangement for me or somebody to go to the ridge [presumably Matthews Ridge] Saturday to meet the baby chicks. (Pause)

Male 4: Yeah, uh– My question is– is that it’s to my understanding that you’re having trouble down there with the water, and there was a few chicks lost or something because of the water was bad. And the water shut off or something.

Anthony: Well, I don’t know what– I don’t know what the problem was. See, uh– from what I understand, K– all Keith told me was that they had– we had to order water and there was no water delivered down there, and the barrels ran out. Whoever was over at the cassava mill, they took buckets and put buckets in there for the baby chicks, and all I know is Keith had said when he got there two of them were dead and uh, it appeared that they were wet. I don’t know if they drowned in the buckets or not, ‘cause he just told me this this evening. So I don’t know.

Wanda: You’re talking about– You’re talking about today.

Anthony: Yes. Talking about today.

Wanda: No, Anthony, that’s not what the problem is. The problem is that that water– water system, it– to me isn’t adequate because it operates off of a weight system from the water, and when the– when the trough is full or else has a lot of weight on it, it shuts the water off. Well, the chickens, there’re so many of them in there, that they– they pull down on that water trough and try– and shut it off. So we uh, had– we put water in the trough, and then we set down two buckets of water, and they were all so thirsty because they had shut that off and weren’t able to get water, and in the process they smothered two of ‘em, what– even though we were trying to keep– pulling ‘em off of each other. So um, I think that a different– as long as we’re going to have that many in a building, we need to work on a different water system.

Anthony: What I want to say, is that on the watering trays that we had uh, put wire screens going down the trays so they could not– see, ‘cause it works by weight. When you get so much water in it, it’s automatically cuts off. And the chickens were sitting on it roo– like roosting on it uh, and at that time we had put screens going down it and brother [Tommie] Keaton had took ‘em off. And I told him that this was a problem and to put them back on. So I don’t know if it– if uh, what you’re talking about, if they leaning up against it or what.

Wanda: Yes, they’re leaning up against it and pulling the tray down, so that it shuts the water off.

Anthony: Well, that’s one reason why we’re– that’s one reason why we’re asking for more wa– automatic water, so we need two actually per building, ‘cause one is not enough. So we need two water. That’s why I’m asking for more watering t– watering devices.

Male 5: We have a problem– We have a problem where someone tried to make a readjustment on it, and I had it close to the ground where the chickens couldn’t get under it. But when they– when they need water, they’ll get under it and when they get under it, the others’ll go over. And then it’ll rest on the one under there, and they can’t get out. So I put it lower to the ground where no chicken can even get his head under it, but it’ll still work. It works on a balance system. (unintelligible under interruption)

Wanda: It wasn’t–

Male 5: It worked for me.

Wanda: Well–

Male 5: Whoever tried to readjust it. That’s what the problem was.

Wanda: We didn’t readjust it or anything, but they were underneath it today

Male 5: Well, somebody had made adjustment. Somebody had made adjustment.

Anthony: I was the one– I was the one that made a readjustment on it the other day. Because the watering trays are supposed to be level with the uh, the tail feather of the back of the baby tail– of the chick And I explained this to ‘em just this evening, that I was the one– that I had readjusted while I was down there.

Wanda: All I’m saying is I think you need another water or else a different water, because they shut it off and then wind up with no water.

Female 4: I noticed when I was at the piggery, a lot of the chickens had uh, some of the feathers plucked. I mean not plucked, because they’d evidently been fighting or something. A lot of the feathers are gone. I’d like to know, is it dangerous to their health for that to happen? And how would you prevent it?

Anthony: Well, we discussed that in our last agriculture meeting. And– okay, okay– Okay, what we had discussed was, there was a pecking order, where they were pecking each other. And we ordered– we ordered– we did order some more blinders, so uh, to put on them, the blinders so they can’t see where they’re pecking. That’s what it’s– That’s what it’s called, by pecking each other, the pecking order. Yeah– (unintelligible under interruption)

Tish: I put a uh, follow up on the radio on the debeaker, so hopefully we’ll get something back on it. I’ve got no feedback yet.

(Pause)

Gene Chaikin: Anthony, can you tell us, how many laying hens do we have now?

Anthony: Ah, I don’t– I would not know right now. I’d have to uh, go back to my records and add and subtract.

Gene: Well, I’d like to find out whenever you can get the information. Maybe for the next agricultural meeting?

Anthony: I’ll have it ready for the next agricultural meeting.

Gene: Yeah. Thank you.

