Farm Bureau leaders meet with congressional delegation and other top government officials in Washington

A delegation of 70 county and state leaders of the Iowa Farm Bureau is in Washington D-C this week, meeting with members of Iowa’s congressional delegation and other top government officials. The Farm Bureau’s Don Petersen says they plan to meet with Senators Grassley and Harkin and Congressmen Boswell, Latham, Leach, King and Nussle on a variety of key issues that are important to Iowa agriculture.Petersen says “We’ll be talking about animal identification programs and how the USDA plans to implement that,” and construction funds for locks and dams on the Mississippi River, a project that’s been in the works for years and it appears the money is finally going to be coming through. He says the Farm Bureau people also want to discuss renewable energy with our elected leaders in Washington.Petersen says “There’s some provisions still moving on biofuels and ethanol as well as wind energy and other types of renewables.” He says the Farm Bureau delegation will also be meeting with officials at the EPA on animal feed lot issues and with leaders of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.The delegation includes about 40 county Farm Bureau leaders and another 30 from the state headquarters. They’re scheduled to return to Iowa on Friday.