Latest news with #IowaFarmersUnion
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FTC commissioner talks consolidation, right to repair with Iowa farmers
Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, right, speaks with Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman, center, and Josh Manske, left, at an event with IFU members in Ankeny June 7, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) ANKENY — Iowa Farmers Union members met Saturday with U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya and explained how consolidation in the agriculture industry has crippled their farming operations and rural communities. Bedoya, who visited with Iowa farmers three years prior, said it was important to come back to the places where 'the scope of the problems that people are facing just hits you in the face.' 'The key question is: what is the undone work,' Bedoya said to the group gathered in a barn at Griffieon Farms outside of Ankeny. Bedoya is visiting with groups around the country while he is involved in a lawsuit against the Trump administration, which fired him from the FTC in March. During his time at FTC, Bedoya and his team sued over the business merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, sued pesticide companies for alleged anticompetitive practices and sued John Deere for the right to repair equipment. After listening to farmers share their stories, Bedoya said 'the scope of the problem' and the 'just how many issues' are facing Iowa farmers is what stood out to him. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Sean Dengler, a former farmer in Tama County, said the 'monopolization' across the machinery and agricultural sector led him to give it up and end five generations of Dengler farming tradition. Last harvest season, an error code on his combine led to a several-days harvest delay waiting for a licensed technician to come out to the farm, diagnose and come back to repair the rig. 'Giving farmers the ability to fix the equipment they bought is their right,' Dengler said. Part of the problem, for repairs and for nearly every aspect related to farming, is that repair shops, dealers, grain elevators, meat lockers and other commodities are fewer and further between. Farmers gave countless examples Saturday of how this spread has hurt not just their ag operations, but their rural communities as well. Josh Manske, an IFU board member and farmer, said farmers no longer shop around for the best fertilizer price, instead they shop 'for transportation.' 'The price is the same no matter where you go,' Manske said, noting the problems with a lack of competition. LaVon Griffieon said she sees the same issue spread to grocery stores across the state. Living where she does just outside of Ankeny, Griffieon said she has access to multiple stores within a 5-10 minute drive, but friends of hers in rural counties must drive in excess of 20 minutes to the closest grocery store, and close to an hour to find a store with organic products. 'It seems like feast or famine,' Griffieon said. Griffieon said the consolidation in the grocery industry makes the margins for an independent grocer are 'even worse than farming.' Jerry Rosman, a farmer and truck driver, said he sees the same issue in the field, but also on the highway. 'The dynamics of what it is might be a little different, but it's just — as things get tighter at the top, at the bottom they just start disappearing,' Rosman said. 'Pull through a little town and you can just see the decline.' Mike Carberry, a board member for Iowa Farmers Union, said agriculture needs the FTC's work 'breaking up the monopolies' of the industry that, he said, have turned Iowa into an 'extractive state.' Bedoya, who listened intently to the farmers, said while he's committed to bringing this type of legal action forward, stopping a merger, as the FTC did with the Kroger and Albertsons case, takes a massive amount of time, people and money. 'The amount of time it takes to stop a merger that has not yet happened is massive,' Bedoya said. 'To undo a merger that has already happened is gargantuan — it is something that kind of happens once in a legal generation.' Bedoya said a similar issue of vertical integration in the pharmaceutical industry has been blocked by legislative efforts in several states. Lawmakers in Iowa passed a bill that would put restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers to prevent them from using specific pharmacies to fill prescriptions. The bill has yet to be signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Bedoya, speaking on similar legislation passed in Arkansas, said it 'opened up' an avenue for going after vertical integration, that could be an option to intervene in some of the consolidation issues in agriculture. 'This is going to require both parties, and it's going to require every level of government or every branch, not just, federal prosecutors, but state prosecutors, state legislators, and also federal legislators if they get their act together and pass some bills,' Bedoya said. Bedoya and the other Democratic commissioner, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, at the FTC were fired by President Donald Trump, but Bedoya alleges the firing was illegal and is fighting in court to stay at FTC. Bedoya said while he might be locked out of the FTC system and without access to his files, he's still doing the work of a commissioner and speaking with rideshare workers, pharmacists, farmers and more to learn about the issues they are facing. 'But no matter what, I will continue doing this work, whether it's at FTC or in a nonprofit,' Bedoya said. In his view, the FTC has started to take up cases that trend more towards political battles, than protecting American consumers. 'The FTC is not for fighting your political fights,' Bedoya said. 'It's for suing the John Deeres of the world. It's for suing the Cortevas and Syngentas of the world that are screwing over farmers and that are making people's lives harder. It's not for political warfare.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iowa crops are days ahead of schedule, with admirable conditions
