Powering the Future, Preserving the Past

How Trusted Rural Messengers Can Reframe Solar Energy and Change Minds

Persuasion is most powerful when it is authentic, grounded in personal stories, and delivered by trusted messengers. The recent collaboration with two visionary North Carolina farmers exemplifies just that.

Cherie, a first-generation urban farmer, and Frank, a seasoned second-generation farmer with over 45 years in agriculture, represent diverse perspectives within North Carolina’s farming community. Yet, they share a common conviction: clean energy isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for farmers and land owners, communities in general, and our future generations.

Cherie and her husband, Wisdom, manage their thriving urban farm in Monroe, a growing suburb near Charlotte. Cherie’s work centers on sustainability and community empowerment, building farms that don’t just grow produce, but also cultivate energy independence. “We didn’t have large inheritances from our family. We are first-generation farmers,” Cherie explains. “A farm can be a place that supports the community.” She believes that “being empowered to generate alternative sources of energy on a farm should be every farmer’s right,” and affirms that “clean energy is a choice every farmer should have.”

Across town, Frank runs one of the largest farms in North Carolina, growing staple crops like wheat, soybeans, and corn, alongside managing a cattle herd. Frank’s operation is built on hard work and innovation. “Farming is so unpredictable,” Frank reflected, emphasizing why he views solar and wind as smart choices. “It diversifies the operation, and what’s good about solar is it’s truly renewable.” For Frank, adopting renewable energy is not only practical but essential to ensuring the family farm’s longevity.

“Our goal is to keep the family farm,” he said.

Farmers like Frank spend a lot of time alone, with their own thoughts and the sounds of the earth, as they break their backs to keep their businesses afloat. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Frank shared just how much the legacy of this farm means to him and his family: "If God asked me if I wanted a perfect son, I feel like I’ve been given one," expressing his hope that his son will carry the family legacy forward.

The visual storytelling approach was documentary in style. Few staged shots, instead focused on everyday acts of farm life: feeding animals, checking rows of crops, composting, and hard work. These visuals brought to life the richness of their routines and the sincerity of their beliefs. The beauty of the land and the rhythm of daily work told a quiet, persuasive story that words alone could not.

This kind of storytelling resonates deeply: the oldest traditions told by people connected with the land. And, it landed especially well with conservative audiences who value independence and legacy. The narratives of Cherie and Frank reveal clean energy not as a partisan issue, but as a practical, empowering tool for safeguarding their livelihoods and providing for generations to come.

Though Cherie and Frank’s farms differ in scale and setting, the juxtaposition of their stories works in harmony to tell a larger narrative—one rooted in the familiar traditions of the past, yet forward-looking and modern in its embrace of innovation.

Their unique stories come together to illustrate how the strength of tradition can support a forward-thinking vision, where the wisdom of the past meets the promise of a cleaner, more resilient future. In a moment where partisanship turns so many off, trusted farmers help open so many voters up to the possibility of changing their minds.