Up to 30,000 Farmers to Gather for Protest

AMES, Iowa —  Thousands of farmers plan to gather in Iowa Wednesday for the biggest farm rally since the 1930s to send a message to an “insensitive” Reagan Administration and “indifferent” urban Americans that farmers are in trouble, organizers said Monday.

Crowd forecasts range from 15,000 to 30,000, with participants coming from as far away as Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Colorado and North Dakota, the organizers said.

Leaders of 10 national farm and rural organizations plan to attend the rally, along with bankers, businessmen, union workers, clergymen and students.

President Reagan did not respond to an invitation to attend the rally, said Roger Blobaum, a former Iowa Democratic congressional candidate.

“One way or another, we are going to reach millions of people in their homes across the United States,” Blobaum said. “We are going to tell them what is going to happen in the rest of the country if nothing is done.”