A contingent of Iowa farm­ers shared personal accounts of policy issues that directly affect their farming operations with the state’s congressional delegation during Iowa Farm Bureau’s National Policy Trip to Washington July 18-20.

Representatives from 20 counties conveyed their own stories of key policies important to Iowa’s farmers, including many they would like to see continued or included into the next farm bill.

Among the most pressing issues include soliciting support for the EATS (Ending Agriculture Trade Suppression) Act, which would block states from dictating agricultural production practices beyond their own borders; continuation of federal crop insurance and the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP); and reviewing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) guidelines to make sure they apply only to sensitive farmground with appropriate rental rates.

Tim Schmidt, a Sioux County Farm Bureau member, told Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra and Sens. Joni Ernst and Charles Grassley that there are few small farrow-to-finish farms left in the region, like his 200-sow operation, and most colleagues tell him they won’t be investing in new facility updates to satisfy...