Iowa bill to limit land conservation gains backing

Iowa Senate Republicans argued in favor of a bill that would help young Iowa farmers in buying farmland over government entities that would purchase it for public parks and other land conservation, according to an article written by the Iowa Capital Dispatch. In a February Natural Resources and Environment committee meeting, the committee voted 7-5 to recommend Senate Study Bill 3134 to be reviewed for passage by the full Senate.

The bill calls to limit county conservation boards and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to spending around 60%-80% of the full value of timber, pasture and cropland. Despite Republicans focusing on lower-quality timber and pasture in the committee meeting, high-quality cropland would require the largest discount.

“I think we need to make sure that Iowa continues to be an agricultural state, where these young folks have an opportunity to buy and purchase property and not compete with their own government,” says Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan.

The bill would limit the state tax breaks for those who donate their land or sell it for less than it’s worth. It hasn’t received any support from any organizations, and Democrats have said they’ve heard plenty of opposition to the bill.

“We could listen to the people who are telling us this is a bad idea and vote it down,” says Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids. “Farmers don’t want this. They want the freedom to be able to sell their property to who they want to at a fair market price, and I would also note that this will hurt public conservation, clean water, hunting, fishing and other public recreation.”

Last week, a subcommittee advanced the land conservation bill over the wishes of many landowners, conservationists and city officials who spoke out against it. A related yet more restrictive proposal failed to make it out of a subcommittee in 2019.

Committee member Sen. Jeff Taylor, R-Sioux Center, proposed that separate legislation to provide farmers to give greater control over their land could potentially be threatened by eminent domain. He said the bill’s percentage limitations might need to be adjusted but that young farmers require greater land purchasing opportunities.

“I do understand some of the concerns that are being raised,” Taylor says, “and I don’t want to be dismissive of those. But on the other hand, what I’m not seeing in those hundreds of computer-generated emails, I’m not seeing any recognition that this is a genuine problem for farmers in the state of Iowa. And I think we need to do something to restore that balance.”