(Pause)

Jan Wilsey: All right. Um. Let’s see. The next thing– the next thing is uh, Christine Talley. (Pause)

Christine Talley: Okay, all the uh, rabbit cages have been disinfected and uh, Wednesday morning we had a litter from the brown New Zealand, and she had um, she only had three in her litter, but it’s her first litter, and most uh, first litters are small. Uh– They’re good-sized and they’re healthy. Uh, the white New Zealand should be having a litter in two weeks. Okay, and uh, one thing I want to ask is, I was told– I was told by Russell [Moton] that there’s a man either in Port Kaituma or Matthews Ridge, and he wants to borrow our buck to mate with some of his rabbits, and maybe we can uh, bargain for half the litter. I don’t– I don’t know who the man was or–

Male 6: I can check with him next time I go in.

Male 7: Uh– It’s uh, King Green. He’s uh, over at the agricultural program at the Kaituma school.

Female 5: I would suggest that uh, rather than– if we do make a deal with him, I think they should bring their doe out here to us, rather than us take our buck in to them.

(Voices agree)

Jan: That’s what I think too.

(Pause)

Christine: Yeah, it’s also true that they uh– the buck won’t be uh, you know– when they get into a strange area they– they don’t operate.

Male 8: Another– I have a comment about that. Also, is that– from my understanding is when you bring uh, rabbits or almost any stock into a new area, I know it’s uh– rabbits are uh, kind of like a delicate thing, and like I know– the Kaituma rabbit could have something that our rabbit out here don’t have. So uh, I think we should be pretty careful with this.

Jones: (unintelligible in background speaking about agriculture)

(Unintelligible question)

Anthony: (Interrupting) –the chickens, you know uh– even the government, they do a sloppy job of raising their animals, and they have all kinds of disease and stuff, and they always losing chickens left and right, and it can be the same thing with rabbits. And I think uh, Christine ought to go in and check their bucks out and see how healthy they are, and if so, they ought to be put in some kind of quarantine or something like that for awhile before we breed our rabbits and bring something into Jonestown and destroy our flock.

Jan Wilsey: Okay. Um– I’m next. Okay. Um­– Yeah, we finished out livestock quite a while ago.

Male 9: I– I’d just like to bring one point, and I think that we ought to be considering two people for uh, veterinary training. A sister and a brother. Uh– Because our– our stocks and we just talked about in– infesting or infecting our animals and so forth, so maybe during Peoples Rally or Steering Committee, we ought to really really consider this, and I’m talking about someone to be, you know, a– a trained persons in– in this area.

Wanda: This is true, and uh, Jim Bogue and I had discussed this and we were going to get together with you and Jan, and find out how to come about this, what decision had to be made so that they could be chosen. We set– we uh, were debating either two or three people, in case one person didn’t uh, complete the course. But uh, there– if we get all the livestock we need, including, you know, when you taken full s– scale of the chickens, the rabbits, and everything, and there’s– there’s enough for uh, two people.

Jan Wilsey: Uh– I think it– uh, announcement should be made for people who want to sign up for it first, and then submit their names into Steering Committee. Qualifications, and how much schooling and – yeah – reasons why. John, you’ll take care of that, won’t you? Make that announcement? And experience– experiments with an– animals.

Male 9: That– That’s just– it’s not a prerequisite, it’s just uh, for informational sake– sake, right?

Jan Wilsey: Uh, I guess so.

Male 9: ’Cause a lot of us didn’t know anything about farming or animals–

Jan Wilsey: That’s for sure.

Male 9: –and– and turned out to be pretty good farmers and animal care takers.

Jan Wilsey: All right (unintelligible name) you– You make that announ– get that announcement? All right. Okay, um, this is for um, work done since last– the last agricultural meeting. Okay, uh– Completed planting of 10 acres of sweet potatoes, um, collecting about 150 pounds of cutlass beans, uh, 65 pounds of green papaya, uh, completed maintenance of old pine field which is about an acre, um, (Pause) about 50 some bags of planting material collected for eddoes and planting out of a three and a half acre eddo field, um, completed maintenance on a five-acre eddo– eddo field, (pause) and then there’s a whole lot of other things just started. Like another– two more two-acre eddo fields and then a 10-acre cutlass bean field. But mainly, we’re all just working on maintenance right now. (Clears throat) Any questions? (Aside) (Unintelligible word) Aren’t you gonna work that out? (Normal tone) Okay, uh, there was something– uh, let’s see, Teresa [King], you were going to try to get something started for a– a maintenance thing on– on Saturdays?

