At first, I questioned the value of wind power—but now I see it's made my community stronger

By Dustin Ratliff

I remember the first time I learned a wind farm was coming to my community.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It was 2017, and I was a tenant farmer outside of Marland, Oklahoma. We had about 1,100 acres where we grew various small grains. We also had a transmission line running across part of the property.

One day, a wind developer came by to look at the power line—it was an important part of what would become the Thunder Ranch Wind Farm.

Change was not always something I accepted lightly. My family had been farming in this part of Oklahoma for seven generations, stretching back to the Land Run. How would this wind project affect our family?

There was some uncertainty in our community, too. While some landowners had voluntarily leased their land for the project, other neighbors weren’t sure a wind farm would be beneficial for our area.

I wasn’t sure, either—so I did my research.

I learned that wind power had been a major force for economic growth in rural America. It sometimes feels like our economy is leaving rural towns behind, with all the jobs going to big cities. But wind farms are almost always located in rural areas, and that’s where the investment, jobs and tax money flow.

I also learned about how wind farms supported farmers and ranchers like myself. Those of us in agriculture know that it is harder and harder to keep family farms afloat. We’re facing tough commodity prices, extreme weather, industry consolidation and other challenges. When landowners lease their property to a wind farm, they get steady income for decades that helps them weather those storms.

In late 2017, Thunder Ranch came online. But my curiosity about wind didn’t stop there.

I was intrigued about these tall, sophisticated machines, harnessing the strong Oklahoma wind to produce power for homes and businesses. That curiosity—and my lack of a fear of heights—led me to apply to a wind technician training program, and then to start a new career as a wind tech in Oklahoma.

Eventually, everything came full circle. Today, I climb wind turbines as the lead technician at none other than Thunder Ranch. I’m still in agriculture, raising goats with my family down the road from the wind farm. But now I support my family primarily through my career in the wind industry. Thousands of others across Oklahoma are doing the same.

I’ve seen firsthand how Thunder Ranch has supported my neighbors, and how it’s become a part of the fabric of our community. While I don’t have a land lease in the project, several of my friends and neighbors have enjoyed steady income from hosting turbines to support their farms and ranches. Our schools have received a huge boost in tax revenue. And the project has given funding to programs in our community, like first responders and scholarships.

None of these benefits—to our state, to my community, or to my own family— would have been possible if private landowners were restricted from participating in wind. I know there’s a lot of heated discussion statewide about the wind industry. But we shouldn’t let emotions get ahead of the facts.

We should keep opportunities open for rural farmers and ranchers, and we should keep growing more careers that let Oklahomans live and work in rural parts of the state.

Take it from me: I wasn’t sure I supported wind at first, either. But from my view high above the prairie at the top of a wind turbine, I can see how my community is stronger for it.

Dustin Ratliff is lead wind technician at the Thunder Ranch Wind Farm, in Oklahoma. This guest column was originally published in The Oklahoman (www.oklahoman.com).

Q4 2025