It was one of those e-mails where you know you’re in trouble before you open it. You can tell from the tag line. It said, Attention: Jim Lutgens.
I knew it wasn’t good and it definitely got my attention.
It was from Star Eagle columnist and local agronomist Mark Bernard, who was upset — and rightfully so — about his reported comments in last week’s article about weather/crop conditions.
The problem is Mark was interviewed two weeks earlier via e-mail and a lot changed between that time and the time the article was printed.
Mark pointed out, “Two weeks ago there was still viable seed in wet areas which, if they had dried out and the weather cooperated, would probably look much different than what we’re seeing now. Today we have a full-blown disaster on our hands with some fields unable to be planted to corn, cover crop decisions to be made on those acres, some fields that were planted to corn with huge holes in the stands and soybeans that were largely unplanted. We are also woefully short on forage for livestock due to an alfalfa winterkill situation, something that wasn’t mentioned in the article but I addressed in my answers to questions. This has not changed. This entire scenario has the potential to be worse than the disasters of 1991 or 1993 in this area.”
As a result of the delay in publication, Mark was fearful he came off as sounding as if he hadn’t looked at a field recently and had an almost cavalier attitude about the current situation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Mark is one of the best in the business, with more than 32 years of experience, and we sincerely apologize to him.
Responsibility for this stops here. After reading the article, after observing fields in the area, I should have called Mark or sent the article to him to ensure the information was current. I take responsibility for the fiasco, with the promise to be more diligent in the future.
I was ready to face the music when I went down to the Mall for Men last Thursday to talk with Mark. I needn’t have worried. He was out in the fields. When we did meet Friday morning, we calmly discussed what happened, how we could correct it, and how we can prevent it from happening in the future. Thank you Mark, for not only being a top-notch columnist, but a top-notch individual as well.
