Bad News For Bush: St. Charles family farmers back trading with Cuba
Tempest
By Shannon Fiecke
http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2004/11/29/news/00lead.txt
Kicking it back with Fidel Castro might not be the most politically
correct thing to do, but Ralph Kaehler believes it's the right step
toward building peace with our southern neighbor.
When his two sons are grown, the St. Charles, Minn., farmer doesn't
want them leaving for Cuba toting guns, but rather preparing to shake
hands in a business deal.
"We've never went to war with a major trading partner," he said.
Cuba is far from a large trading partner, but when the United States
partially lifted its embargo on trade with the nation in 2000,
allowing U.S. food and agricultural items to be sold there for cash,
it opened a window of exchange Kaehler is trying to pull wider.
While he and his wife, Filomena, disagree with some Cuban policies,
they don't think the island is the villain many make it out to be.
It's hypocritical for our country to shut its back door, they say,
when it gives most favored nation trading status to China, another
communist country.
The Kaehlers orchestrated the first sale of Minnesota livestock to
Cuba since the U.S. embargo was implemented in 1959. Though media
coverage from a 2002 trade trip to Cuba made them famous, the
trans-country alliance was nothing new for the family, whose
international marketing efforts have earned them an award from the
Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Growing the market
The Kaehler sons, Cliff, 15, and Seth, 13, are the fifth generation on
the family farm, which was established in 1881.
The family mostly sells purebred beef cattle — shorthorn, Simmental
and Angus. To diversify their operation by building clientele in other
countries, the family made the first sale of shorthorn cattle to China
in 1996, and Ralph has participated in trade missions around the
world, including seven to Cuba.
Ralph Kaehler said there are few purebred breeders left who make their
income totally off livestock business. Kaehler, a district sales
supervisor for Quality Liquid Feed, said fewer people are raising
beef, which means he has to reach farther out to sell cattle.
Kaehler and a collection of other Minnesota farmers group together to
sell agricultural products directly to international buyers. He said
purchasers like the program because they know they're getting good
products.
When cattle become part of a nationwide stock, quality is diluted, he
said, and farmers who raise the best cattle don't get more money than
those performing poorly.
To insure buyers get the quality they desire, the Kaehlers bring
livestock selectors to their farm. It's not much different than
dealing with domestic purchasers, Ralph Kaehler said.
The Kaehlers' guest book shows they've had buyers from 25 countries
stay at their house. Sometimes the international visitors leave notes
in the book in their native language to be interpreted by future
guests.
Cultural appreciation
So how does this white, rural farm family know how to interact with
buyers from around the globe?
Filomena Kaehler said although foreigners speak another language and
eat different food, they are essentially alike.
She learned this lesson early growing up in Colorado, where her father
was a museum curator at a university. International students often
stayed with the family over the holidays, and her parents also were
African art dealers.
The licensed school teacher met Ralph Kaehler at college and learned
the cattle business after they married. Over the years, the couple has
hosted a number of international students.
Trade with Cuba
Despite having a stronger grasp on the international scene than an
average American family, the Kaehlers said they were neutral on Cuba
when they first traveled there in 2002.
But after talking with Cubans away from the camera and discussing the
country with American business people and international visitors, the
Kaehlers have become staunch advocates of trade with the nation.
They've also developed a special relationship with the country's
leader.
Cuba has stuck its hand out, they say, but the United States keeps
bowing to special interests groups instead of acting in the best
interests of average Americans.
On Sunday, beef selectors from Cuba arrived at the family's farm, but
Filomena Kaehler said the delegation waited a year to receive visas
from the United States.
Ralph Kaehler said other countries are "laughing all the way to the
bank" while the United States refuses to install free trade with Cuba.
The Kaehlers said although Cubans aren't prosperous like Americans,
they are literate, have good health care and are better off than
residents of many other Latin American countries.
The Kaehlers believe that by opening up trade with Cuba, the country
will begin to change, similar to the transformation in China.
Fidel Castro
Other than long plane rides, Seth Kaehler, 13, said he's enjoyed
exploring the world outside the United States.
When they visited Greece and Italy three years ago, Cliff Kaehler told
his mother he wished he could speak other languages like his European
counterparts. Now a sophomore at Cotter High School, he is learning
Spanish.
The language will come in handy, as Cliff expects to travel to Cuba
for a fourth time. He said visiting foreign lands first-hand can't be
matched by reading books about them.
"You have to learn it by experience," Cliff said.
And he has learned by doing.
This spring, Cliff gave the opening remarks at an international trade
show in Cuba, speaking about why America should trade with the nation.
He and his brother also think gaining the attention of the world's
longest-ruling leader is pretty awesome.
At the 2002 trade show, Fidel Castro — who Filomena Kaehler said grew
up on a ranch — stopped to talk with the boys about their livestock,
drawing a flurry of media cameras.
There was no hidden agenda, Filomena Kaehler said, as Castro discussed
the animals at length with her sons.
The Cuban leader grew so enamored with the boys that he invited them
to be his guests of honor at a Cuban cultural celebration, and the
family also got to attend a presidential dinner.
When Castro walked alongside the boys into the celebration, Seth
Kaehler told his mother he was expecting applause, so he pretended it
was for himself. At one point during their stay, someone asked the
Kaehler boys to get an autograph from Castro for himself. When they
went searching for Castro his staff took them down to the leader's
limo. Sitting in his vehicle, they again chatted with the president.
Now, whenever the Kaehlers return to Cuba, the family meets with
Castro, who has even added them to his Christmas card list.