Agriculture
Randy grew up working on farms, frequently walking beans and doing chores. His in-laws run a livestock and crop farm in Sioux County, where he helps out along with his wife and four kids – spending many weekends bailing hay, loading hogs, vaccinating cattle, and maintaining seven finishing sites.
He knows first-hand that corn and soybean growers -- along with our livestock, egg, dairy, poultry, ethanol, and biodiesel producers -- form the backbone of the 4th District’s economy. As the second largest ag producing district in the country, Randy serves as a voice for Iowa's hardworking farmers, giving them a seat at the table on the House Agriculture Committee.
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More on Agriculture
Iowa’s pork industry is a vital economic engine for our families, farmers, main street businesses, and rural communities. Our 5,400 pig farms raise roughly 23 million hogs every year, which account for one-third of the nation’s total pork production, generate nearly $41 billion in sales across the entire pork supply chain, and support almost 150,000 Iowa jobs in production, processing, and harvesting. However, a critical, yet often overlooked, component of pork production is trade.
American fuel retailers, corn growers, ethanol producers, and our families face unnecessary uncertainty year after year awaiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s arbitrary, last-minute waivers to allow for the summertime sale of E-15 at gas stations nationwide. This unpredictability raises gas prices for American families, prevents fuel retailers from consistently marketing low-cost, low-carbon E-15, and threatens the livelihoods of corn growers and ethanol producers not only in Iowa, but across the Midwest.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture marked another disappointing development in the Biden administration's lackluster trade agenda. It projected that our agriculture trade deficit—which already shattered records this past fiscal year—will climb to $27.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2024.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) helped introduce – alongside U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford (R-AR), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Frank Lucas (R-OK), and Austin Scott (R-GA) – the Prioritizing Offensive Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act. This legislation would establish a joint task force between the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S.
The success of our economy depends on the success of our farmers . According to the Department of Agriculture, agriculture contributed roughly $1.3 trillion to gross domestic product in 2021, with direct farm output reaching nearly $165 billion.
In May, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down President Joe Biden’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. With no congressional, stakeholder or farmer input, the Environmental Protection Agency made slight revisions to that rule last week, which was an overt federal government overreach by the Biden administration.
When I was elected to represent Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, I made a solemn promise to Iowa farmers and producers that I would be the strongest voice for agriculture and our farm families in Congress. From the Farm Bill to energy policy, I believe that the hardworking men and women who feed and fuel our country deserve a loud voice and a seat at the table when lawmakers craft legislation that impacts their livelihoods and pocketbooks.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) – alongside U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) – introduced the Livestock Consolidation Research Act. This legislation would direct the USDA’s Economic Research Service to study the impact of consolidation in the livestock industry on Iowa farmers and producers, and subsequently, draft a report about how consolidation has affected new market entrants, access to resources, and consumer purchasing power.
Crop insurance remains the most vital tool in the farm safety net toolkit. From droughts and derechos to economic hardship and unstable commodity prices, crop insurance is a lifeline for our producers and their families. Serving on the House Agriculture Committee, I believe the upcoming Farm Bill must protect, promote, and enhance the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) program to support the needs of our young, beginning, and veteran farmers who are the future of agriculture in Iowa and across the country.
China constitutes a serious threat to American prosperity and our national security. In their attempts to diminish our strength on the world stage, the Chinese Communist Party has deployed spy balloons in our sovereign airspace to surveil our military bases, unleashed the COVID-19 virus on the world, and continuously flouted international security norms. China has even set their sights on rural America and our most vital, yet finite resource – our farmland.