Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Celebrates State Legislative Wins

Contact: Iowa Cattlemen's Association, 515-296-2266, Contact Us.

The Iowa Legislative Session adjourned in the early morning hours of Friday, April 19. The 103-day session resulted in several major legislative wins for Iowa cattlemen. And much like the cattle business, the relationships we maintain and develop helped us along the way. We especially want to thank Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislative leaders like Speaker Pat Grassley and Senate President Amy Sinclair for their leadership and support of cattlemen priorities.  

A cohort of livestock producers that serve as state legislators led important discussions related to ICA’s priorities with support from ICA’s contract lobbyist, Jake Swanson, and director of government relations, Cora Fox. “The active engagement by producers with their legislators–both in Des Moines and in district–reinforced ICA’s presence and resulted in outcomes that align with member-driven policies,” said ICA President Rob Medberry. 

Legislation signed into law: 

• S.F. 2204: Sen. Dan Zumbach (SD-34) and Rep. Derek Wulf (HD-76) managed legislation to enhance state laws by giving the Attorney General more oversight to investigate suspected violations of foreign ownership of agricultural land. 

Legislation to be considered by Gov. Reynolds: 

• S.F. 2391: Sen. Dawn Driscoll (SD-46) and Rep. Heather Hora (HD-92) successfully led legislation to protect against misbranding of fake meat products and keep experimental, lab-grown protein out of supplemental nutrition programs and schools.  
• H.F. 2465: Sen. Ken Rozenboom (SD-19) and Rep. Chad Ingels (HD-68) worked to include agriculture instruction as part of the science curriculum for grades nine through 12.  
• H.F. 572: Sen. Annette Sweeney (SD-27) advanced legislation to prohibit surveillance of homes and livestock facilities by use of drones from individuals that do not have consent from property owners. This legislation was first passed by Rep. Wulf and members of the Iowa House in 2023. 
• H.F. 2649: Sen. Driscoll and Rep. Wulf initiated legislation to prevent a new tax on producers by reinstating the livestock capital gains deduction. Collectively, this will save livestock producers millions of dollars in taxes.  

As we look back on a productive and successful legislative session marked by several wins for Iowa cattlemen, we recognize the importance of working with elected officials on both sides of the aisle and those who may be less familiar with beef cattle production. Each of the aforementioned bills were passed by the legislature with bipartisan support. The future of beef cattle production in Iowa depends on the relationships we maintain and seek to build, and we look forward to continuing this work in the interim.