D.C. Dispatch: Iowa lawmakers introduce crop insurance, formula bills

Yahoo

14-03-2025

Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn co-sponsored legislation aimed at preventing another infant formula shortage like the U.S. experienced during the pandemic. (Photo via Getty Images)
This week in Washington, D.C., Iowa's all-Republican congressional delegation have introduced legislation to lower costs of crop insurance and baby formula.
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn introduced legislation Monday he says will help prevent another baby formula shortage from occurring.
The Infant Formula Made in America Act of 2025, co-led by U.S. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pennsylvania, and Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, was proposed in response to the 2022 infant formula shortage. The shortage has been attributed to a combination of factors, primarily supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recall of Abbott Nutrition products after two infants died from a bacterial infection after drinking formula manufactured at a Michigan Abbott Nutrition plant.
Datasembly found that 43% of total consumption of baby formula in the U.S. was accounted for by the Michigan factory, which went out of stock during the recall and subsequent shutdown as the facility investigated the infection.
The Center for American Progress stated that three domestic producers, Abbott, Mead-Johnson, and Nestlé, supply roughly 98% of all formula in the country, leading to massive shortages and price hikes when infections or other problems occur at these facilities.
Nunn said in a news release the legislation is an attempt to encourage more manufacturers to enter the infant formula industry. The legislation would create a transferrable tax credit for small domestic infant formula manufacturers, with businesses able to receive a credit equal to 30% of their qualified investment each year, and a production tax credit of $2 per pound of infant formula produced.
'Just few years ago, millions of parents were scrambling to feed their babies – some even traveling miles or paying out-of-this-world prices just to get the formula their child needed,' Nunn said in a statement. 'We may be past that crisis now, but we should work to stop this from ever happening again. By supporting small-sized American manufacturers making infant formula, we can prevent another shortage and keep children fed and happy.'
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, alongside U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, introduced a bill Friday they said will help lower crop insurance costs for new farmers.
Under current law, federal crop and livestock insurance programs give certain exemptions and more benefits to beginning farmers and ranchers, as well as veteran farmers and ranchers, for a period of five years. The Crop Insurance for Future Farmers Act proposes extending these provisions to a period of 10 years, which Feenstra said would align with other federal 'beginning farmer' programs.
'Born and raised in rural Iowa, ensuring that the next generation of Iowa farmers and producers can continue long-held family traditions and grow the food and fuel that our nation and the world depend on is important to me, vital to our economy, and critical to our national security,' Feenstra said in a statement. 'To keep our farmland in the hands of Iowa farmers and away from China and our foreign adversaries, we need to cut operating costs for our young and beginning farmers so that they can grow, compete, and succeed – instead of calling it quits because of financial barriers. … This relief will help our young producers plant their roots in our rural communities, promote farm profitability, and strengthen Iowa's status as the breadbasket to the world.'
A companion bill has also been brought forward in the Senate by U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, also spoke about the importance of crop insurance Tuesday in a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing. She introduced Caleb Hopkins, a loan production officer for Dakota Mac in Halbur, who told the committee that crop insurance is the 'number one risk management tool in the belt for ag lenders,' especially when facing uncertainty caused by natural disasters.
Ernst said crop insurance 'is the most effective and reliable risk management tool available to farmers that must remain affordable and accessible.'
'Over the years, Congress has approved multiple rounds of ad hoc disaster payments to help farmers recover from severe weather events,' Ernst said. While these payments offer relief in times of crisis, they are slow, they are unpredictable, and subject to political gridlock – leaving farmers uncertain about when or if help will actually arrive. Iowa farmers – who have faced multiple natural disasters in recent years – have made it clear that they need certainty and protection in real time, not months or years after the damage is done.'