Mary Fund’s family has been living on and working the same acreage for roughly 150 years. Roughly a quarter of the land remains in tillage – organic grains, mostly. They run a few cows, as has always been the way there.
Mary herself is now retired from the Kansas Rural Center where she served as executive director. She devotes her time to tending her property, getting behind causes she cares about, gardening, and just being present on her land.
To find Mary and her husband, you take S Road north from Goff a few miles to an intersection with a nondescript numbered dirt road. Out there it’s just the Funds, the neighbor across the road, the wind, and nature. Early spring had taken hold – blooms were emerging, as were leaves. The redbuds were having their moment.
A NextEra wind farm has also taken root over the last few years. As with most big change in small communities, the farm and its slow expansion has divided the community some. But, the farm has also brought benefits. Jobs during installations. Afterwards, vehicle maintenance contracts and some ongoing operational and turbine repair jobs. Land leases, too.
Mary says the animosity regarding the turbines has surprised her some, especially given the prevalence of oil wells and their associated leases. Then there’s the mess a well drilling operation can make.
The turbines are, by comparison, she says, much less impactful. Maybe they are more noticeable, but the risks naysayers put forward when the farm was going in and expanding? For Mary, they haven’t materialized.
Sure, when the wind hits a turbine just right, you can hear it, she says. And, in bad weather, you might not want to stand underneath one (just as you wouldn’t a tree, she notes). A turbine can sound a little like a plane in a high wind, and the blades can ice up sometimes, but not many folks are usually near a turbine in these conditions. Nor are their cows.
In the end, Mary says, you kind of forget the turbines are there.
The benefits to the Funds are pretty straightforward. The land on which their one turbine sits is leased by NextEra, and for a long time. That money has helped with their retirement planning. And, NextEra graveled many roads during construction. They made that gravel available to locals for free. That’s no small thing.
NextEra also pays the county quite a bit annually. Roughly $900,000 a year for a few decades to come. And, by Mary’s account, the company took excellent care of her family land, being careful not to tread on sensitive areas, removing and returning topsoil, staying on the roads they built, communicating well, and making right when they did incur damage (which happened infrequently).
But, she says, some locals just won’t see the change as a good thing. And, those opposed organized well during the build out. The county commissioners are reportedly opposed to wind. Mary’s advice: Even a group of citizens who support wind and see the benefits as clear should organize. If those who want wind in their community hope to see turbines materialize, they should organize well as those who are opposed are doing.
Don’t take anything for granted, she notes. Talk to your neighbors. Talk to the wind company representatives. Take notes, be present, and make yourself heard. Others will if you do not.
Comments