Hard Times on the Farm: Iowa Farmers Deserve Better [OPINION]

The plight of the Iowa farmer might not make the national news programs, but it should. The industry that helps feed our nation and the world is hurting right now. I watched my father work harder than any other person I know for years on our family farm. We made it through the farm crisis of the 1980s and the drought years of the early 1990s. This harvest season, Iowa farmers are bringing in crops that they aren't sure if they'll be able to sell, and that's not right.

Iowa soybean farmers are stuck with nowhere to sell their crops. KCCI reports that China used to be a top buyer of American soybeans, but an ongoing trade dispute with the US caused the country to stop buying American crops in May. Now, they are getting soybeans from South American nations like Argentina, which the US just provided a $20 billion bailout package. KCCI reports that Iowa farmers are upset that the bailout will directly help the ag industry in Argentina, which competes with farmers in the US, including Iowa.

Now, to add insult to injury, the administration has floated a plan to buy beef from Argentina, in an effort to lower prices in the US. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that numerous groups, including the Iowa Cattleman's Association, are warning of how that move could impact the cattle market.

Where are the Iowa voices standing up for our farmers? Yes, the government shutdown isn't helping matters for anyone, including farmers. But where are our lawmakers calling for new trade partners since China has cut the US out? Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley seems to be the only one who has spoken out against the trade war with China and the bailout of Argentina.

Yes, there has been talk of another bailout for Iowa farmers, much like the one that happened in 2018.

But Iowa farmers wouldn't need a bailout if they had a market to sell their crops. Farmers don't want a handout. They want to sell their crops at a fair price and be compensated for a lifetime of hard work. Iowa farmers help feed our nation and the world. They deserve better.