Government offers to pay 60 shekels per dunam of wheat, but farmers say this is well below normal profit margins. Israel’s Agriculture Ministry is urging farmers in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip to harvest their wheat crops early because of the fear that burning kites being sent over by Palestinians will destroy them. Every farmer with fields situated up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the border who harvests his wheat early, before the optimum time, will be paid 60 shekels ($17) per dunam by the state. At issue are some 40,000 dunams (about 10,000 acres) of wheat fields. Israel has already recognized the damage already done as the result of hostile actions, and those whose fields have been burned will be compensated by the state’s property tax department.