Political Voices: Iowa’s Farm Income Projected to Plummet in 2026, Ag-Related Layoffs Expected to Continue. Who is Here to Help?

By: Rita Hart, Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party 

Nick Larson and a quarter of Iowa farmers get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. When ACA provisions expired at the end of 2025, Larson’s family faced an immediate tax increase of $3,000 per year.  

Skyrocketing health care prices are only one challenge Iowa farmers are currently facing.  An ag downturn hit Iowa family farms hard in 2025. Iowa recorded the second-most farm bankruptcies in the nation during the first six months of 2025.  

Predictions show things may only get worse this year.  

Iowa’s farm income is projected to plummet by 24 percent in 2026.  

Simply put, that means there will be more layoffs in ag-related manufacturing this year and an  already three-year downturn for corn and soybeans will continue.  

In 2025, Ag-related manufacturers like John Deere, Bridgestone, Kinze Manufacturing and even  Tyson Foods were hit hard, collectively laying off thousands of Iowa workers.  

Iowa is an ag-dependent state. Iowa’s family farms are the backbone of our state and when our  agriculture industry – which accounts for nearly a quarter of Iowa’s economic output – struggles, we all  struggle.  

So what to do?  

What we shouldn't do is make things worse.  

Between skyrocketing health insurance costs, declining farm income, uncertainty brought on by Donald Trump’s trade wars, and House Republicans’ inability to pass a farm bill, farmers have been left to figure things out on their own.  

Lawmakers at the statehouse do have some power to help Iowa’s farmers. Fully funding farmer programs could provide more tax credits to landowners leasing to new farmers and more low-interest loans for land, equipment, and livestock purchases.  

Loan participation programs can help farmers secure down payments for significant farm assets.  Leaders can be working to improve domestic and foreign markets for Iowa products, rather than  making it harder for our farmers to sell their goods. These efforts work better when they are bipartisan  which means our leaders have to recognize that good ideas come from both sides of the aisle, and that  it’s important to farmers and to the state of Iowa that we work together to get things done.  Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig proposed a new Farm Act recently, which calls for more  money to maintain essential operations in animal health, food safety, consumer protection, and water quality initiatives as part of the Department's FY27 proposal. Those initiatives are practical solutions and  much-needed.  

However, Iowa Republicans may have a challenging time coming up with practical solutions to  help because they are facing a $1 billion revenue shortfall this year. Poor budgeting decisions result in fewer opportunities to make a difference for farmers who are struggling to survive when the cards are  stacked against them with high costs, challenging weather, compromised markets, low commodity prices, and yes, impossibly expensive health care premiums. After all, farmers have to take care of their families, too.  

While Republicans struggle this legislative session to come up with enough money to help – one  thing is certain. We shouldn’t be making it harder for farmers like Larson to stay in business.  Larson has tried to reach out to his Representative, Ashley Hinson, about his skyrocketing health care rates, but he hasn’t received much of a response.  

Larson deserves a response. He needs a partner with the government and good agricultural policy to help him succeed and mostly not hold him back. Like any typical Iowa farmer he knows how to roll up his sleeves and go to work. Iowa is blessed with good soil, and Iowa farmers are famous for their  practical know-how, strong backs, and good old American ingenuity. We cannot afford to leave Iowa  farmers behind.