Reynolds, Naig visit GJCF

     It was a busy Saturday at the Great Jones County fair last week when Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig stopped by the grounds. The Governor held an Agriculture and Trade Issues Roundtable inside the equestrian center, inviting local farmers, ag-related businesses, and industry leaders to sit in on the discussion.

     Following the event, Reynolds and Naig spoke to the media.

     July 21 was Reynolds first visit to the GJCF.

     “(Rep.) Lee (Hein) and (Fair Manager) John Harms) have been trying to get me here for a long time,” admitted Reynolds of her busy schedule.

     She said she wanted to see the entire fairgrounds. “I can’t wait to get out there and check it out. It’s huge. I want to try and experience as much of the fair here as I can.”

     Naig brought his family along for the afternoon, and spent some time at the Prime Steer Show following the roundtable.

     The theme of the afternoon was how the trade war and tariffs are hurting Iowa farmers and the ag industry.

     “I am incredibly thankful that the farmers in this area took the time to sit down and talk with me about the impact that the tariffs are having on their livelihood and businesses,” said Reynolds.

     She shared two facts of trade: Trade is critical for Iowa, and China has been a bad player in the trade world for years.

     “They’re (China) a really bad actor. We can’t continue to let them do that; they have to be held accountable,” said Reynolds. “But it can’t be done on the backs of our farmers and producers.”

     Reynolds said she’s heard that Iowa’s farmers continue to support President Donald Trump despite the trade war.

     “They want to give him (Trump) some time to really negotiate freely and fair, so we can be a free trader,” she said. “But it’s really starting to hit a critical point.”

     She said where the angst and nervousness stems from is the younger generation of farmers.

     “That’s our future, our next generation of ag,” Reynolds said. “We want to make sure that we’re creating an environment that helps them and keeps them in our state. We don’t want to see consolidation; that’s not the answer.”

     As with any community sector, if the ag community takes a hit, it trickles down to the Main Street businesses and so on.

     “We need some movement,” urged Reynolds. “We need to see something done to start to infuse a little bit of certainty into a very volatile market.”

     Naig agreed. “When the farm economy is hurting, we know that has a ripple effect across this state. Folks are patient to a point, but we need to see progress,” he said.

     Naig said he feels Iowa’s congressional representatives Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, and Rod Blum are carrying Iowa’s message to D.C. and forward onto the President.

     “Our Congressional delegation speaks with one voice,” he said. “When we speak together, it’s hard for the administration to not hear that voice when we speak together. We’re united in that.”