United States Congressman Zach Nunn has recently introduced a new bipartisan bill to aid farmers for their hard work.

Nunn tells Raccoon Valley Radio that he initiated the “Strong Farms, Strong Futures Act” plan to give farmers tools after the conservation work they’ve done. He shares that the bill identifies the issues in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, specifically with the Environmental Equality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). 

Nunn explains that both programs have failed to match their incentives to the value that Iowa farmers deserve for producing voluntarily. He details that the Strong Farms, Strong Futures Act plans to fix mix-matches by delivering inflation adjusted payments.

“So when a producer invests in their land, they’re actually compensated in today’s cost, not an outdated figure the U.S.D.A. has. The second piece it does, is it cuts through the bureaucracy and makes renewing CSP contracts simpler and faster, so producers aren’t forced to reapply from scratch or jump through a number of hoops just to keep doing the right thing for their land that they already intended to do. Third, it expands the eligibility of what can be used here for both conventional as well as organic farms because those are coming online across Iowa, and they deserve the same opportunities as our traditional farmers do.”

Nunn emphasizes that the bill allows producers the flexibility to choose a practice that best fits their operations. He concludes that Iowa farmers know their land the best to shape their future.