Dimmitt will support farm families

To the editor:

The upcoming election in Jefferson County has many important facets to it, but none more important than the election for Jefferson County Supervisor. It has been stated by one candidate for supervisor, and may very well be sustained by more than one candidate that Jefferson County has ?evolved? beyond agriculture and that farm families do not represent a necessary ingredient for Jefferson County to prosper.

I submit that nothing could be further from the truth ? in fact, just the opposite. Agriculture represents, including commercial ag, more than one-third of all valuations in the county pushing $500 million. Farm families also represent four, five, six generations in Jefferson County ? their blood, sweat and tears have built this county, sustained this county and prospered this county.

Because of agriculture, Jefferson County sees continual growth for employment both in the general ag sector, commercial ag and by extension retail growth as well, and any statement to the contrary is simply not accurate. In terms of economic development in Jefferson County, ag is second to none with one ag entity investing $27 million in Jefferson County.

We have many commercial ag business in Jefferson County providing excellent employment opportunities including AgriLand, Reiff Grain, Crop Production Services, Rogers AG repair, Heartland Co-op, Libertyville Co-op, John Deere Implement and many others, and they provide employment and benefits to families in Jefferson County, including our local banks as well. They all have ag loan departments and those department employees are a direct result of ag and the list could go on and on.

So it seems completely incomprehensible to me that candidates for county supervisor would not embrace our ag farm families and related ag entities, instead they at best want to marginalize us, at worst prefer we go away.

There is only one candidate for supervisor in Jefferson County who I know for sure will continue to support and fairly represent our farm families in Jefferson County and that candidate is Lee Dimmitt. For the future of Jefferson County families, please support and vote Nov. 8 for Lee Dimmitt.

? Bob Palm, Jefferson County