Issue Position: Agriculture / Rural Development

Issue Position

Iowa has earned its global reputation as an agricultural powerhouse. As the leading producer of pork, corn, soybeans and eggs in 2005, production agriculture anchors the state's economy, helps ensure 's food security and feeds millions of people from around the world. From the farm to the fork, Iowa 's agricultural abundance creates jobs all along the food chain. As a farmer-lawmaker, I bring real world experience to the policymaking fields in Washington, D.C. My leadership positions on the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Agriculture and Budget Committees provide me unique opportunity to shape tax, international trade, regulatory and spending policy that will shape the future of farming in the 21st century.

As work moves forward in the 110th Congress to renew the Farm Bill, I am continuing my crusade to improve imbalances in the federal farm payment system that reward mega-producers and leave less for small and mid-sized family farms; clamp down on concentration and anti-competitive practices that penalize independent producers; help beginning farmers get a good start in their capital- and labor-intensive profession; enact a mandatory country-of-origin labeling law; and, educate federal regulators when they try to nail a square peg in a round hole. For 25 years, I've earned a reputation in Washington as a voice for American agriculture. And for as long as I have the privilege of serving Iowans in the U.S. Senate, I'll always work hard to do right by the family farmer.

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