I've known this guy for years. Everyone in my area knows him, and we all know his game.
He was on the short list to be Obama's Ag Secretary in his first term.
He's married to a Native American woman, so the cookie jar runs deep.
I've been on this farm many many times. He raises some grain and a few head of cattle. It's generally run down and very poorly tended. He had a brooder operation for one of the large poultry companies years ago, but they shut him down due to his lack of attention to the operation.
He's actually a nice and friendly guy locally, but the politics and the gaming of the system are always prevalent.
Nearby there's another farm. Rich land that borders a primary river and lake system, making it very valuable not only as farmland, but as property for development.
That farm recently was about to go on the auction block, when out of the blue, this fellow comes in and lays down an offer.
I did some work a few weeks ago for one of the estate holders who was involved in the sale. They are all bewildered as to how he got the money or where it came from, but nonetheless thankful that an asking price offer was made.
If I recall, it was something like $2.3 million, for 560 acres.
So it begs the question - How does the poor farmer, who can't afford a few bushels of cover crop seed, depicted in this hit piece by the Washington Post afford to buy another farm worth millions?
The answer of course is bullshit, and lots of it.
There's no question in my mind that tax dollars are funding the venture.
He was on the short list to be Obama's Ag Secretary in his first term.
He's married to a Native American woman, so the cookie jar runs deep.
I've been on this farm many many times. He raises some grain and a few head of cattle. It's generally run down and very poorly tended. He had a brooder operation for one of the large poultry companies years ago, but they shut him down due to his lack of attention to the operation.
He's actually a nice and friendly guy locally, but the politics and the gaming of the system are always prevalent.
Nearby there's another farm. Rich land that borders a primary river and lake system, making it very valuable not only as farmland, but as property for development.
That farm recently was about to go on the auction block, when out of the blue, this fellow comes in and lays down an offer.
I did some work a few weeks ago for one of the estate holders who was involved in the sale. They are all bewildered as to how he got the money or where it came from, but nonetheless thankful that an asking price offer was made.
If I recall, it was something like $2.3 million, for 560 acres.
So it begs the question - How does the poor farmer, who can't afford a few bushels of cover crop seed, depicted in this hit piece by the Washington Post afford to buy another farm worth millions?
The answer of course is bullshit, and lots of it.
There's no question in my mind that tax dollars are funding the venture.