Grain Indemnity Fund gets long-awaited update. Livestock disease preparedness, ISU vet funding expanded.

A bill modernizing Iowa’s Grain Indemnity Fund was among legislation approved last week in the waning hours of the 2025 Iowa legislative session.

The Legislature adjourned shortly after 6 a.m. on May 15 after working through the previous day and night to pass several policy bills and all 11 appropriations bills that make up the state budget. The session ran nearly two weeks beyond the targeted adjournment date of May 2. 

The budget funds several critical programs for livestock agriculture, including additional funding for animal disease preparedness and response, vaccine development and livestock disease research, as well as increased funding for the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, which were top priorities for Farm Bureau this legislative session.  

“Livestock farming is a...