Don’t let Congress pull the plug on rural Iowa

As a fourth-generation Iowan and someone deeply rooted in agriculture, I’m concerned about recent conversations in Washington that suggest eliminating federal renewable energy tax credits. For Iowa, this is more than just a line item in the budget — it’s a direct threat to our rural economy, energy leadership, and way of life.

These tax credits have helped make Iowa a national leader in renewable energy. We’ve seen billions invested in wind and solar projects across the state. That investment hasn’t just powered our grid — it’s powered our main streets, school districts and farms. It has meant lease payments to landowners, tax revenue for counties, and construction jobs keeping rural communities alive.

These tax credits have deep Iowa roots. Sen. Chuck Grassley was one of their original champions. He understood early on that renewable energy wasn’t just good energy policy — it was good rural policy. Thanks to his leadership, wind energy took off in Iowa, helping farm families survive the economic blows of the 1990s and early 2000s.

I know firsthand how important that extra income stream has been. When corn and bean prices dropped, when input costs soared, it was those steady lease payments from wind turbines or solar panels that kept many operations afloat. And now, with the ag sector facing yet another downturn, we should be looking for ways to expand those opportunities — not shut the door on them.

If we want to give the next generation a fighting chance to stay on the farm, we need to provide them with every possible tool to diversify and thrive. Stripping away these tax credits won’t hurt corporations — it’ll hurt the family farms.

Senator Grassley, we thank you for the role you played in creating these credits and helping Iowa become a renewable energy leader. We now ask you to continue that leadership by defending these tax credits, standing with the renewable energy industry, and supporting the people they truly help: the Iowa farmer.

And to my fellow Iowans — if you’ve seen the benefits of renewable energy in your community, or if you want to protect the future of rural Iowa, I encourage you to reach out to Sen. Grassley. Let him know that these tax credits are working, and that pulling the plug now would be a disservice to everything we’ve built together.

Waylon Brown is regional director for the Clean Grid Alliance and a former state senator. He lives in Osage.