By Zach Nunn, Sen. Charles Grassley
It’s no secret that family farms have struggled to break even the past couple of years. Suffering hardship from the pandemic’s impact on supply chains to weathering record high input, diesel and gasoline prices – it’s harder than ever for family farms to stay profitable.
Farming is not just a profession. It isn’t just a hobby or personal passion. It’s a way of life and livelihood for generations of Iowa families. Farming is how many Iowans leave their mark on our world. Family farms are what ties together generations of family, and it is the economic engine of every town across the state. Iowa farmers work hard to leave their land to their children better than they found it when it was entrusted to their care. Farmers live by that creed.
Yet the Biden administration is pointing at farmers as the problem for a range of issues when we know that farmers can be part of the solution to feed and fuel America, expand economic prosperity and strengthen environmental stewardship. Take for example, the Biden administration wants to revise the Obama-era Waters of the United States Rule that would federally regulate 97% of Iowa land and water. This is plain and simple government overreach that would add red tape to everyday decisions that farmers have to make.
Next, the Biden administration is placing tight restrictions on commonly used herbicides that have been used by farmers for decades. By listening to environmental activists instead of scientists, the Biden administration will make it harder for farmers to get rid of weeds, lowering productivity and increasing farmer headaches.
Finally, the Biden administration has announced an initiative called 30% by 2030 in which they seek to put 30% of the United States in permanent conservation and greatly expand the Conservation Reserve Program at the Department of Agriculture. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the global supply of grain is dangerously low. We cannot afford to lose any more production, especially in Iowa where we are blessed with the most fertile soil on Earth.
All three of these actions will make it harder for Iowa farmers to grow and harvest a productive crop. Food security is essential to national security. If we continue to set aside land, limit crop inputs, and add red tape, it will only make it harder for farmers to be productive which of course leads to higher food prices at the grocery store and will increase the cost of gasoline at the pump. If Big Government’s boot is lifted off the necks of Iowa farmers, they have ingenuity to deliver food security not just in our country but also around the world.
As President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles away from a corn field.”
From Washington, D.C. to Washington, Iowa, our opponents are marching in lockstep with the Biden administration that declared War on American energy that fueled the fires of inflation and jacked up input costs and diesel to five bucks a gallon, is dragging its feet on expanding markets for trade around the world, and wants to enact double death taxes on farm families. Working together, our number one priority is to partner with the Iowa farmer and reject harmful policies that are being pushed by people who think Washington-knows-best. We humbly ask for your vote on November 8th.
Zach Nunn is a Congressional candidate for IA-03. He serves as a State Senator.
Chuck Grassley is the Senior U.S. Senator from Iowa. He is running for re-election this year.