A field in Polk County is cultivated prior to planting corn. Aaron Lehman said his organic farming operation runs on a different calendar than conventional row crop farmers. (Photo contributed by Aaron Lehman) Farmers in Iowa had a productive week as warmer and drier conditions allowed plenty of time for in-the-field activities, including finishing up planting and beginning to spray emerged corn and soybeans. Nearly 80% of soybeans have emerged across the state, which is 10 days ahead of last year's crop and four days ahead of average pace. Corn acres across the state are 87% emerged, putting the crop nearly a week ahead of last year and one day ahead of the five-year average. Organic farmers like Aaron Lehman, who farms in northern Polk County, had a slightly slower start to the planting season than conventional neighbors. On Friday, Lehman said he hoped to finish planting his soybeans and to replant the sections of corn that 'didn't emerge very evenly' due to an above-average dump of rain that hit central Iowa during the previous reporting period. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He said with organic farming, and a need to use seeds without synthetic coatings, he has to wait for warmer soil temperatures before he can plant and roll down his cover crops. 'So I'm on a little bit of a different calendar than some of my neighbors, but in general, field progress is pretty strong,' Lehman, who is also president of Iowa Farmers Union, said. Across the state, corn and soybean conditions rated 84% and 81%, respectively, good to excellent. Lehman said farmers in his area were concerned the rain would lead to some overripe hay, but the Monday report shows 83% of hay rated good or excellent. Temperatures across the state were slightly below normal, with an average of 62 degrees Fahrenheit during the May 26 through June 1 reporting period. According to State Climatologist Justin Glisan, smoke from the Canadian wildfires reduced solar radiation in the state, and caused a copper colored sun on several days. The lingering wildfire haze is expected to clear from the state by midweek. State forecasts call for several inches of precipitation across the state. The state average for precipitation during the reporting period was two-tenths of an inch, but soil moisture conditions dropped only slightly from the previous report, with 70% of topsoil conditions and 65% of subsoil conditions rated adequate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
USDA cuts programs bringing local food into schools, food banks
Riceville Community School District used LFS funds to purchase local produce for school lunches. (Photo courtesy of Riceville CSD) Iowa farmers and institutions lost an estimated $11.3 million in federal funding to support the purchase of locally raised foods, following the recent termination of two U.S. Department of Agriculture programs. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship notified partners Monday afternoon that agreements made under the Local Food for Schools, or LFS, program and Local Food Purchase Assistance, LFPA, program announced in late 2024, was terminated by USDA. Ryan Marquardt, owner of Wild Rose Pastures in Van Meter, said the programs, which began in 2022, have increased gross sales on his 20-acre cattle, egg and poultry operation by 50% over the past three years. 'We planned our 2025 production based on the promise of these programs continuing,' Marquardt said in a press release with Iowa Farmers Union. 'Now, we have product in the pipeline with nowhere to sell it.' LFS and LFPA were created in response to supply chain shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and since 2022, states have been awarded more than $1 billion in support for local food purchases, according to USDA. Iowa's agriculture department awarded nearly $2 million in LFS funding to more than 160 schools in the state. The last round of the funding ended in December, but the program allowed kitchen managers to stock salad bars and school lunch trays with fresh produce from farms in their communities, without breaking their tight budgets. In Iowa, public and private schools that received the grants partnered with a local food hub that facilitated the farm-to-school connections and logistics. Iowa celebrates Local Food Day, some schools eat local every day The other program, the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, funded the purchase of local food, defined as within 400 miles, for underserved communities. Iowa was awarded more than $5.6 million in funds for the program to purchase local food for food banks, nonprofit organizations, food pantries, early childhood centers and senior centers through May 2025. Another Iowa Farmers Union member, Mari Hunt Wassink, of Black Earth Gardens in Cedar Rapids, said the programs allowed schools and organizations in her community to purchase from her farm, which she said was 'fulfilling' to her calling as a farmer. 'One of the reasons I fell in love with farming is because I want to feed my community and make sure everyone has access to healthy, delicious food,' Hunt Wassink said in the Farmers Union press release. 'I really don't see a downside to the LFPA/LFS programs—they are a win for small, local farmers who need fair prices for our produce, and it's a win for our school-aged kids and families across Iowa who live with food insecurity.' According to the state agriculture department, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is processing claims made prior to and after Jan. 20, 2025 for expenses that were part of the initial grant programs funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation. In October 2024, USDA announced a $1.2 billion investment to continue the local purchasing programs, also through CCC funds, and in December announced the start of the funding round. Iowa had an estimated $8.3 million in LFS funding and an estimated $2.9 million in LFPA funding from the fiscal year 2025 investment into the program, which the federal agriculture department has now terminated. Don McDowell, public information officer with Iowa's agriculture department, said the change was part of the Trump administration's review of federal spending and programs. 'It should not come as a surprise that a program announced in October 2024 by executive action, rather than legislatively directed, won't be continued past its original end date,' McDowell said in a statement. Peter Kraus, general manger of the Iowa Food Hub, said LFS and LFPA have been successful in Iowa, and well supported. Kraus said the 150 partnering producers and 40 partnering schools he works with are 'pretty upset' by the sudden yanking of funding. 