The latest Democratic Presidential candidate to enter the race met with several Greene County area family farmers Friday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blaiso spoke to farmers at George and Patti Naylor’s farm in Churdan. Topics that were covered included: corporate farms versus small family farms, the challenges that young farmers have to make a living in the agriculture industry, the federal bailout for farmers and the emptying out of rural America, and the trade war with China and how that is impacting local farmers. George Naylor thought de Blasio was very receptive and asked several good questions to learn about the troubles farmers are facing.

“Too many times I’ve been around candidates that want to do all the talking and they don’t really want to hear what you have to say, but this was the other way around. He wanted to hear what everybody had to say and clarify what we were saying. And then he could also relate to what we were saying. It wasn’t like just an abstract question.”

The Churdan visit was part of the official campaign kick-off for de Blaiso who also made stops in Gowrie, Des Moines and Sioux City on Friday.