Today, We Speak As A Group

Countdown to Victory: Today’s Our Day When you elect him today, Francis Thicke will redefine what the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture position should be. He has been leading an important conversation with you over the past year. You’ve called his vision bold, fresh and a clear choice over small twists – or no twists at [...]

We Need You: This Is Our Moment

Countdown to Victory: 2 Days Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidate Francis Thicke’s broad-based appeal make him the statewide candidate to watch Tuesday. His appeal is urban and rural, male and female. He polls well among Democrats, independents and some Republicans. “Mommy Bloggers” like his forward-looking policies that will create new markets for family farmers and [...]

A Positive Campaign

Countdown to Victory: 3 Days We’re experiencing positive momentum as the Francis Thicke for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture campaign enters the final hours. Francis can win this, and you can help by making get-out-the-vote phone calls (to help, sign up here), by contributing to the $18,000 we need for media buys and voter recruitment calls [...]

Why Thicke’s National Endorsements Matter

Iowans take seriously their important role in vetting presidential candidates every four years in the Iowa Caucuses, a celebration of grassroots democracy in action and retail politics at their best. Iowans are respected for their wisdom, and have a reputation for asking probing questions that shine insight on what candidates really believe. Candidates can’t phone it in here in Iowa.

Ag Secretary Can Drive Rural Revitalization

Countdown to Victory: 6 Days “No one wants to come here,” lamented a supporter of the Francis Thicke Secretary of Agriculture campaign who was happily surprised when our candidate did, indeed, travel to Shenandoah in the southwest corner of the state. Thicke was there to visit BioProcess Algae LLC, a Green Plains Renewable Energy venture [...]

Thicke Campaign Continues to Line Up Big Name Endorsements

As we enter the final week of the election season, Secretary of Agriculture candidate Francis Thicke received several high profile endorsements. These endorsements include in-state and national figures including: US Senator Tom Harkin, best-selling author Michael Pollan, environmental expert Bill McKibben, and former Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower.

Iowa State Daily Endosement

“This editorial board sees Thicke as being head and shoulders above the competition, and we want him as our next secretary of Agriculture.” So said the Iowa State Daily editorial board in its endorsement of my candidacy for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. Here is their full endorsement statement: Last week the Daily’s Editorial Board ran [...]

Thicke Lays Out Action Plan To Return Integrity To Iowa-Produced Eggs

Ag secretary challenger calls for adoption of regulatory framework that has worked successfully in Maine for 22 years SPENCER, Iowa, September 11, 2010 – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidate Francis Thicke (pronounced TICK-ee) today proposed regulatory framework modeled after a program that has been used successfully in Maine for 22 years to return integrity to [...]

From the Industrial Revolution to Industrial Agriculture: The Road to CAFOs

Chapter 1 – From the Industrial Revolution to Industrial Agriculture: The Road to CAFOs.

The Industrial Revolution began in England more than 250 years ago. Newly invented machinery began producing goods that had previously been made by hand.

Francis Thicke: Egg recall exposes vulnerabilities in industrial food system

Northey has touted egg production from hens in battery cages as an economic boom to Iowa and boasts that a single battery-cage facility in Iowa produces all of the eggs for McDonald’s restaurants west of the Mississippi River.