'A lot of investment has been made in anticipating this funding,' Kraus said. Farmers have already hired hands for the growing season and schools were making out their menus for the year and featuring local products. Kraus said his organization scaled up its infrastructure to meet the expected demand this growing season and now is facing the reality that it's hard to 'step backwards.' 'If they're looking for waste, there isn't any here,' Kraus said, noting the funding goes to schools and food banks, then right back into the community. 'If they're looking for 'America First', local food is what 'America First' could look like.' Local food coalition pushes for Double Up Food Bucks, local grocery initiatives Lawmakers in Iowa have led several efforts this session related to healthy eating and local food. One bill would fund the Double Up Food Bucks program in Iowa, but only if the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in the state were restricted to only healthy food purchases. Another bill would have Iowa schools request a waiver from school nutrition guidelines in favor of more Iowa-specific foods. Other bills, like House File 550, would support local food processing and rural grocery stores. On Monday, the state agriculture department announced a pilot program to help schools purchase local food as part of the Choose Iowa program. The program is similar to the LFS funding, but the pilot has $70,000 to allocate for the upcoming fall semester. McDowell said programs like this, and the Choose Iowa purchasing pilot program that worked with food banks, are important to Iowa producers and communities. 'The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will continue to pursue future opportunities to grow markets for local farmers and Iowa grown and raised foods,' McDowell said. Kraus said the program is a 'step in the right direction' but 'it's just not the same magnitude' as the funding that was terminated. Iowa Farmers Union urged Iowans to shop locally to 'sustain the farms that have worked so hard to feed our communities.' 'These farms have been growing food for Iowa families, schools, and food banks,' Aaron Lehman, IFU president, said. 'We can't let the USDA's decision undermine everything they've built.' Kraus said this loss of market for farmers would affect the entire local food chain. 'We need to send a message to USDA and to our state officials to make sure they understand how upsetting this is,' Kraus said. 'It's not just the schools, not just the food banks. We're all in this together.' USDA did not respond to a request for comment. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sen. Chuck Grassley talks funding freezes, foreign trade with Iowa Farmers Union
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, attended the Republican 4th Congressional District convention in Carroll on April 23, 2022. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch) U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley joined an Iowa Farmers Union virtual town hall on Monday to discuss federal actions that have impacted farmers in Iowa, including freezes on grant programs and imposed foreign tariffs. Aaron Lehman, IFU president who moderated the call, said farmers are feeling the effects of the top-down changes on their bottom lines and their ability to innovate as planting season approaches. Grassley, who also serves on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, said Congress needs to pass a farm bill this year to give farmers certainty. 'Certainty for farmers, looking ahead five years is very important,' Grassley said. 'And I hope that the new Congress can deliver a five-year farm bill.' He said he expects fewer hearings this year to make sure the bill gets done soon. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Executive orders from President Donald Trump have put billions of program funding and grants on hold for farmers. Lehman said members he has spoken with feel like 'the rug's being pulled out from underneath them' as they wait to find out if a contract they had already signed will be honored or not. Grassley said the farm program freezes are set for 90 days while the expenditures are reviewed. 'Obviously if it was a total dilution, or elimination, of those monies that'd be catastrophic for conservation,' Grassley said. 'It'd be catastrophic for the family farmers.' The senator said he is supportive of the review process, which he commended for the exposure of some government spending. He said the country needs 'a deep look at every penny that's being spent in the federal government.' Grassley said every administration has 'some abeyance' of expenditures and hiring, but the second term for Trump has been 'a little more abrupt.' Lehman said farmers are feeling the crunch before planting season and hope the 90 days can come a little faster. ' I'm going to tell everybody at the Department of Agriculture (that) in my part of the state, people start planting corn around April 15th, April 20th,' Grassley said in response. Lehman said Iowa farmers are also stressed in anticipation of increased input costs because of foreign trade issues. Trump has tariffs in place on China and proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada, that are set to take effect Tuesday. Grassley said he has usually been in the majority of his fellow lawmakers as a proponent of free trade, but now he finds himself in the minority with that opinion. ' I'm very disconcerted,' Grassley said. ' I'm not going to give up speaking about the importance of trade, particularly for agriculture.' Grassley said rather than focusing on the big countries ' where maybe we'll never have satisfactory trading negotiations' the U.S. should look to the other dozens of countries 'where we can make some progress.' The senator said the 'protectionist' stance taken by the first Trump administration and then the Biden administration has 'turned members of Congress off' from considering free trade agreements, and he hopes to change that mindset. Grassley said already he has met with Jamieson Greer, the newly appointed U.S. trade representative, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss the same topics. He encouraged Iowans to reach out to his office and share the impact that federal policy has on their lives. 'When it comes to representative government, you can't have too much communication,' Grassley said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
