Central Iowa (RI) – Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn and a small group of central Iowans from the ag sector say farmers don’t like bailouts, but emergency federal assistance is needed after tariff tensions roiled the grain markets. Vernon Flinn, who raises corn, soybeans and cattle in five counties, says he’s prefer to have the free market dictate prices, but short-term help is needed.
Flinn recently paid a huge bill to replace two tires that were punctured when the combine rolled over a set of deer antlers in a field.
Nunn, a Republican from Ankeny, says President Trump’s recent negotiations with China will yield results for Iowa soybean farmers, and the Big Beautiful Bill Trump signed in July provides tax benefits to farmers.
Nunn hosted a roundtable discussion on Tuesday at the Heartland Co-op in Carlisle. Tom Hauschel is the co-op’s CEO.
The Heartland Co-op was formed in 1987 with the merger of co-ops in Panora, Dallas Center, Minburn, and Grange,r and it expanded in 1993 when a grain business in Carlisle and co-ops in Alleman and Mitchellville joined the enterprise. Hauschel says the financial pressure that started at the farm gate is now being felt at the retail level, and federal officials need to develop a long-term plan for the ag sector.
A recent Creighton University survey of rural bank CEOs in Iowa and other Midwest states found a firm majority of the bankers believe President Trump’s approach to trade with China is about right, but nearly 85% of the bankers surveyed support emergency federal payments to farmers due to the financial hit of trade losses.
KIWA Staff Photo
