Iowa’s farmers are critical to the American economy, providing the essential service of feeding and fueling our country. Sadly, farmers are also 3.5x more likely to commit suicide than the general population, and many rural communities have limited or no access to mental health services.
Today I joined Congressman Randy Feenstra in introducing a new bipartisan bill, called the Farmers First Act, to ensure that our nation’s agricultural communities have access to critical mental health support and resources:
This is just one of the many ways I’m working to support Iowa’s agriculture industry that employs more than 315,000 Iowans, contributes $17.5 billion in wages, and accounts for $88.3 billion of our economy. A few of my top priorities include:
- Strengthening The Farm Safety Net: Bolstering commodity programs and strengthening crop insurance are critical to supporting Iowa’s farmers. I’m fighting to ensure these and other foundational programs for our farmers are protected and improved.
- Increasing Rural Economic Development: The Farm Bill can help provide Iowa’s rural communities with increased access to credit, grants, and loans to improve infrastructure – including improving rural broadband.
- Bolstering Innovation and Security in Agriculture: Food security is national security, which means we must strengthen our country’s efforts to protect American food security in this legislation. I’m working to expand cybersecurity resources, increase efforts to prevent the theft of intellectual property, and prohibit our adversaries from purchasing farmland here in Iowa.
- Conserving Farmland and Natural Resources: Farmers are the best stewards of our land and our environment, which is why I believe it’s critically important that we conserve farmland as part of this bill. My efforts in this area include mitigating flooding, supporting disaster recovery, protecting access to farmland, and applying Iowa commonsense—not big government mandates—to efforts to protect our natural lands.
- Ensuring American Energy Independence: An all-of-the-above energy approach is critical to ensuring cheaper, cleaner fuel that is good for the economy and the environment. Specifically, I’m fighting to expand access to biofuels, lock in year-round E-15, increase biofuel production capacity, and support the infrastructure that our farmers who fuel the world rely on.
You can learn more about my other work to support those that feed and fuel the world here:
