| Organic dairy farmer candidate Francis Thicke has hired staff and opened an office for his campaign to become Iowa's next Secretary of Agriculture. Iowa is one of the few states in which this is an elected position.
The incumbent Republican, Bill Northey, will be heavily favored in this race and will raise more money than Thicke. However, Thicke has outstanding qualifications, and his vision for agriculture deserves our wholehearted support. We don't often hear Iowa candidates speak out against excessive concentration of agricultural markets or advocate stronger regulations for confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). I recommend reading the four-part interview Blog for Iowa did with Thicke last year (part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4). Francis and Susan Thicke operate a successful organic dairy farm and won the 2009 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture.
Those who share Thicke's views about farm policy may want to consider donating to his campaign via ActBlue. Incidentally, his name is pronounced "Tic-kee." |
