Dear Friends,
(01:57) China expanding coal-fired power plants;
(06:10) Study says CO2 pipelines not a climate solution;
(11:24) Tucker Carlson politicizes Ohio train disaster;
(14:29) Lobbyists back bill to let foreign corporations own farmland;
(21:07) Midwives fight unfair practices, with Caitlin Hainley;
(37:45) Carla Dawson honored with Bishop Dingman Peace Award, with Fr. Dave Polich;
(53:43) The butter battle bill, with Kathy Byrnes, Birds & Bees Urban Farm.
(Come meet long-time advocate for the homeless, Carla Dawson, at the annual Bishop Dingman Peace Award, March 4 at 6:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 2926 Beaver Ave in Des Moines.)
About handing Iowa over to China …
The growth-at-all-costs crowd never ceases to astound me. Take Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Durham has proposed HSB 147, a bill that would allow foreign corporations to own up to 1,000 acres of contiguous farmland.
Carla Dawson, 2023 Bishop Dingman Peace Award recipient
Iowa used to have strong provisions against foreign ownership of farmland. But the proverbial camel’s nose found its way under the tent in 2017, when foreign entities were allowed to purchase up to 320 acres of contiguous farmland for commercial purposes.
As often happens, the camel now wants to shove its entire head under the tent. Given the money and power behind this trend, is there any doubt that corporate interests will try to continue to erode limitations on who controls our farmland?
China is the target of much of the opposition to loosening farmland ownership laws. And yeah, I call out China specifically in the title of this blog. That’s easy to do, given:
(1) China’s rising global dominance,
(2) China’s ownership of Smithfield, the largest pork producer in the US and owner of 150,000 acres of US farmland, and
(3) the tenfold growth of Chinese investment in the US agricultural sector over the past decade (e.g., ChemChina now owns Syngenta).
But our concern ought to be much broader than China, since Chinese ownership of US farmland amounts to 1% of the total. “Overall, foreign entities own or lease nearly 37.6 million acres of agricultural land, including forests and pastures. That is an area slightly larger than the state of Illinois and makes up 2.9 percent of all privately held agricultural land in the U.S. This is up from a total of 24.2 million acres in 2010, according to the USDA.” (Investigate Midwest, 11/10/2022)
This should concern all of us. As Bruce Shultz, vice president of the National Farmers Organization, said, “We’re concerned about farmland leaving family farms. We’re concerned about where the next generation of farmers are gonna live, and where that food is going to come from.”
Interestingly, the only group registered in opposition to HSB 147 is the Iowa Farmers Union. On the other side:
FIFTY INDUSTRY LOBBYISTS ARE REGISTERED IN FAVOR OF THE BILL!!
It’s not just Republicans kowtowing to corporate donors. HSB 147 passed out of subcommittee last week on a 3-0 vote, with Democrat Art Staed joining Republicans Thomas Moore and Thomas Gerhold.
The bill is actually worse than I’ve described. It would also create tax credits and rebates for foreign corporations. I can only imagine what that price tag might look like.
It’s safe to presume Governor Reynolds is supportive of HSB 147. That puts her at odds with Ron DeSantis, who was quoted in Successful Farming: “We’re very mindful of [China] trying to infiltrate our economy. We’re going to be doing legislation [in Florida] to block them for purchasing land in our state, and we need other states to follow that as well.”
Bipartisan opposition includes US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Jon Tester, Debbie Stabenow, and Chuck Grassley. Last month, Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson weighed in, saying we need to “more closely monitor foreign ownership of farmland across the country.”
We’ll see if Iowa legislators succumb to the demands of big business and foreign influence, or if they stand with their constituents, the vast majority of whom oppose selling off our most precious resource — our land — to foreign interests. So …
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS ABOUT THIS BILL. Ask them to oppose it, and let me know what kind of response you get. Find contact info for your legislators at this link.
One more thing: Story County residents are fighting urban sprawl and working to protect farmland from a poorly-planned urban expansion. Sign this petition to support the effort: https://chng.it/GyBjKZw5bG.
Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. If you appreciate our work, please consider a donation.
Ed Fallon
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Ed Fallon