Wisconsin protests—now with farmers (and tractors)

[yellowcanine]

(NOT a picture from Wisconsin - just an example of a "tractorcade" which Scotty Walker is about to experience)

"Next week, farmers from across the dairyland will bring tractors and solidarity to the WI capitol to fight for labor rights and a just state budget. Rural communities will be disproportionately hurt by the cuts to education and badgercare, and farmers in Wisconsin stand with state workers, and all working and middle class families in the state. The event is sponsored by Family Farm Defenders, Wisconsin Farmers Union and Land Stewardship project. All farmers and eaters welcome and encouraged to come! If you have a tractor and would like to join in the tractorcade please contact John Peck at Family Farm Defenders - [phone]; [e-mail] "




Still think the people are on your side, Scotty?

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[iwishiwas]

2. Scotty is seldom at the Capitol. Instead he is campaigning out

of the city most of the time--spending lots of plane money.

[roguevalley]

15. awesomeness. If you lost the farmers, you lost everyone. I love

to watch tractors motor down the road. My brother-in-law has three john deere and one ford. Vintage.

[snappyturtle]

3. I can't wait to see the tractorcade...yeah! Maybe IT will get good news coverage. nt

[htuttle]

4. The Farm/Labor bloc, getting back together?

Could be.......

[jdlh8894]

5. What's the highway mpg for a John Deere?

Will they be ticketed for no tags or insurance?
Just wondering.

[Erose999]

6. I am assuming they will be brought in on trailers. I know I'd like to bring my dad's old

Ford Powermaster and cut some sod out of Walker's front lawn.

[yellowcanine]

7. You could tow away his state vehicle but that would be wrong.

:evilgrin:

[FreakinDJ]

11. Thats nice

A friend used to have an old John Deer Belt Drive

[bluetex]

8. Farm tractors are generally fuel-inefficient....

And add significantly to air pollution.

Perhaps it would have a greater and more resounding impact if they came on mules, instead? Kinda' tie in the throwback to the old days of busting the unions and how the general thinking of Walker and the RE thugs is not in line with progressive thinking?

[davsand]

14. Do you honestly think most farmers even OWN mules any more?

Let me tell you--they don't. If you are actually farming in the midwest and doing it to earn your living, you own farm equipment--not horses or mules.




They probably don't wear bib overalls as a general rule or chew on oat straws either. Shocking as it may sound, Farmers today actually own modern stuff like computers, cars, and even televisions. Most of them even have an education now-a-days, and many of them know how to read and count past 100.




Laura

[jillan]

9. I heard that Scotty is going to DC today to celebrate with lobbyists.

I think I heard that on Rachel?

[doc03]

10. Farmers supporting unions? Wisconsin farmers apparently

aren't like Ohio farmers.

[starroute]

12. The Family Farm Defenders sound like a good bunch

http://familyfarmers.org/?page_id=2

Family Farm Defenders (FFD) incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1994 and was granted permanent 501(c)(3) status by the IRS in 1999. FFD began as an outgrowth of two national grass-roots campaigns: demanding a national referendum to end the mandatory check-off on raw milk that funds the lobby and propaganda efforts of the corporate dairy industry; and to defend consumer “right to know” in response to the stealth introduction of recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) into the nation’s milk supply.

Our mission is to create a farmer-controlled and consumer-oriented food and fiber system, based upon democratically controlled institutions that empower farmers to speak for and respect themselves in their quest for social and economic justice. FFD has worked to create opportunities for farmers to join together in new cooperative endeavors, form a mutual marketing agency, and forge alliances with consumers through providing high quality food products while returning a fair price to farmers. . . .

While many government agencies have their own definition of “family farm” that is often tied to size or income for the purpose of distributing subsidies or qualifying for programs, a better definition would encompass who does the bulk of the work and who makes farming decisions. While largescale livestock confinement operations (aka “factory farms”) may be managed by a family, they are often owned by outside investors, dependent upon a large pool of non-unionized often immigrant farm workers, and have their decisions and practices dictated by contracts and agreements with much more powerful agribusiness corporations. For instance, the technology use agreements (TUAs) that Monsanto requires any user of its patented Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to sign basically shifts all product liability to the farmer and takes away their privacy rights. Similarly, the supplier contract for Tyson requires farmers to use sub-therapeutic antibiotics in their feedstock and forbids them from collectively organizing with other poultry growers.

On the other hand, while a family farm may rent some of the land it uses and be involved with a co-op or land trust that places limits on what products can be sold and what type of production can occur, the family still provides the majority of labor and has the ultimate decision-making authority. Such rural autonomy is critical to food sovereignty since without the power to choose, there is no real difference between a contemporary farmer and a medieval serf.

[Bandit]

13. Republicans refer to these folks as "The Salt of the Earth"

This will have great impact..When the Dairy Farmers get pissed Wisconsin will pay attention..