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Rural manufacturing positions in jeopardy

As we’ve closed out a busy planting season and the legislative session, some harsh economic realities have set in. Agriculture in particular, a sector that employs one in five Iowans, has been hit hard.

Half of the biofuels industry was forced offline, which sent shockwaves through our entire agricultural supply chain. Farmers across our state are now facing a situation with less options to market our crop, sluggish prices, and oversupply.

Unfortunately, throughout the pandemic the administration has made efforts to assist oil refiners impacted from a steep collapse in the overall fuel market. The same support has not yet been included for our renewable fuel producers, leaving these key rural manufacturing positions in jeopardy.

Iowa has been fiscally responsible these past years under conservative leadership in our legislature and the governor’s office. We are in a strong position to recover, but we cannot allow Washington D.C. to choose the winners and losers. Rural economies cannot and should not be taken for granted. Senator Joni Ernst and Senator Chuck Grassley continue being a voice for us in our nation’s capital, and I hope their efforts to support Iowa’s rural agriculture economy are successful.

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