… of the National Farmers Union. He’s running, and you can find out more here.
Donn is known to viewers of “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” as a gruffly eloquent Kansas farmer, who is currently President of the Kansas Farmers Union. He works tireless to save small family farms like his across his state. He’d like to do the same thing for farmers all across the country.
As he said when he first showed us around his farm, which his family has held for four generations: “This land across the fence is owned by my uncle and my godfather. That farm stead down there is my aunt’s. That’s another uncle over there. Well, if I want to get bigger, who am I supposed to run out of business to get their land?”
Billing himself as “a Populist without a party,” Donn is a consistently surprising and refreshing figure. You can see for yourself as he explains why he quit the Republican Party, defends the idea of abolishing the Chicago Board of Trade, and recalls his difficult choice to quit college to save his own family’s farm.
In contrast to larger, more powerful lobbying groups, the National Farmers Union specifically focuses its efforts on helping small farmers continue to operate. It’s an uphill battle. Politics, technological advances, exurban sprawl and climate change are all working against the small farmer, who is generally pressured to get big or get out.
The average American farmer is now over 58 years old. Donn Teske could supply some energy and fresh ideas to an important, 112-year old farm organization.
