A man from Adams County is running in the June Primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. Ray Gaesser, a Republican from Corning, announced his intentions to run back in January. Since then, he’s gathered more than the required number of signatures to be placed on the ballot, along with current Iowa Republican Ag Secretary Mike Naig, three other Republicans, and one Democrat. Gaesser stopped by the KJAN studios this (Tuesday) morning, to explain what separates him from his fellow Republicans. He says he’s a life-long farmer. The sole income for himself and his wife comes from agriculture. They’ve been farming near Corning for about 40-years. He says he’s done a lot of work over the years developing policy for agriculture and Iowa agriculture, along with developing, opening and creating markets around the world and much more, all as a volunteer, not a professional politician.

Ray Gaesser

Before he farmed in Iowa, he worked on his parents’ farm in Indiana, along with his mom and younger siblings. He says he learned a lot about farming and personal responsibility after his father passed, when Gaesser was 15.  He says the Sec. Of Agriculture needs to be personally responsible and lead by example, something he’s done his whole life. Gaesser was asked about activists calls for a ban on factory farms. He says “animal agriculture is an important way for Iowa to increase value in everything that we grow. It’s also a great opportunity for young people to get into agriculture. He says it’s a serious investment.

He says it bothers him when people talk about CAFO’s – factory farms – because in most Iowa cases, a factory farm is really a family farm that hasn’t told their story, because it is the family members [who] are caring for [the animals]. That’s how their family makes a living, and maybe allowing the next generation to come into the farm, which is all important to the future of Iowa. He believes it’s an investment in Iowa’s future. He acknowledges that we can do better and are using more technology to reduce the smell and apply animal nutrients at the right place, time and position.

Gaesser says agriculture is the circle of life, with just about everything created being recycled and used in many ways. He said there are ways using technology, of helping to prevent nutrient run-off into the waterways, which is a big concern for cities tapping rivers for their drinking water.

Ray Gaesser asks for your vote June 5^th, because of his experience in trade, farm policy and actual hands-on farming.

(Learn more at www.gaesserforiowa.com)