(Long pause)

Teresa: Um, I misunderstood, I thought you were going to um, do it, and I haven’t done nothing.

Jan Wilsey: All right, when you brought up the idea, I said, you go ahead and try to get it implemented. I said I would ask for more tools to be made. Like um, the hoes put together. (Pause) He said, uh– Charlie [Touchette] said, it was announced yesterday that it was to be done.

Teresa: Okay, well, uh, I’m willing– I’m willing to do some work on it, but I don’t really know what to do, to how to go about getting it going.

Jan Wilsey: Well, this is just mainly for what, seniors and uh, other young people around here that aren’t on crews to go out Saturday? Everybody who can.

Teresa: Right, it would uh– It would– Yeah, it’d be people that are not on crews and if, if some of the other departments could spare people on Saturday on some kind of rotation basis, but every department would have to work that out.

Jan Wilsey: Well, I got the places to put ‘em at. I mean it just– they’re gonna– I guess they’ll just have to report to me, I don’t know. Then we’ll– I can put them in various places. But they’ll have to report– I– And that’s what I wanted– I thought you were going to do, is try to see which ones come out and whatever. Get that set up.

Teresa: Ok. Um, what is today. Today’s Thursday–

Tish: I have– I have a list of the departments, and all the department heads. If you want to see me in the morning, I’ll give you that and you can– that might help you implement it.

Teresa: Okay, um, on– In the morning I’m working. Can I do it after the meeting? Or– Okay.

Philip Blakey: I’ve got a– a few things now, um– Thanks to Dad’s uh, getting us involved in the PNC [Peoples National Congress, the leading political party in Guyana], we’ve been able to get the sugar cane machine that we’ve– we’ve uh, been talking about for so long, and we’re gonna get it tomorrow. This is– No, this is for the farm. I wanted the farm to get lined up to cut the sugar cane. We’re gonna harvest it.

(Dogs bark)

Jones: Just ask the question. They’re not hearing. I hear one side. It’s very disconcerting not to hear but one side.

Blakey: (unintelligible)

Jones: Yeah, somebody was asking you a question. We hear you, Phil, but we can’t hear who asked you the question.

Phil: Well, this– they’re telling us this was on the agenda for later on. So I’ll– I’ll skip that.

Jones: I see. Well, we’re grateful that you got it, and that Peoples National Congress, of course, is the government’s ruling party, and that’s encouraging that we were able to get that machine, the only one of its kind here.

Phil: We’ve already got the planter through them which we have now, and we’re trying to get it working as well.

Jones: Good, good, good.

Phil: And I also wanted to bring up the rice field. And I think um, the whole top half of that hill could be used, could be plowed up and used again for anything. And just keep the strip along the bottom end where the rice is growing, and try and see if we can get anything out of it. And uh, anybody got anything to say about that? (pause) Okay, well, there’s another thing what– we’re trying to cut some hay too, we’ve got the tree cutter set up to where we can cut some hay, and we need some people to turn it and uh, gather it when we’re­– if we can get it to cure, if the weather holds out good. Want it picked up and put in the trailer and hauled to the cassava mill. (Pause) And the next day uh, probably tomorrow, if I’ve got it cut, I don’t know how long it would take to dry, but we just wanted to have some people available to do it, whether– whether we can get the farm crew. Jim Bogue didn’t think his crew could get to it. So he suggested that the Learning Crew– I don’t know. (pause) (Tape edit) Take care of that, anyway? I think that’s all I have right, for the (unintelligible word).

Tish: I don’t know, perhaps this is a Steering Committee item, and if so, then we should uh, refer it to Steering. But there should be a schedule uh, planned out ahead on the work that the Learning Crew has lined up to do, and somebody should keep that schedule, and be at both Steering and agricultural meetings, so that we know what we can or cannot refer to Learning.

(several speak at once)

John: –Responsible. Pardon?

Jan Wilsey: He’s– He’s been coming to me.

John: Right, well.

Jan Wilsey: Both him and Ronnie, they come and ask me what work needs to be done.

