Q&A: Farm Matters on the Menu

Q: What ag policies are on your radar in the new Congress?
A:While work is underway on writing a new farm bill, I’m also rolling up my sleeves on legislative proposals and oversight efforts to address key issues facing the farm economy and rural communities. Since the new Congress started in January, I’m working on issues that matter to the bottom lines of Iowa farmers, including: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI); Prop 12 restrictions; foreign ownership of U.S. farmland; renewable fuels, including nationwideyear-round sales of E15andsustainable aviation fuel; and tax relief, including apermanent repeal of the death tax.
Let’s start with the HPAI outbreak that’s ravaging the livelihoods of Iowa’s poultry and egg producers and leading to egg shortages and higher prices for consumers. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I participated in two hearings in February gathering feedback from farmers and ranchers about their operations. I asked representatives from turkey growers and egg producers about the importance of vaccines for egg-laying hens and how USDA’s indemnity program helps producers stay afloat during this crisis in the farm economy. I also pushed for swift confirmation in the U.S. Senate to getSecretary Brooke Rollins at the helm of the USDA. During her first week on the job, Secretary Rollins visited an egg farm in Texas and announced a comprehensive strategy to tackle the crisis that’s wiped out 166 million laying hens since 2022. I’ll continue keeping in touch with Iowa farmers as the USDA rolls out its plan to get this outbreak behind us. I’ll also keep pushing to reduce regulatory burdens that restrict market access and add costly decisions for producers to do business in states like California and Massachusetts. California’s Prop 12, what I call its “War on Breakfast” has jacked up the price for eggs and bacon, making protein-rich nutrition unaffordable for American families. I’ll continue working to restore common sense and economic freedom to the farm economy.
Q: What is theFarmland Security Act?
A:Foreign ownership of U.S. farmland has increased85 percentin the last 15 years. Decades ago, when I represented Iowans in the House of Representatives, I co-sponsored the first-ever reporting requirement called theAgricultural Foreign Investment Act of 1978. It required foreign persons who purchase, transfer or hold interests in crop acres to report transactions to the USDA. They must file anFSA-153in the local Farm Service Agency office where the land is located, within 90 days of the transaction. Our bipartisan law also directed the Secretary of Agriculture to analyze the information and its impact on family farms and rural communities.
The upward trend of foreign ownership of U.S. farmland comes up regularly at my annual 99 county meetings. Farmland is finite, once it’s paved over with suburban sprawl or sold to foreign owners, America has one less acre to feed and fuel our people. In addition, foreign buyers needlessly increase competition for young and beginning farmers. There are also serious national security implications if a foreign adversary buys up farmland near U.S. military installations. Last year, theGovernment Accountability Office (GAO) publisheda report that showed as foreign investment in U.S. farmland climbs, the USDA’s processes to collect, track and report key information are flawed. TheConsolidated Appropriations Actof 2023 included mybipartisan proposalthat required the USDA to adopt an online submission process and public database by 2025. Currently, real-time data isn’t available for federal agencies, including the Departments of Treasury and Defense and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review for potential national security risks.
I’ve teamed up again with Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin to beef up existing federal law. OurFarmland Security Actof 2025 builds on our previous efforts to protect America’s rural communities from shady foreign investments. It would ensure all foreign investors, including “shell companies” who buy U.S. farmland must report their holdings and strengthens penalties for those who evade or misreport their filing obligations. Plus, it invests in research to better understand the impact foreign ownership of farmland has on agricultural production. As a lifelong farmer in the U.S. Senate, I’m proud to champion the livelihoods and way of life in rural America. Food security is national security.