A little backstory.
A local township here in central Michigan, Ingersoll, recently refused (without legal justification) to approve a permit for a solar farm, for which the developer, Michigan utility DTE, had met or exceeded all ordinance requirements. The Planning Commission did so under duress and harassment by well organized and poorly informed “antis”, who came out in force to recent meetings, egged on by fossil fuel coordinated messaging on social media.
The issue will continue to percolate, and there will eventually be a solar farm – see the column further down.
When I came across the image above on their Facebook page, illustrating a naive and simple minded misunderstanding of the issues, I wrote this response.
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The farmer driving that Combine isn’t there for the “simple country life”.
His land is not his “vibe”, or his “lifestyle’ – it is HIS LIFE, and likely the life of his Father and Grandfather before him.
While you’re watching the sunset, drinking a margarita, and “vibing” – he’s working late into the night, again, because he has to make payments on that 400,000 dollar combine.
The price of a bushel of corn is not much higher than what his Dad was getting back in 1985, and his input prices keep jumping.
He knows that diesel and urea are going to cost him 20,000 dollars more this planting season because of the war in Iran.
Speaking of wars, he’s worried about his son, who is on deployment in the Arabian Sea. He hasn’t heard from him in a week or so, and is a little anxious.
He’s hoping junior will want to take over the farm, but with the economy the way it is, this way of life seems like a lot of work with not much security.
