Elizabeth Weise

they'll go someplace where they can get access to that.

So he's an interesting character because his family's been there for forever.

They grow corn, wheat, soy.

But in 2011, they got an offer from a company that wanted to put in a wind farm.

And they talked about it a lot amongst the whole family, the dad, all the siblings.

And in the end, they decided to do it because they were concerned that they weren't going to bring in enough money to keep the farm in perpetuity, which is what they want.

And the thing about wind especially is that it takes up about 5% of acreage, so you can farm around it.

I mean, I've been in a lot of fields where there's a wind turbine right there, and then there's corn or soy or wheat or sorghum all around it.

And so they made that decision, and according to him, it's allowed them to know that they will be able to keep that farm and pass it down

through the generations and to make the money that they're getting from it, the leases, and to make some upgrades that help them be more profitable.

I've spent a lot of time in these communities and it is hard because if you are from a beautiful rural agricultural place, it can be a little disconcerting to suddenly see a turbine or suddenly drive past a solar farm.

When you talk to farmers, I mean, farmers, they make their money from what they can do with their soil.

Like that is what they're about.

At the end, it's all about how much money can I make from the ground that I own or that I

have access to.

So farmers are often like, hey, this is just another way for me to make money.

I talked to a rancher who said, I can make money off cattle.

I can make money off wind turbines.

Actually, I can do both because they can coexist on my land.

So for many farmers, it's not an issue.