View From The Cab

By David Tollefson, Columnist

With the dramatic election of 2024 in the rear-view mirror and the President-elect choosing his cabinet officers, there will be scrutiny on the invasion of the Ukraine by Russian president Putin, and the possibilities of a settlement in the war.

Folks who read farm publications have probably heard of Howard Buffett, son of the famous Warren Buffet, one of the world’s richest investors.

Howard is a farmer in the state of Illinois, but he grew up in the state of Nebraska where his dad Warren is headquartered in the city of Omaha.

Howard Buffet loves to buy “inserts” in major farm magazines to get his story out.

I am rather fascinated by Howard’s farming exploits, but also his keen interest in the country of Ukraine where farmers are having quite a struggle doing what they love to do, as we American farmers also do, but with a whole less drama and danger.

Howard, as indicated above, has written repeatedly about his no-less-than 13 trips to the Ukraine to observe and also help in many ways for the people of Ukraine to resist the invasion and look to the future for a more normal routine.

From a recent issue of the Farm Journal magazine comes this report from Howard himself:

I remember the day I bought my first farm: 73 acres in Shelby County, Illinois. It was 20 years after I signed my first agreement to rent farm ground in Nebraska; now I finally owned my own piece of land. It was on this farm that I started to use no-till and other conservation practices. I wanted to protect what I bought.

Like every farmer who reads this, I know every square foot of my farm. I know what water hole needs to dry before I can plant; I know where the soil is going to wash when we get a heavy rain; I know the area in the field that—regardless of what I do—still cannot achieve top yields; and I know where to set my variable seed rate to maximize production. Farming is a business, but it is deeply personal.

So when I visit farms in Ukraine and I see burned-out combines and blown-up planters, razor wire strewn across farm fields, and deep tank ruts in rich black soil, I do not understand how these farmers can maintain hope for the future. To see your most prized possessions destroyed and your livelihood taken from you is unimaginable. It’s an assault that feels deeply personal.

I’ve visited Ukraine 13 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022—including spending more than 50 days on the front line. In my travels, I’ve photographed soldiers in surgery from shrapnel wounds, seen dead civilians on the streets, and listened as Putin says he is going to destroy Ukrainian culture and traditions, Ukrainian identity, and Ukraine as a country. The cost to Ukrainian farmers feels personal to me as a fellow farmer, but the future impact of this war goes well beyond agriculture. The bigger question that weighs on me and should weigh on every American is when will this war start costing American lives? I’ve heard critics of America’s support for Ukraine say that it’s Europe’s problem, not ours. History says otherwise, Putin says otherwise, and the strengthening alliance between Americans biggest threats—Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea—says otherwise.

It will not be because Ukrainians were not willing to fight—and die—to protect their freedom and sovereignty; it will be because Ukraine’s allies were too slow to respond with the right level of support and too shortsighted and fearful to see the consequences of letting Putin’s aggression go unchecked.

Tim Snyder, a professor at Yale University, has a saying that I will paraphrase for this moment: history does not repeat itself but it reveals pattens. The patterns from 85 years ago are playing out in Ukraine today with amazing similarities and should concern everyone who values living in a free, democratic society.

We can support Ukraine’s struggle to defend itself and its freedoms in ethical, moral or selfish terms, but the result is the same. The war in Ukraine—and its victory or defeat—has serious implications for the United States because of the reality that Putin’s war on Ukraine is a proxy war against NATO, the United States, and everything free societies like ours represent. Putin’s dictatorial and autocratic existence depends on achieving victory in Ukraine and undermining the resolve of the Western world. It is why America’s biggest enemies are actively supporting Putin and watching this war with interest. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are, once again, in a global struggle between autocracy and democracy.

To those who call on Ukraine to negotiate with Putin to end the conflict, let me share a bit of wisdom I learned early on from my Dad (Warren): you can’t make a good deal with a bad guy.

Putin will never respect any negotiated agreement. He outright disregarded the Budapest Memorandum signed in 1992 when Russia agreed not to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear materials and weapons—it’s most effective defensive deterrent. He tested Western resolve in Georgia in 2008 and later in Syria, and we met his expectations: we did nothing as he invaded other countries and used civilians in Syria as a testing ground for poison gas and new types of landmines. Emboldened, after Georgia, Putin then invaded and occupied Crimea in 2014, and then continuing into the Donbas region in Ukraine—and the world let him get away with it.

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Please contact David Tollefson with thoughts or comments on this or future columns at: adtollef@hcinet.net