In May, Flannery filed a lawsuit against (PDF) a handful of the family farms that the group wanted to buy up, alleging they were conspiring to hike up prices and deter a sale. But, Garamendi said, Flannery has already paid an unusually high amount for the dry, agricultural grazing land that it did buy.
“Flannery’s purchases are surrounding Travis Air Force Base, one of the most significant national security sites in our country, and it’s been devastating to family farmers due to related lawsuits,” Rep. Mike Thompson, whose district includes parts of Solano County, told KQED. “I will continue to work with local and federal partners to ensure that the concerns of our community are addressed and that we protect our national and food security.”
Flannery purchased land where the majority of wind turbines in Solano County are located, along with other critical electrical transmission lines.
Fueling the lawmakers’ concerns are recent attempts by Chinese companies to build a corn mill adjacent to the Grand Forks Air Base in North Dakota, another high-security base from which military aircraft take off for missions around the world.
