The Iowa Corn Growers Association gathered more than 130 farmer-member delegates from across the state Tuesday at its Annual Grassroots Policy Summit to establish legislative priorities for the upcoming year.
Delegates at the FFA Enrichment Center addressed a range of state and federal issues affecting corn producers. State priorities included conservation and water quality funding, extending Iowa retailer tax credits for E15 and E85, supporting a middle-ground approach to carbon capture projects, protecting landowner rights related to data centers, and property tax reform.
On the federal level, farmers focused on expanding trade opportunities, securing infrastructure funding for locks and dams, advancing biobased product incentives, advocating for a bipartisan Farm Bill, and pursuing a nationwide E15 fix with provisions for Iowa farmers.
“The Annual Grassroots Summit is a very important event for Iowa’s corn growers,” said ICGA President Steve Kuiper, a farmer from Knoxville. “Farmers from across the state put their harvest prep on pause to come and participate in the discussions that will set ICGA’s policy priorities for the following year.”
The organization’s policy development process starts with a survey of its more than 7,000 farmer members, followed by roundtable discussions in each of Iowa’s nine crop reporting districts.
The summit also recognized several leaders. Larry Buss of Harrison County received the Top Recruiter Award for recruiting 186 Iowa Corn members over the past year. Roger Wuthrich of Davis County received the Outstanding Individual Leadership Award. Julius Schaff received the 2026 Iowa Corn Walter Goeppinger Lifetime Achievement Award.
ICGA will announce its finalized state and federal policy priorities in December.
