MUSCATINE, Iowa–Thursday, July 28, Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture John Norwood visited Muscatine’s Black Pearl Café. Norwood held a modest meet and greet with about 15 local residents where he discussed his vision for the future of agriculture in Iowa and answered questions.
Originally born on the east coast, Norwood held positions relating to agriculture in both Massachusetts and California before he came to Iowa 23 years ago, where he raised his family. Norwood currently serves as the Soil and Water Commissioner for Polk County.
Norwood introduced his platform by focusing on four areas he believed could take Iowa’s highly productive agriculture system and make it more sustainable and successful for the long term: “Iowa has been a leader in productivity. Iowa can be a leader in sustainability,” he said.
To help respond to climate change and the effects it has had on Iowa’s weather, Norwood would prioritize policies that promote resiliency, especially by keeping soil healthy to prevent it from running off during heavy rain.
Related to this goal, Norwood would promote resiliency in Iowa’s agriculture’s system, by encouraging farmers to expand the rotation of different crops they grow and how they raise livestock.
In tandem with resiliency, Norwood would also seek ways to diversify farming by finding strategies for farms of all sizes to succeed as well as to encourage people interested in farming for the first time to start first generation farms.
By focusing on these different areas, Norwood thinks Iowa can better respond to several of what he called mega trends, which he identified as continued climate change, shifts in food preferences, and the electrification of vehicles. Norwood also feels his approach to the office will allow him to respond to these trends more nimbly as well. “I am an independent thinker,” he stated. “If we want to build Iowa to last, we need to think from a design perspective.”
Norwood then opened the floor to questions. When asked to elaborate on how electrification could affect agriculture, he explained he thought manufactures could create electric tractors in the future. However, he thought manufacturers will make them smaller and possibly with interchangeable battery packs to prevent farmers from having downtime while charging them.
Meagan Koehler, president of It Takes a Village Animal Rescue and Resources asked Norwood about further regulation for dog breeders registered with the United States Department of Agriculture, eliminating breed specific bans at the state level, and incentivizing veterinarians to come to Iowa, as each of these issues technically fall into the Department of Agriculture’s domain. Though Norwood did not have many specific plans for these issues, he expressed interest in exploring them further and to working with animal welfare groups if elected.
Finally, Norwood took a question on his thoughts about the growing of hemp and other cannabis products, if laws in Iowa change to allow their use for either medical or recreational purposes. Norwood believed exploring how to safely raise and regulate these products, should they become legal, would make sense, and his office would take an active role in that work.
