Lawmakers approve budget for agriculture, natural resources
State representatives approved a budget from the Senate on Tuesday that would increase funding for agriculture and natural resources departments by $682,000 compared to the current fiscal year.
The budget for the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year prioritizes funding to prevent the spread of foreign animal disease, supports state park maintenance and continues the Choose Iowa program, along with operations for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Senate File 646 would appropriate $46.6 million from the general fund and appropriate an additional $99.4 million from other funds for fiscal year 2026.
The bill would put $1.8 million into the Choose Iowa fund for use on promotion, dairy innovation and value-added grants for Choose Iowa participants, which is on par with 2025 expected figures for the program.
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Choose Iowa is a network of producers selling Iowa-grown goods and has nearly 300 members across the state.
The bill also ends the Choose Iowa pilot purchasing program and creates the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program, with an appropriation of $200,000 to help food banks purchase locally produced foods.
The pilot program previously had two divisions, one that helped local food banks and another that helped Iowa schools purchase from local growers.
Local farmers and food-security advocates hoped the program would have substantial funding this year following the cancellation of funding from a similar federal program. Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, proposed an amendment to expand the purchasing program to include schools, but the House did not adopt the amendment.
Scholten said the amendment would have made 'sure that (Iowa) kids are properly fed.'
The appropriations bill would also eliminate the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Fund in favor of creating an Iowa Animal Disease Prevention fund, which fulfills requests from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and other stakeholders for increased funds to protect against the threat of foreign animal diseases.
Those funds would go toward animal disease equipment, vaccine research and updates to state technology to track an outbreak.
Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, tied the need for funding to the ongoing impact of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, which since 2022 has killed more than 169 million birds in the United States.
The bill also appropriates $200,000 to the Iowa Geological Survey to research and map the state's aquifers.
The bill allocates $12 million from the Environment First Fund, in lieu of a standing $20 million appropriation from the general fund, to extend the Resources Enhancement and Protection, or REAP, program through 2028. This program funds county conservation, city parks and open spaces, historic preservation, conservation education, soil and water enhancement, and other projects related to natural resources.
Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, proposed an amendment, which failed, to fund the project at the full $20 million. 'It's a long time program that has never received the full amount of money for which it was authorized,' Kurth said.
The bill also has a special general fund appropriation for state park maintenance, floodplain management and forestry health management.
The budget bill faced some pushback from Democrats in both the House and Senate who said it did not adequately prioritize local food, water quality and conservation efforts.
The bill advanced from both chambers, and with no adopted amendments in the House it now goes to the governor for final approval.
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