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."