Update on Thicke's campaign for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Mar 09, 2010 at 09:13:47 AM PST

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."

Republican attacks Thicke as "ultra radical"

by: desmoinesdem

Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 02:28:25 AM PDT

Thicke also stated some facts that are rarely acknowledged in Iowa:

"I think that one of the fundamental problems that is being overlooked is that these markets are no longer competitive markets," he said. "Economists tell us that if more than 40 percent of a market is controlled by four or fewer firms that it begins to act like a monopoly rather than a free market. And, in hog markets, about 65 percent is controlled by four firms. In beef it is about 85 percent that is controlled by four firms. In dairy, one corporation processor controls about 40 percent of all the milk processing. The interesting thing is that while dairy farmers are at record loss levels, that corporation, during the last two quarters, has had record profits."

"Some real trust breaking - like Teddy Roosevelt style trust busting" needs to be done, according to Thicke, in order for the agricultural markets to realign.

A huge number of Iowans will welcome Thicke's perspective, but Republican Party of Iowa Executive Director Jeff Boeyink called Thicke an "ultra radical":

"Agriculture is serious business in Iowa, and now is not the time to experiment with the backbone of Iowa's economy," Boeyink said. [...]

Gov. Chet Culver, a fellow Democrat, did not reappoint Thicke to the commissions, prompting Boeyink to say if Thicke was "so far out of the mainstream for even liberal Governor Culver to stomach, then he is certainly too liberal to be entrusted with leading our state's agricultural community."

Incidentally, Culver's decision not to reappoint Thicke to the Environmental Protection Commission had nothing to do with "mainstream" opinion; it was an embarrassing cave to agribusiness.

Thicke responded to Boeyink's name-calling here. Excerpt:

[M]y campaign focuses on increasing the economic and environmental sustainability of Iowa's family farms. Advocating for conserving our soil, water quality, family farms, and rural communities is not radical. To me that fits the definition of a true conservative.

No kidding. Boeyink's probably desperate to change the subject from the September 1 special election in Iowa House district 90, in which Republicans fell short after going all-in with a highly negative campaign.

Thanks to Jill for adding Thicke to the La Vida Locavore ActBlue page.

Francis Thicke to announce bid for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Sep 08, 2009 at 12:35:29 PM PDT

Thicke's campaign website outlines his "new vision for Iowa agriculture," which involves more local food production, on-farm energy production, and "animal production systems that are profitable, environmentally sound, and socially responsible."

You can see from his bio how qualified he is for the position as an organic dairy farmer, educator and public servant.

There's also a blog on the campaign website; recent posts include this endorsement from Denise O'Brien, founder of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network and Democratic nominee for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2006.

Thicke will be an underdog against incumbent Bill Northey, who after considering a bid for governor announced this summer that he'll run for re-election instead. Industrial agriculture interests generously funded Northey's 2006 campaign and will fight hard against Thicke. If you can afford to contribute to Thicke's campaign, his ActBlue page is here.

In case anyone's wondering, the name is pronounced "Tic-kee."

Junk Science Study Says Factory Farming is Better

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Jun 13, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM PDT

Contrary to the negative image often associated with large farm operations, the U.S. population's requirements for dairy products is best fulfilled and most sustainable through the application of modern agricultural techniques, a just-released study has shown.

The study, conducted by Drs. Jude Capper and Dale Bauman of Cornell University and Roger Cady, formerly of Monsanto and now with Elanco Animal Health, compared the environmental impact of modern (2007) U.S. dairy production with that of dairy systems in 1944...

Among the findings were that modern dairy practices require considerably fewer resources than dairying in 1944 with 21% of animals, 23% of feedstuffs, 35% of the water and only 10% of the land required to produce the same 1 billion kg of milk.

Waste outputs were similarly reduced, with modern dairy systems producing 24% of the manure, 43% of CH4 and 56% of N2O per billion kg of milk, compared with equivalent milk from historical dairying.

What's wrong with this picture? There's another factor that has also led to increased dairy output (per cow) since 1944: breeding. In the past 60+ years, we have been aggressively breeding our cows to produce more and more milk. Therefore, the amount of resources required by a 1944 dairy cow to produce a gallon of milk would almost certainly exceed the resources required by a 2009 cow to produce that same gallon of milk today, even if they were raised in the same way.

