Fallon visits Newton during 12-county tour

A candidate for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, Ed Fallon talks with rural Newton resident Ruth Wormley at Uncle Nancy’s Coffeehouse on Tuesday. Fallon toured all 12 counties in the 3rd district talking about the need for a moratorium on building new hog confinement lots to revitalize rural economies. Andy Karr/Daily News

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Congressional candidate Ed Fallon believes Iowa needs to revitalize its rural economy and to that end, he is proposing a temporary moratorium on building new large-corporation hog confinement lots. “CAFO’s (confined animal feeding operations) are not just an environmental and health issue, they’re an economic issue as well,” he said. “My goal is to create a more equitable system that gives small farmers a chance.” Fallon stopped at Uncle Nancy’s in Newton on Tuesday as part of his 12-county “New Energy for Iowa Tour.” He is running against fellow Democrat and incumbent Rep. Leonard Boswell in the June 3 primary for Iowa’s 3rd district congressional seat. Fallon was touring the district to talk specifically about hog confinement lots and the negative effects they have on Iowa’s rural economies. “I am really, really passionate about economic development that supports local businesses that enhances main streets, downtowns, town squares,” he said. “A lot of what we have to focus on is how we keep our main street and our local business economy strong and vibrant.” Fallon called the current system of subsidies a type of imperialism that allows big companies to come in and pillage rural economies. “We’re almost creating the environment here ourselves that is allowing these big corporations to come in and extract our wealth. We’re not going to have vibrant healthy main streets, local economies, if we don’t revitalize the agricultural economy,” he said. The moratorium on large corporation hog confinement lots would give those close to the situation a chance to sit down and come up with an alternative structure that would level the playing field. “If the state is not going to take leadership and address the concerns of rural Iowans, then the federal government should take a crack at it,” Fallon said. Fallon’s appearance at Uncle Nancy’s took place as a round-table discussion format with the eight participants asking questions of the candidate. On the issue of the new farm bill, Fallon said he “begrudgingly” supports it because it contains more ideas he supports than ideas he opposes. No lack of effective pay cap for subsidies is a problem, but Fallon likes additional revenue for nutrition and food stamps and country of origin labeling. The primary will take place on June 3.