To the editor:

The article on growing cotton in Kansas that appeared on Sunday was interesting and incomplete. It is disappointing that the role of federal subsidies was not included in the story. Our tax dollars make it possible for United States farmers to profit from cotton. They also make it nearly impossible for poor farmers in South America and Africa to make even a modest living. The problem is so severe in developing countries that Brazil brought a case against these subsidies to the World Trade Organization. In April of this year the WTO ruled against United States cotton subsidies. Agricultural stories are no longer local. They have global implications.

John Poertner,

Lawrence