I was lucky enough that Bob Thompson, President of the Michigan Farmer’s Union, invited me to take part in a small event in rural Michigan where Senate candidate Abdul El Sayed got the Farmer’s Union endorsement, and, flanked by tractors, cornfield, and wind turbines, held a press conference on Ag issues with former long time Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, a major champion for Farmers.
I pulled some of the attending farmers aside to ask them about how Clean energy plays in to the local farm economy.
Isabella county farmer Paul Gross is also a retired specialist from the Michigan State University Agricultural Extension Service, and has been closely monitoring the local farm economy for a lifetime.
I asked him about the importance of clean energy for local farmers.
Bob Thompson is President of the Michigan Farmer’s Union, which endorsed el Sayed on Friday. He weighed in on clean energy, and farmer’s right to site solar or wind energy on their land – a big bone of contention in many rural areas – as MAGA inspired anti clean energy groups fan the flames of resentment and misinformation.
Meanwhile, El Sayed continued his tour of rural Michigan, drawing enormous crowds of enthusiastic supporters. You have to be impressed that something is moving here.