Water quality has been a key issue in the November election for Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture position.
Democrat Chris Jones is suggesting more regulations and incumbent Republican Mike Naig is strongly opposed, saying it would hurt small- and medium-sized farmers.
Jones is a retired research scientist and environmental advocate.
Jones and his supporters recently set out to paddle roughly 100 miles of the Des Moines River over five days. The river is one of the main drinking water sources for about 1 in 5 Iowans, and frequently has some of the highest nitrate levels in the U.S.
“Paddling the river, we hope, brings attention to the condition and creates some momentum to try to improve things," he said.
Researchers say the drivers of pollution in streams around Iowa are largely connected to agriculture. Iowa also has more concentrated animal feeding operations than any other state, which generate large volumes of manure.
In a stop in Greene County, Naig says regulation and taxation would cause harm.
“We know when you add that kind of cost and you add that kind of regulatory pressure to farms, it's the smaller farms and the mid-sized farms that can't bear that burden. And what you end up with is further consolidation, taking us exactly the wrong direction. That is a shrinking agriculture, not a growing agriculture with all the opportunity that I know that we see," he said.
Naig has been the agriculture secretary for eight years and is seeking a third term.
Naig says more needs to be done to improve water quality, but he says Iowa has set records for voluntary conservation adoption over the last five years.
The state has expanded programs to help farmers add cover crops and edge-of-field infrastructure, like wetlands, to filter nitrates.
Jones said it would be more efficient to reduce the sources of pollution as the beginning point.