John: Okay so, so like that, so that what– what you’re– what you’re saying is, then Sebastian [McMurry] and Ronnie should be inclusive in– in the Steering and– and in here, and I agree. And since I have the floor– When we were looking into this, to the sugar cane, uh, there’s a– a red eye that’s in the sugar cane that was in the sugar cane up in the– up in uh, Matthews Ridge. And they discontinued– that’s why they’re not using the cane grater or the chopper, they discontinued using it because of this red streak that’s in the sugar cane, and I noticed in our sugar cane, uh, it has the same kind of red circle in it, and uh, we were told the other day that it meant that the sugar cane was– was uh, infected and that when it was given to the animals, to the cattle particularly, it affected them. So I’d like some research done on this uh, in terms of our sugar cane and– and what can be done to cure it before we put into this big old project of planting sugar cane and it’s all infected. ‘Cause I don’t know how much of that is like that, but there is some of that sugar cane that’s out there now for seeds or– or seeding that has that red stuff in it.

Russell: Okay. I’ll check into it.

(Several males talk)

Jones: Uh, with dispatch, with dispatch. I’m sure we can conquer this. Only a matter of– we are more scientific in our approach than any of these other cooperatives, including the government institute, and we’ve got to get even more industrious, but that’s a very important and salient point, John. We need to get that cured before we go into mass farming. (Pause)

Jan Wilsey: Okay, I think, um, (clears throat) Russell, and that besides (clears throat) just checking the roadway, you should check down in the nursery also. All the cane.

Russell: Also I think it– uh, what might be done also is that since some people here who have raised sugar cane before, we had some people come to agricultural meeting a couple of months ago who said that they had worked with sugar cane, and I think that if anybody uh, has any experience in that, if you could get with me, you know, it would be very helpful. (Pause) Well, I think probably the best bet is, I don’t know if everybody’s here, is that, you know– Yeah, Peoples Rally would be the best place to make the announcement.

Jones: Get started with it. We need to get started with it. Only let’s make the announcement and get to this as quick as we can.

Jan Wilsey: Start– Start taking– We’ll get the names now. I’ll have someone get the names. Um, Christine, you got– you got a pencil and paper? Will you get that– All the people who had your hands up, can you raise your hands again, so Christine can get your– your names down? You may be– Stand up. Just stand up, so she can see you better.

Jones: And make an announcement over the p.a. system too, about p– anyone that’s familiar with sugar cane to get their selves to the agricultural commission immediately.

(Pause)

Jan Wilsey: (quiet, unintelligible) (Normal tone) Okay, um, is there any more questions about the farm? All right then, we’ll go on to the garden. (Pause)

Male 10: This week we haven’t– (Pause) This week, uh, we haven’t done not too much. We have– we’ve done a little planting. We planted uh, about– No about any– we planted two rows of garlic about 200 foot long, we planted three rows of shallots about 600 foot long. And I planted three rows of cabbage, about 300 foot long. And one row of mustard green about f– almost 800 foot long, and this week’s report on the gathering, we– we gathered 135 pounds of okra, we gathered 625 pounds of mustard greens, mustard and whi– dill callaloo, and eggplants was 81 pounds, 220 pounds of radish, 126 pounds of lettuce, and 422 pounds of squash, cucumbers, 289 pounds, and pumpkins, 45 pounds, and bora beans, 101 pounds. (Pause) Any questions?

(Pause)

Male 11: Plant more next week.

Crowd: (Laughter)

Male 10: Sure will.

Jones: (Laughs) Smart ass–

Male 11: Any questions?

Female 6: Come to the microphone please. Would you come to the microphone please?

Jones: That’s good, that’s good. I’m just teasing. I just like that. “Any questions?”

Female 7: Didn’t we plant cucumbers? And– and corn and– and uh, radishes, about six rows of radishes.

Male 10: That was not on this week’s planting. That would be next week.

Jones: Thank you. Let me give you– That’s– That man’s precise. You know– (unintelligible under interruption)

Male 10: My, uh, my schedule goes from Sunday to Saturday night.

Jones: Don’t fuck with his schedule. (laughs)

Male 10: Thank you, Dad.

Jones: (laughs) By the way, we– we ought to give Alleane Tucker a good hand. She bailed that water herself, most of it today, and here and bright and chipper after a– a war in the agricultural commission. She was the one who was doing all the bailing, and that’s really something.

Crowd: (Applause)

(Tape edit)

Male 10: Thank you, Dad. I would like to thank the junior high and the senior citizens for a nice job they done today until they had left and then everybody left. Not– not– not quite everybody, you know what I mean, but the majority of the senior citizens left.

(Voices in audience)

Jones: By God, we got their names.

Male 10: If I had a been collecting names, I’d a still been down there.

Jones: We got their names that were– that stayed on. That three hours that I was there was uh, was fantastic. It’s a shame that they would leave in that important work. We’ll– we’ll talk about that in Peoples Rally. We will talk about it.

Male 10: Thank you, Dad.

