Anaheim, California – January 15, 2026 – Farm Bureau members from all 50 states and Puerto Rico gathered at the 107th American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Annual Convention this week in Anaheim, California to set the organization’s national policy direction for 2026 and recognize and celebrate the achievements of state Farm Bureaus.  Several Iowa policies were adopted, including greater flexibility for producers participating in carbon markets.

During the convention’s general session, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) was presented the Pinnacle Award, the highest honor a state Farm Bureau can be awarded for program and member achievement.  IFBF earned awards of Excellence in all four program areas for outstanding member programs and exceeding its membership goal in 2025.  The four program areas include: Advocacy, Coalitions and Partnerships, Engagement and Outreach, and Leadership and Business Development.

“Earning the AFBF Pinnacle Award is a tremendous honor for our organization and is a great source of pride for our members,” said Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson.  “The prestigious award is a testament to the strength of our grassroots organization and the value provided to our members through innovative programs and resources.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins delivered a keynote speech to members highlighting USDA’s support for farmers and opportunities ahead.  Rollins highlighted efforts over the past year to reduce the agricultural trade deficit and grow trade markets, expanded markets for E15 and biofuels and continued efforts to reduce surging input costs.

Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and lifelong supporter of agriculture, Bill Northey, was posthumously honored with AFBF’s Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award.  For decades, Northey worked for farmers and ranchers across Iowa and the country. He was elected as the Iowa secretary of agriculture three times – in 2006, 2010 and 2014 – before being tapped by President Donald Trump to be under secretary for farm production and conservation at USDA. He held that post until 2021 and became the CEO of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa in May 2022.  Northey passed away in February 2024 at the age of 64 leaving behind a legacy of dedicated service to agriculture.

Following his passing, Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson commented on Northey’s life.

“It is impossible to completely describe Bill’s impact on agriculture,” said Johnson. “It didn’t matter if we were talking about the latest heavy-hitting agriculture issue or tractors or family; Bill was always an intensive listener, and I never saw him distracted by what was happening in the background or who walked into the room. When talking with Bill, Bill was talking with you.”

Keaton Keitzer of Des Moines County represented IFBF on the national stage during the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Discussion Meet competition. The YF&R Discussion Meet simulates a committee meeting with active discussion and participation.  Participants are evaluated on their ability to exchange ideas and information on a predetermined topic about agriculture and food production today.  Keitzer qualified for the competition by placing first in IFBF’s Young Farmer Discussion Meet held during the IFBF Annual Meeting in December.

Along with Johnson, Iowa’s other voting delegates to the 2026 AFBF policy session were: IFBF Vice President Brian Feldpausch of Grundy County; District 5 director Allen Burt of Marshall County; Randy Dreher of Audubon County; Laura Cunningham of Floyd County; Brent Koller of Lee County; Nate Hofmann of Linn County; Michael Johnson of Page County and Cordt Holub of Tama County.

Members attended workshops, panels and keynotes covering an array of topics, including opportunities and challenges on the horizon for agriculture, ag policy impact, new technology and innovation, strategies for managing farm succession planning, farmer perspectives on mental health and more.

State Farm Bureaus will gather again for the 2027 AFBF Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, January 8-12.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is celebrating the signing of a bill she co-sponsored that overturns an Obama era restriction against serving whole milk in schools. “Now Iowans can have access to whole or two percent milk, which gives us the full nutritional benefits of milk,” Ernst says. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law Wednesday.

“I’m ‘udderly’ thrilled that choice has been made available for our Iowa schools,” she says.

Ernst says the change will help the U-S dairy industry.

Cass County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.03
Adair County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.06
Adams County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.02
Audubon County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.05
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.03
Guthrie County: Corn $4.07 Beans $10.07
Montgomery County: Corn $4.07 Beans $10.05
Shelby County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.03

Oats: $2.52 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – A bill on the fast track in the Iowa House would ban the use of eminent domain to seize property along the proposed Summit Carbon pipeline route. The bill cleared a House committee on a 19-to-two vote yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon and is eligible of debate in the full House next week. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says House members have been trying for five years to find a way to protect property owners who don’t want the pipeline on their land.

“This year the language is as simple as it can be,” Holt said. “No eminent domain for CO2 pipelines in Iowa.” Representative Ross Wilburg, a Democrat from Ames backed the bill in committee, but he says there’s been no signal this approach will break through the statehouse impasse — or that the governor would sign it into law. “The conditions haven’t changed on this,” Wilburn said.

Holt says he, along with what appears to be a majority of House members, are ready to take a stand and pass the bill. “The House does not control the Senate and the governor, but what we do is do what is right and we move forward,” Holt said, “And who knows what dynamics might change based upon the actions that we take.”

