by Anitra Budd

During his 32 years at the University, professor emeritus Ed Persons became known for developing computerized tools to analyze farm management. The agricultural education professor taught hundreds of teachers, who spread their knowledge to farmers throughout the western half of the U.S.

But for the past five years, Persons has been studying a different kind of crop: wind. Since 2003 he’s been part of Grant County Wind, an informal group that is building a commercial-scale wind farm in Roseville Township. After finally clearing some frustrating red tape, the operation will be fully functional by December, with ten wind turbines in place to start.

To Persons, the wind farm is the culmination of a number of goals. “We did this primarily as an economic venture, but we’re also concerned about the need to provide a sustainable form of energy and to add something valuable to our rural community.”

When he’s not at Grant County Wind, Persons finds ways to help out at the Rafter P Annex. The Annex, a 450-acre ranch owned by his son, raises sheep and produces some hay, corn, and soybeans.

Persons is quick to downplay his work on the ranch. “I’m more or less an interested observer,” he says.

As you might expect from a man who revels in the outdoors, Persons values the freedom of life outside the ivory tower. “It’s nice to not have to answer to anybody. That’s one of the beauties of being retired.”

Not one to sit still, Persons is as an external graduate examiner for the University of Agriculture in Pakistan, for which he reviews Ph.D. theses. He also volunteers with his local Passport Club, a national geography program for elementary school students.

And if the timing is right and you happen to find yourself in Kensington, you might just see him calling bingo. For the past four years he’s been a regular fixture at a local senior citizen’s group, calling out the numbers once a month to an eager crowd of regulars.

It’s only when considering what lies over the horizon that Persons can imagine taking a break. “I hope to sit by and watch our turbines leisurely turn,” he says.

PHOTO: courtesy Ed Persons