Jones: Thank you.

Jan Wilsey: Uh, is Selika [Bordenave] here? She’s gonna give a report on the seniors’ garden.

Jones: Next time anybody leaves like that, you tell them, when they leave, they got to go to the radio room with me, because that’s why I was called away, because I wanted to stay there. So they gotta say, come on, you gotta go the radio room with Dad. And see if they leave.

Selika: I– I planted uh, two rows of cabbage, one row– two rows of cabbage, one row of beets, and I planted two rows of kale and one row of turnips and Swiss chard and carrots, tomatoes, peas, and lettuce. White lettuce, one row of white lettuce. Today. Planted that today.

Jones: Now, that’s marvelous, Selika.

Crowd: (Applause)

Jones: And raised hell with Ernest Green this week on top of that. That’s pretty good.

Jan Wilsey: Selika– oh–

Male 12: (interrupting): I believe uh– Selika should be sitting at the table with us.

Jan Wilsey: Yes, she should.

Jones: I think that she­ I think she should. That– Wha– That sounds like– That’s a good suggestion, comrade. Thank you.

Female 8: How long are the rows, Selika?

Jones: What’s that?

Female 8: How long are the rows?

Selika: I really don’t know that much about farming, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

Male 10: (unintelligible) and 75 foot.

Jones: (laughs) That’s a good way to get out of that, Selika. That Louisiana kid there!

Male 10: They’re between 50 and 75 foot.

Tish: I’d like to report that Selika is turning in a weekly report uh, with the rest of the agricultural commissioners, and the people who turn out will have the exact time that they worked out there reported, and this will go into Dad, by the way. (Pause)

Jan Wilsey: Okay. The next thing on the agenda is cassava, and trip to Matthews Ridge. (Pause) If you’re going.

Male 13: Okay, on the trip to Matthews Ridge, as far as I know Patty and Rheaviana [Beam]– Patty and Rheaviana are going to go and check it out and then let us know what the situation is, then we’ll decide whether or not we go. (Clears throat) Okay. Since the last meeting, we collected approximately eight acres of bitter cassava planting material. We dug up about 110 bags of bitter cassava and collected approximately four acres of sweet cassava, planting merial– planting material the last time we went up north. We also collected uh, 29 bags of sweet cassava. This– This week we– we weeded 11 acres of newly-planted fields which is all the new fields along the road. It’s supposed to be weeded two weeks after it’s planted, and we completed all of that. There’s approximately another 18 acres of– of land that’s– that’s in the process of being made ready for planting, but on each part of that, it either needs to be plowed again or it needs soil sample or something like that. We haven’t been able to plant yet. We should be able to get it into next week. (Pause) Are there any questions?

(Pause)

Tish: Would you come up to the microphone while the person is speaking, if you’re going to have questions, so that we can cut down on time at the end of these? We do open debate at the end of every report.

(Pause)

Jan Wilsey: No questions? All right, uh– Bananas.

(Pause)

Danny Kutulas: All right. This week we helped planted– plant a hundred and fifteen citrus trees out in the cottage area. Uh– We planted– we completed the fertilizing of all the bananas on the farm. We cut 118 prop poles– 180 prop poles and we pran– plan– propped over 180 trees. This was down in the uh, head of the road with the uh, apple bananas.

Jones: Good.

(Dog barks)

Danny: We dug out 14 suck, uh– I’m sorry. We dug out 14 sacks of cassava, 11 bundles of planting stock and uh, s– stacked it and we’re setting it out uh, for drying so we can burn what– whatever uh, mess we had left in the field. (Pause) We’ve been spraying the back fields for leaf spot, and we have about a week to go in the back field so we’ll have the back fields completed and we have the other half to do. We picked up and carried 32 bunches of bananas at 370 pounds, and uh, in between all this we have done some weeding. (Pause) Is there any questions on bananas?

Female 9: The citrus trees you put out in the– in the cottage area. Are they supposed to be watered a certain amount of times a week, and if so, have you made arrangements for them to be watered? Did the fire– I mean, did the fire that we had, did it destroy any banana trees, and if so, how many?

Jan Wilsey: Uh– Well, maybe I can– The thing is like, Danny and them helped plant it, but they’ll have to be directed to the people in this– that have worked with the citrus. If Becky’s [likely Rebecca Beikman] here?

Jones: Good question–

Jan Wilsey: Or Dorothy–

Dorothy: Um, with the citrus– Okay, the first time– Excuse me, Becky, the first time, it got planted okay–

End of tape

Tape originally posted January 2006