Ag topics haven’t been prevalent in election races

In any statewide Iowa political race, it would be awfully strange if some sort of agricultural concerns didn’t come up sooner or later.

However, with so many wide-ranging, divisive topics coming up in the U.S. presidential and Congressional races, agriculture has largely taken a back seat in this election cycle. While some discussions around budgets, poverty and international trade touch indirectly on ag concerns, some of the contentious issues raised in 2008 and 2012 have faded into the gray of hundreds of other secondary priorities.

State-level races, on the other hand, have embraced familiar topics, such as water quality, clean energy and the battle between smaller, more progressively focused farms and the giants of traditional farming.

One of the reasons agriculture is taking a breather at the Congressional level is because the Farm Bill battle, was bitterly fought just a couple of years ago, and it will be fought again when the next Congress takes over. The 2014 Farm Bill expires with the Fiscal Year 2018 cycle.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is seeking re-election to a seventh term in the U.S. Senate, recently told the Newton Daily News bringing up ag concerns could actually result in a political “pick-six” for ag proponents.

“Even though farmers are losing money, we’re hesitant to open up the Farm Bill, as we could actually end up with less crop insurance,” Grassley said. “But with a new Congress coming in, 2017 is when you’ll see some real talks on that. That’s when the fur is going to hit the fan.”

Some voters have voiced displeasure with presidential candidates’ voice, or lack thereof, on ag issues — and not all of those voters are older Americans. Alex Brand, an Ellsworth, Wis. native and Iowa State University sophomore who is politically active, recently told Iowa Public Television he’s disappointed the Trans-Pacific Partnership hasn’t been discussed much by presidential candidates or in their interviews or debates.

State-level candidates have covered more ag subjects — especially since Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, has made improvement of water quality a stated priority. At a recent GOP campaign event, both Sen. Amy Sinclair and Rep. Greg Heartsill, who are campaigning for re-election in districts that include Jasper County, said water quality is a growing priority within their party.

Sinclair said she’s not sure how the governor’s plan to take all new SAVE school-earmarked tax revenue above $20 million for water quality would work.

“I just don’t see how we do that to our local governments,” Sinclair said. “There is no magic bullet for water quality, and within each party, there isn’t full agreement about how it should be funded, or whether it can be done without raising taxes. But we need to look at a lot of possibilities.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com