OP-ED: Farmers make the best Senators
Bill Horan | Iowa Field Report
As one of only two grain farmers in the United States Senate, it’s critical we keep Senator Chuck Grassley’s voice for agriculture at the policymaking table. He’s always there for Iowa farmers when we need him the most.
For example, most recently Iowa’s senior senator helped secure disaster assistance for crops destroyed by the derecho and pandemic relief for hog and poultry producers forced to euthanize their herds and flocks. Grassley is stepping up scrutiny of foreign ownership of farmland and working to stop California from banning Iowa eggs and bacon.
As the loudest and proudest voice in Washington for renewable fuels, Chuck goes toe-to-toe with Big Oil and the federal bureaucracy to ensure Iowa farmers and renewable energy producers can continue leading the way for a clean environment, American energy independence and economic vitality in rural communities. He’s led the way in Congress and every White House since President George W. Bush: Don’t mess with the RFS.
Chuck’s opponent, Mike Franken, says ethanol doesn’t have long-term viability in the future, despite the biofuel industry employing 46,000 Iowans. On Biden’s watch, the price for diesel has doubled and fertilizer costs spiked 300 percent.
Farmers can’t afford Biden’s War on Energy. And Mike Franken says Biden is doing a “fabulous job as president.” The Biden agenda includes taking 30 percent of farmland out of production by 2030; restricting certain fertilizer use for row crops; pushing through Obama-era Waters of the U.S. rule that would impact virtually every acre of farmland in Iowa; and, enacting backdoor death taxes that would get rid of step-up in basis and tax unrealized capital gains at death.
Make no mistake: Slapping on a double death tax would make it even harder for the next generation to farm and many would be forced to sell the farm or family business to pay a massive tax bill. Soaring inflation is hammering farmers with high input costs, and rising interest rates make it more expensive to finance and expand operations and even harder for beginning farmers to get started.
The new Farm Bill will be written next year. Iowa farmers need an Iowa farmer at the table fighting for our lives and livelihoods. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Grassley will continue to fight tooth and nail for policies that matter to our bottom line, from crop insurance, to disaster assistance to conservation, ag research and reasonable farm payment limits, so it’s not harder for young and beginning farmers to get started.
In this Congress, Grassley has built a bipartisan coalition to move the Cattle Transparency and Price Discovery Act. Sen. Grassley got his bill through the Senate Agriculture Committee this summer and he is putting pressure on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to get a vote on the Senate floor. For too long, the Big Four meatpackers have used independent producers as a residual supplier. American consumers have paid higher prices for beef at the store while family farmers get pennies on the dollar for their high-quality beef.
As Iowa’s senior U.S. Senator and lifelong family farmer, Grassley is working as hard as ever on your behalf. Chuck Grassley is proud of his four-generation family farm. He has skin in the game and dirt underneath his fingernails, and he is proud to show the world how Iowa farmers help fuel and feed the world. Grassley makes sure lawmakers on Capitol Hill understand that food doesn’t grow in the grocery store. Food security is national security. That’s just one reason why farmers make the best Senators.
Chuck’s always had our backs. This November, Iowans need to have his.
Bill Horan is the Chairman of Western Iowa Energy, and he is a lifelong family farmer growing corn, soybeans, and specialty crops in north central Iowa. Bill is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, and he served as the President of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. He serves as the Chairman of the Farmers for Grassley Coalition.
