Thicke Files to Run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

by Paul Deaton

On Friday March 19, Francis Thicke filed nominating papers with the Secretary of State, formally entering the race to become Iowa’s next Secretary of Agriculture. The Fairfield Democrat embodies the hopes of many progressive Iowans with his “new vision for Iowa agriculture that will result in more locally grown foods, a more profitable, resilient and stable agriculture, and protection of air and water quality in Iowa communities.”

In a press release, Thicke said, “I will provide the vision and leadership needed to lead the way in reversing decades of bad farm policies that have driven independent family farmers out of business. Unchecked corporate mergers have created powerful agribusiness giants that dominate the market and control much of what we eat and drink.” This vision is close to the future progressives would like to see, and his statement, “Iowa needs to lead the way in taking back our food system and that will begin with my election as Secretary of Agriculture,” sets the tone for his campaign.

It will be an uphill battle for Thicke. The incumbent is a corn and soybean farmer from Spirit Lake who has adopted the key strategy of visiting every county in Iowa to meet with farmers, listen and get his message out. In Iowa, these 99 county tours are powerful for incumbents as they enable the equivalent of year round campaigning. Thicke should plan to wear out a lot of shoe leather in order to be competitive, and seems willing to invest that kind of energy in his campaign.

Agribusiness has launched a major media campaign to depict farmers in a positive light. The argument is that individual farmers are not the problem, and most seek to be good stewards of the land and run animal production systems that are ecologically sound, socially responsible and humane. According to Farm Bureau, this is consistent with the best operators of confined animal feeding operations and corn and soybean farmers. This language also comes from Thicke’s press release, and he points to agribusiness as the problem, not individual farmers.

The challenge is that as Iowans gather across the state to talk about the future, it is not unusual to sit with people who raise livestock “purely for profit” in the seat next to us, and with people who raise heritage livestock in a nearby seat. When I have been in these situations, the tension is palpable and Thicke has not yet articulated how he can reconcile these two views of Iowa agriculture to create a winning campaign. This is something he must do to avoid an “us versus them” battle becoming a dominant theme in the 2010 election.

“I represent a new vision for Iowa agriculture that will expand our local food production, develop renewable energy systems for agriculture, and foster animal production systems that are ecologically sound, socially responsible and humane,” pledged Thicke.  “I will also work to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink,” he said.

“We need to become proactive in preparing Iowa agriculture for the end of cheap oil, which is on our doorstep now.  It is time to think beyond making corn ethanol for cars on the highway. It is time to put development efforts into sustainable, renewable energy systems that can power agriculture and put more profits in the pockets of farmers,” he said.  “We in Iowa can show the nation how to create a more profitable and stable agriculture and a more efficient food system,” he concluded.

Now that Thicke is formally in the race, we expect that he will garner the support of progressives. The key challenge will be to develop a message that will resonate with Iowa farmers who hold a much different view from that of a farmer who operates an 80-cow, grass-based organic dairy. It can be done, and Francis Thicke will need our help.

~Francis Thicke holds a Ph.D. in agronomy and has served in the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D. C. as National Program Leader in Soil Science. He received the Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture in 2009 from the Leopold Center at Iowa State University. He is also a recipient of the Steward of the Land Award presented by the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club.

See BFIA's four-part interview,  Part I    Part
II    
Part III     Part IV   Check out his website at ThickeForAgriculture.com.