Audio of the call available here.
Under Republican leadership, farm incomes have declined in rural Iowa by more than 50%, and farmland values have dropped nearly 11% with more trouble on the way. Then, the Republicans ducked out of Washington without passing the Farm Bill, which would have provided critical assistance to struggling rural communities.
By undermining the Renewable Fuels Standard through waivers and exemptions to the oil industry, the Trump Administration has destroyed demandfor nearly 2.2 billion gallons of ethanol which roughly equates to a billion bushels of corn.
And last but certainly not least, a reckless and ham-handed Trade War, which will cause Iowa farmers to lose up to $2.2 billion according to a recent Iowa State University Study, has done lasting damage to the international markets Iowa farmers rely on to make ends meet.
“We’ve got a president here that talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk. He comes to Iowa with a lot of promises, but we’re looking at a perfect storm here: crops that are in jeopardy because of weather, low demand because of tariffs, and crippled markets with local ethanol plants, and commodities are in trouble too,” said former State Senator Brian Schoenjahn.
“We’re borrowing money from China to pay our farmers not to sell their products to China, and that just doesn’t make sense,” said Congressional candidate J.D. Scholten. “You look around New York’s real estate isn’t getting hit, Texas’s oil isn’t getting hit, Silicon Valley isn’t getting hit. Iowa’s bearing the brunt of this Trade War.”
“What is really comes down to is: are our elected officials willing to stand up to whoever’s in Washington D.C. no matter the party in power, and do what’s right for Iowa? If farmers are hurting it means folks across the state are going to feel that pain as well. We simply can’t afford this hit to our economy,” said Secretary of Agriculture candidate Tim Gannon.