Here's a short thread about Chuck Grassley's defense of a corn-based economy. Because I've seen this before. My mom grew up on a tobacco farm in Virginia, and all of her people were in some way connected to the tobacco industry, mostly as growers. 1/

My grandfather was a young man during the Depression, and it taught him not to put all his eggs in one basket. So along with tobacco, he ran a small country store and raised a few cattle on the side. So when demand for tobacco decreased, he was in a better position than some 2/

He scaled back his tobacco farming and put more into cattle, and he came through the collapse of the tobacco market pretty well. Many of his neighbors were 100% in tobacco, and they had a rougher time of it. 3/

When demand for tobacco plummeted, the government sent people into the area to work with farmers on growing new crops. As you'd expect, a few were receptive to change, and diversified their crops, and weathered the storm. 4/

Some were initially resistant, and then changed their minds after a couple rough seasons. And some grabbed their shotguns and said "get off my land, that ain't how we do things around here," and they ended up living off your tax money. 5/

(And some...mostly the sons and grandsons of the guys ran moonshine during Prohibition...started growing pot back in the woods, but we don't talk about that.) Overall, it was a brutal transition. Even farmers who got out ahead of it got hurt, because tobacco was a cash maker 6/

Nobody wants to go through something like that, but it's inevitable. Times change. Markets change. Demand changes. I'm working in a dying industry right now (print). And I do all I can to keep up with technology, because I know where this thing is headed. 7/

All, to say, anyone can see that demand for corn is going down. Not just because the demand for fossil fuels (and Ethanol) is declining, but also because people aren't swilling high-fructose corn syrup straight from the jug anymore. 8/

So Iowa corn farmers are going to have to adjust. Diversify. Find new uses for corn or grow new crops. Drawing a line in the sand and demanding that history stops moving for you only guarantees that you get crushed. 9/

We need to make sure that these farmers (and coal miners, too) know that we have their backs and we will do everything to help them transition. To help them change over to growing new crops, or help them get the skills to do new jobs. 10/

We can't bring demand for corn back, but we also will not just let them sink or swim on their own. There's a lot we can do to help smooth their path to the future. But they have to meet us halfway on that. Grassley drawing a line in the sand for partisan purposes 11/

is harming is constituents, and fostering a mindset that will put many of them out of business. A Senator who gave a damn about the future of his state would be pushing initiatives that would help Iowa farmers adjust to new market realities. 12/12