Potential Republican presidential candidates will participate in the Iowa Ag Summit this weekend – the Des Moines Register reports. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst plans to attend and wants to hear candidates encouraging support for more types of voluntary soil and water conservation practices and nutrient management. Ernst says it’s important for the candidates to understand these are important to all of the ag communities across the country – and that a one-size-fits-all approach from the federal government doesn’t work for every state.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says people use the summit as part of their ongoing analysis of the candidates. He says the candidates better be able to explain why they are for or against certain issues and be able to fit that into their overall philosophy of government. For instance – Northey says Iowans don’t expect each candidate to have intimate knowledge of the crop insurance program – but ignorance reads as lack of interest. If someone is just blowing smoke on an issue – Northey says you can tell they’re just winging it and pretending they know what’s going on. He says that’s a red flag not just about agriculture – but about everything else they are talking about. Potential candidates expected to speak are Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, Donald Trump and Scott Walker.