Cedar County Farm Bureau member Noah Coppess tells lawmakers that shrinking competition in seed and fertilizer markets is hurting family farm profitability. 

Consolidation across the agriculture industry is stifling competition and threatening the profitability of family farms, fifth-generation Iowa farmer Noah Coppess said last week at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on competition issues in the seed and fertilizer industry.

Representing the Iowa Farm Bureau, Coppess described how his family’s farm faces mounting challenges from volatile input costs, limited market options and restrictive equipment and data practices.

“Our input costs have elevated continually. We’re having a hard time finding a profit on our farm,” said Coppess, a Cedar County Farm Bureau member who grows corn and soybeans and runs a small cow-calf herd. 

“We don’t have any negotiating power in some areas, and it’s time to take a look at that and what the reasoning is behind that ... If the...