The top Republican in the Senate is proposing an alternative that would let Summit re-chart the path of its pipeline, to go around landowners who haven’t signed voluntary easements. Holt says that’s a non-starter because Summit could still use eminent domain in some circumstances.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would ban the use of eminent domain for pipelines carrying carbon dioxide has cleared an Iowa House subcommittee. The bill is similar to a South Dakoka law and would not allow Summit Carbon Solutions to use the government’s eminent domain authority to seize land along the pipeline route. Kathy Carter owns land in Floyd County along the proposed pipeline route and doesn’t want it on her property. “I have had this black cloud hanging over my head for five years,” Carter said. “I’m tired of it.” Mike Henning owns Greene County farmland along the Raccoon River. “It’s important that those of us that don’t want to have a pipeline on our property have the opportunity to say, ‘No,'” Henning said.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association is on the record opposing the bill and says by capturing carbon from Iowa ethanol plants, that ethanol can be sold in markets that require zero-carbon fuels. Brittany Lumley, a lobbyist for Summit, says the carbon the company captures from Iowa ethanol plants can also be used to recover underground oil. “There are hundreds of billions of dollars of oil in Wyoming and trillions in North Dakota that will never be recovered without our carbon product,” Lumley said. “Truly this pipeline will eventually become an integral part of this nation’s security strategy, giving more access to oil which is essential for everybody’s everyday lives.” Jake Ketzner, a lobbyist for Summit, says the bill would kill the company’s project.

“Summit Carbon is focused on signing voluntary easement agreements and moving off landowners who do not want us,” Ketzner says. “We support widening the corridor to allow for route adjustments to make this possible and significantly reduce any need for eminent domain.” That’s a description of the bill Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says would be a way to end the years’ long debate over the pipeline. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says that Senate bill will not protect all landowners. “Because under their proposal eminent domain can still be used for the CO2 pipeline project,” Holt said. Holt says that’s why a complete ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon pipeline is advancing in the House.

Cass County: Corn $4.09 Beans $10.08
Adair County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.11
Adams County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.07
Audubon County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.10
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.08
Guthrie County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.12
Montgomery County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.10
Shelby County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.08

Oats: $2.56 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – Data from the U-S-D-A shows Iowa set some records for the 2025 harvest. The report shows a record corn harvest of two-point-seven-seven (2.77) billion bushels, topping the previous record of two-point-seven-four billion bushels in 2016. The average corn yield was the second highest ever at 210 bushels, just behind the 211 bushels in 2024.

The average yield for soybeans set a record at 63-and-a-half bushels an acre, one half bushel above the previous record set in 2021. Overall farmers harvested 596 million bushels of soybeans, the third most ever.

Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig released a statement saying farmers delivered record yields despite conditions that varied from being too wet to too dry, and in a time when there is stress on the ag economy from high input costs and low commodity prices.

(Radio Iowa) – Wade Dooley, a 43-year-old Democrat who farms northwest of Marshalltown, is running for state agriculture secretary. He says leadership in Des Moines is too focused on helping big businesses and political insiders. “We have the best soils in the world, the most innovative people and some of the best technology on the planet,” Dooley says. “We can do a lot. All we need is a little support and, for the folks that hold us back, to get out of the way.”

Dooley, a sixth generation farmer, rotates soybeans and rye on his family’s Century Farm. He also sells cover crop mixes and does custom seeding. “I’ve been trying to find more profitable, more environmentally sustainable methods to farm,” Dooley said. “We’ve done cover crops, I raised watermelons for a while, popcorn, you name it. We’re tried a lot of different things.” Dooley says he’s running to lead the Iowa Department of Agriculture because while there’s a lot of talk about helping farmers make changes to boost their income — and improve water quality — there’s not a lot of actual support at the state level for it.

“Farmers are on debt treadmills for the most part. They’re all trying to do what’s best for their family, they’re also trying to do what’s best for their land, they’re also trying to do what’s best for their community, but at the end of the day, they’ve got to make their bank payment,” Dooley says.”…It’s really frustrating, then, to hear people in the Democratic Party blaming farmers saying, ‘Well, it’s their fault they’re doing it.’ They’re doing it, in part, because they’re forced. They’re trying to save their farms.”

Dooley says it’s time to end the blame game about Iowa’s water quality issues and for the Iowa Department of Agriculture to lead the effort to figure out a resolution. Dooley is a graduate of Iowa State University and has served as a board member of Practical Farmers of Iowa. Another Democrat has indicated they’ll run for state ag secretary this year. Chris Jones, an author and retired University of Iowa researcher, is expected to officially launch his campaign later this week. Republican Mike Naig has been serving as State Agriculture Secretary since 2018 and is seeking reelection.

Cass County: Corn $4.14 Beans $10.12
Adair County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.15
Adams County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.11
Audubon County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.14
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.17 Beans $10.12
Guthrie County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.16
Montgomery County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.14
Shelby County: Corn $4.17 Beans $10.12

Oats: $2.59 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)