UPDATE: According to a recent USDA report, organic cows produced an average of 13,601 lbs of milk per cow in 2005, compared with 18,983 for conventional cows. Approximately 2/3 of organic cows were raised on pasture. Comparatively, the cows of 1944 cited in the study produced an average of 4,555 lbs of milk per year.

Yet, according to the study:

In 1944, the U.S. dairy population totaled 25.6 million cows producing a total of 53.0 billion kg of milk annually. It was a system characterized by pasture-based systems with rations reliant on home-grown forages with few purchased concentrate feeds. Draft horses powered the majority of agronomical operations, with only 1.2 tractors employed per farm. Inorganic fertilizer use was not yet widespread; instead, animal manure was used to fulfill crop nutrient requirements.

The researchers noted that many of the characteristics of 1944 dairy farming (low-yielding, pasture-based, no antibiotics, inorganic fertilizers, or chemical pesticides) are similar to those of today's modern organic systems.

Again, they are comparing today's modern organic farming to outdated practices of yesteryear. Even in the practices specified here, obviously the vast majority of organic farmers use tractors instead of horses today. What a slap in the face to today's organic dairy farmers who - like Iowa dairy farmer Francis Thicke - hold PhD's in modern scientific fields and run their organic operations according to the latest scientific & technological innovations. Also, I'd love to see a comparison of the nutrition of 1944 milk compared to the milk of today. Productivity isn't the be-all and end-all goal when you are sacrificing nutrition at the same time.

Iowa Ag Sec Candidate Speaks Out About Dairy

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jun 04, 2009 at 21:38:08 PM PDT

I plan to follow Thicke's campaign, and I also hope he'll share a bit more about his farm with us. But right now, the topic at hand is the dairy crisis. I've said it many times that my dairy friends tell me they are in the worst crisis since the Great Depression. Dairy farmers have staged many protests and the USDA has been unresponsive - at least, they haven't done anything that will make a true difference for struggling dairy farmers. The USDA has done two things so far - purchasing more milk for domestic nutrition programs, and sending more milk overseas. But the problem isn't one of supply and demand. Due to unfair price manipulation, the "invisible hand" is all but absent. Thicke's statement from a recent protest is below.

Organic farmer plans to run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture (updated)

by: desmoinesdem

Sat Mar 21, 2009 at 13:33:54 PM PDT

Francis Thicke, an organic dairy farmer near Fairfield with a Pd.D. in agronomy and soil fertility, announced yesterday that he has formed an Exploratory Committee to consider running for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. I've posted the press release from Thicke after the jump. One of his top priorities would be expanding local food networks:

"Growing more of our food in Iowa represents a multi-billion dollar economic development opportunity."  This potential economic activity could "create thousands of new jobs and help revitalize rural communities in Iowa, as well as provide Iowans with fresh, nutritious food," said Thicke.

Thicke would be an outstanding asset to Iowa as Secretary of Agriculture. A working farmer and expert on many agricultural policy issues, he currently serves on Iowa's USDA State Technical Committee and has an impressive list of publications. In the past he has served on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, the Iowa Food Policy Council, and the Iowa Organic Standards Board.

He has also won awards including "the Activist Award from the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Outstanding Pasture Management award from the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Friend of the Earth award from the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in Washington, D.C."

Here's an interview Thicke gave in 2003 about his organic dairy operation. He also wrote this piece on the benefits of pasture-based dairies for CounterPunch in 2004. I found a YouTube video of Thicke speaking about livestock farming in Pella last year.

Thicke's relationship with the Culver administration is strained, to put it mildly. He did not go quietly when Culver declined to reappoint him to the Environmental Protection Commission. In addition, Thicke is a strong advocate for "local control" of confined-animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge opposes and Culver has not pursued as governor.

If Thicke runs for Secretary of Agriculture, his campaign is likely to become a focal point for environmentalists who aren't satisfied with our current Democratic leadership in Iowa.

UPDATE: Denise O'Brien, founder of the Women Food and Agriculture Network and Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2006, responded to my request for a comment on Thicke's candidacy:

I have pledged my support to Francis. He has an excellent background to be a strong leader of our state agriculture department. His depth of knowledge of agriculture and natural resource management gives him credibility when it comes to truly understanding the relationship of agriculture to the rest of the world. It is my intention to work hard to get Francis elected.