(Des Moines) Iowa senators voted Monday to increase the floor and ceiling of the fund that pays Iowa farmers in the event that their grain buyer goes broke.
Sen. Mike Zimmer, D-DeWitt, called the bill a “much needed improvement” to the current grain indemnity policy.
“What makes me most anxious about it is that with every day tariffs coming on, every day our markets are being closed for our farmers and their commodities,” Zimmer said. “The ability for our grain elevators to store this grain while they continue to look for other markets is very, very important.”
Senate File 608 would increase the minimum of the grain indemnity fund to $5 million and the maximum to $12 million. This is an increase from the current parameters, which are set at $3 million and $8 million, though it is not as great an increase as a bill proposed in the Iowa House of Representatives. The House bill would increase the fund’s range to $8 million and $16 million.
SF 608 would also include “grain purchased under credit-sale contract” under the definition of “purchased grain” meaning grain purchased on a credit sale would be eligible for the same indemnity protections.
The House version of the bill would also include credit-sale contracts, but would reimburse those contracts at a rate of 70% of the grain purchased.
Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen, R-Walcott, added a minor clarifying amendment to the bill, which passed.
The bill advances after a vote of 39-8.
House File 508 has yet to be debated on the House floor.
