Tagged: Election 2012

There's no waiting in line at O'Fallon City Hall. A half-dozen election volunteers have been eagerly hoping that more people will turn up for Tuesday's Republican primary.

After five hours, they've seen a grand total of 33 voters. Normally, the City Hall precinct gets about 250 people to turn out for a primary.

"We haven't had many," says Vince Scully, a retired printer and election official. As for a late rush in the evening, he says, "We won't have that today."

Whoever wins, the 2012 presidential election is sure to change the country, and the farm.

The eventual Republican nominee will have to address numerous farm-related issues. In this era of shrinking budgets, what will happen to crop insurance, agricultural subsidies and the farm bill? With a renewed national focus on the environment and foreign oil dependence, what role will ethanol play in the future? With high land prices, how will family farmers continue to pass their farms to the next generation? How will changes in immigration policy affect farmers?