(3 of 3)
Fiercely independent, the Crocketts refuse to go along with voluntary federal crop programs, will not take a cent from the Government. "If I go broke," says Willard, "then I go broke. And if I make money, I'll make money. But I don't want anybody to help me either way. Why, we're making better money than the farmers who depend on the Government." These days, the Crocketts are enraged by a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposal to buy up 27,000 acres of land in the region for a duck refuge. If the project goes through, some 80 families will have to sell their land and move out. The Crocketts, who refer contemptuously to "them Wildlifers," figure that "people are more important than ducks," have vowed to fight alone if necessary to keep the ducks out. Says Old Bill Crockett: "If they think that the Crocketts stopped fighting when they got old Davy, they've got a surprise coming."
The Crocketts are far from unique in their feeling about Government meddling in their business. Yet despite all the federal controls, the American farmer through his ingenuity and industry keeps raising bigger and better crops. He thereby contributes to the U.S.'s crisis of abundance. Still, in the age of the atom and at a time when famine remains a fact of life to millions, there could be worse crises.