Secretary of Ag candidate Tim Gannon visits Cresco on Oct. 26

Cresco - On Friday, Oct. 26, Tim Gannon, who is running for Secretary of Agriculture under the Democratic party, attended a question-and-answer session at the Cresco Library ahead of the Nov. 6 election.

He joked with attendees he has put 25,000 miles on his vehicle since February, visiting all 99 counties.

One of the biggest issues he sees with agriculture in Iowa is the EPA refuses to take the side of farmers rather than oil refineries. “If farmers in Iowa don’t do well, then a whole lot of people in small town-Iowa don’t do well,” Gannon said.

John O’Byrne asked why Iowa doesn’t support year-round E15 like Minnesota. Gannon said, “That’s a good question.” He noted President Trump came to Iowa and was going to get EPA to talk about it. Instead the EPA is busy handing out waivers to oil refiners. “Obama handed out 4-5 waivers per year, the last two years, there were 30 waivers,” he commented.

Another big issue is figuring out how to increase profitability of farming. “We need to continue promoting the building of the ethanol and bio-diesel business, and we need to commit to research.”

The Secretary of Ag hopeful stated, “We’ve got to spend more on conservation. If we aren’t careful, in 40-50 years we’ll be without the precious top soil Iowa is famous for. If we’re not going to protect our soil, who is?”

A big issue across the state is trying to get young people to stay in Iowa. “Agriculture can contribute to that. If you know something is valuable, they’ll stay.” 

Amy Bouska mentioned the importance of no-till practices and how some farmers don’t practice it. 

Tim Knutson, who is running for Representative District 51 noted, “We need to let them see how giving up a few acres of land is a good thing for conservation.”

Gannon said farmers need to be educated more and be shown proof of the economics of how no till and cover crops help protect the farmer through weather extremes. It was asked if fining them for not having good practices is feasible. Gannon replied it might be easier to build conservation practices into crop insurance rates.

After visiting Cresco, Gannon was on his way to Forest City.