Jim and Freda Dobbins are farmers in Nemaha County, Kansas, who are leasing their land to a wind energy company for wind energy production. They have wind turbines on their land, under which they continue raising crops and cattle.
If you look south out of Jim and Freda’s kitchen window, you can see a wind turbine in one of their crop fields. Step out and walk the area around their house and you can see turbines to the north and west without much effort, too. As the Dobbinses will tell you, they’re “about right in the very center” of Soldier Creek Wind Farm. And, that’s okay with them.
Jim and Freda were one of the first landowners approached by NextEra Energy, the power company that developed and runs the Soldier Creek farm. NextEra placed weather-monitoring equipment in the Dobbins’ fields during the exploratory phase. That required a lease, Jim notes. And, some of the first Solder Creek turbines went up on the Dobbins farm – one that has been in crops and cows since 1938, a fact celebrated by a new sign on a new metal barn not far from their house.
The Dobbinses say the sign was an extravagance they allowed themselves after the dust settled, the turbines were up, and the lease payments were underway. That the sign is an extravagance should speak some to the Dobbinses’ values. The farm is a business, and it has supported their family for decades. Decisions have consequences, and frivolity isn’t really a thing in their world.
In their later 70s now, the turbines bring the Dobbinses a steady lease income that doesn’t require them to work sunup to sundown
Jim and Freda will tell you they didn’t work with NextEra out of the greenness of their hearts. The turbines were another business decision, they underscore, just as is buying and selling cows and deciding whether or not to try out a new crop. In their later 70s now, the turbines bring the Dobbinses a steady lease income that doesn’t require them to work sunup to sundown, if much at all, especially as compared to their early- and mid-life years. They also sold a small parcel of land to NextEra for its farm operations building.
The Dobbinses were initially surprised by some of the anti-wind rancor they noticed from their neighbors. More surprising: Some of those same neighbors ended up sore that they were not approached with a turbine lease opportunity. Freda especially finds this confusing as, she highlights, some of these folks were some of the loudest and aggressive members of the opposition. Such can be the confusing and emotional nature of grappling with change in a small community.
Freda and Jim themselves weren’t initially sure what to make of NextEra’s plans. But, one day, a representative knocked on their door. They had the gentleman into their kitchen to sit and talk. As more meetings occurred, they took notes, asked pointed questions, and got essential promises in writing.
But, one day, a representative knocked on their door. They had the gentleman into their kitchen to sit and talk. As more meetings occurred, they took notes, asked pointed questions, and got essential promises in writing.
Everything came down to real numbers and agreed-upon timelines. That’s what swayed the Dobbinses. Not social media posts or general store hearsay. Whatever NextEra proposed or promised, Jim and Freda say they got it, and more or less within a reasonable timeframe.
In the end, Jim and Freda’s pastures were restored. Those acres are producing, and that means the Dobbinses can expect their tenant farmer to be able to make his lease payments. All told, the Dobbinses have secured a solid future for themselves and their family for generations.
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