On Tuesday, 13th April, the United State lawmakers adopted a budget that would add $682,000 to the current fiscal year’s budget for the agriculture and natural resources departments.

The fiscal year 2025–2026 budget includes operations for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and funding to support state park maintenance, prevent the spread of foreign animal disease, and continue the Choose Iowa program.

Senate File 646 would appropriate $99.4 million from other funds and $46.6 million from the general budget for fiscal year 2026. 

The bill would put $1.8 million into the Choose Iowa fund for use on promotion, dairy innovation and value-added grants for Choose Iowa participants, which is on par with 2025 expected figures for the program. 

Choose Iowa is a network of producers selling Iowa-grown goods and has nearly 300 members across the state. 

The bill also ends the Choose Iowa pilot purchasing program and creates the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program, with an appropriation of $200,000 to help food banks purchase locally produced foods. 

The pilot program previously had two divisions, one that helped local food banks and another that helped Iowa schools purchase from local growers. 

Local farmers and food-security advocates hoped the program would have substantial funding this year following the cancellation of the financing from a similar federal program. Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, proposed an amendment to expand the purchasing program to include schools, but the House did not adopt the amendment.

Scholten said the amendment would have made “sure that (Iowa) kids are properly fed.” 

The appropriations bill would also eliminate the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Fund in favour of creating an Iowa Animal Disease Prevention fund, which fulfils requests from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and other stakeholders for increased funds to protect against the threat of foreign animal diseases. 

Those funds would go toward animal disease equipment, vaccine research, and state technology updates to track outbreaks. 

Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, tied the need for funding to the ongoing impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has killed more than 169 million birds in the United States since 2022.

The bill also appropriates $200,000 to the Iowa Geological Survey to research and map the state’s aquifers. 

The bill allocates $12 million from the Environment First Fund instead of a standing $20 million appropriation from the general fund to extend the Resources Enhancement and Protection, or REAP, program through 2028. This program funds county conservation, city parks and open spaces, historic preservation, conservation education, soil and water enhancement, and other projects related to natural resources. 

Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, submitted an amendment to support the project at the full $20 million, but it was unsuccessful. Kurth stated that the program has been in place for a long time and has never been fully funded.

Additionally, the law includes a special general budget appropriation for floodplain control, forestry health management, and state park maintenance.

Democrats in the House and Senate opposed the budget bill, arguing that it did not adequately address conservation, local food, and water quality.

Both houses passed the law, and since the House did not adopt any revisions, it has moved  on to the governor for final approval.

Source: Iowa Capital Dispatch

Image Credit: Britannica