They threatened the BEC Executive Director's job, as if the BEC Board would side with them. Intimidation is a common tactic in big ag. I've seen it over and over again generated from the water issues and watershed issues. Ag mesmerizes people. They reminisce about a time they have spent on a farm in their childhood, the farmhouse, the country, and the pond.
People have all kinds of good farm memories.
Farm memories evoke a kinder gentler time in people's lives. Well it's a new day folks. This figure does not include small family farms that incorporated for business reasons. Current estimates show the number of family farms in the US falling from 300,000 to 25,000 in the next 25 years. I believe the rise in corporate farms is because people are so dreamy over farming that we let bad ag get away with anything they want.