Cedar Rapids, IA, USA  
Digital Edition Digital Edition
Log in Log In My Account My Account
Subscribe Today
The Gazette The Gazette
The Gazette The Gazette
  • COVID-19
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Food and Drink
  • Business
Digital Edition Digital Edition
Log in Log In My Account My Account
Subscribe
CLOSE
The Gazette
Subscribe
My Account
  • News
    • All News
    • Election 2020
    • Coronavirus
    • Business News
    • Community
    • Crime and Courts
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Nation and World
    • Time Machine
    • Search Archive

    Our Journalists

    • Rod Boshart
    • Lee Hermiston
    • Erin Jordan
    • James Q. Lynch
    • Trish Mehaffey
    • Vanessa Miller
    • Kat Russell
    • Grace King
    • John Steppe
    • Gage Miskimen
    • Marissa Payne
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Iowa Hawkeyes
    • Hawkeye Football
    • Hawkeye Basketball
    • Prep Sports
    • Prep Volleyball
    • Prep Football
    • Prep Basketball
    • Prep Wrestling
    • Iowa State Cyclones
    • UNI Panthers
    • Small College Sports
    • Minor League Sports
    • Outdoors

    Sports Desk

    • Mike Hlas
    • Jeff Johnson
    • Jeff Linder
    • J.R. Ogden
    • K.J. Pilcher
    • Leah Vann
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Editorial Mission
    • Guest Columnists
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Political Cartoons
    • Staff Columnists
    • Staff Editorials
    • Submit a Letter or Column

    Our Columnists

    • Todd Dorman
    • Adam Sullivan
  • Food and Drink
    • All Food and Drink
    • Chew on This
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Business Notes
    • Companies
    • Personal Finance
    • Economy
    • Employment
    • Energy
    • Manufacturing
    • Openings & Closures
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Small Business
    • Transportation

    Our Journalists

    • Rod Boshart
    • Erin Jordan
    • John Steppe
  • Obituaries
    • All Obituaries
    • In Memory Of
    • Submit an Obituary
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • Daily News Podcast
    • Fact Checker
    • Hlastradamus Odds
    • Iowa Prep Sports
    • On Iowa
    • On Iowa Politics
    • On UNI
    • Pinning Combination
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Art
    • Books
    • Museums & Galleries
    • Music
    • Theater
    • Things To Do
  • Living
    • All Living
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Milestones
    • People & Places
    • Pets & Animals
    • Recreation
    • Religion & Belief
    • Travel

    Our Writers

    • Diana Nollen
    • Elijah Decious
  • Kids Gazette
    • See All
    • Kids Cooking Series
    • Kids Galleries
    • Printables
    • Activities
    • Articles
    • Submissions
    • Resources
  • Photos
    • All Photos and Videos
    • The Iowa Photo
    • Photo Store

    Our Photojournalists

    • Andy Abeyta
    • Liz Martin
    • Rebecca Miller
    • Jim Slosiarek
    • Gazette Visuals
  • Milestones
    • All Milestones
    • Anniversaries
    • Days To Remember
    • Engagements
    • Holidays
    • In Remembrance
    • New Arrivals
    • Thank Yous
    • Submit a Milestone
  • Data
    • Arrests
    • Building Permits
    • Interactive Maps & Charts
    • Salaries
  • Gazette Sites
    • Classifieds
    • Corridor Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Gazette Gives Back
    • Gazette Rewards
    • Gazette Store
    • Green Gazette
    • HER
    • Iowa Wedding Experience
    • Holiday Light Finder
    • Hoopla
    • Iowa Ideas
    • Photo Store
  • Special Events
  • Special Sections
  • Other
    • About The Gazette
    • Archives
    • Article Removal
    • Business Directory
    • CR Arrest Database
    • Mobile Apps
    • Customer Care
    • Order Back Issues
    • Privacy Policies
    • Puzzle Answers
    • Sponsorship Requests
    • Submit a Letter
    • Weather
  • Digital Edition
Daily News PodcastDaily News Podcast
Daily NewslettersDaily Newsletters
Log out

FOLLOW US

The Gazette
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Food and Drink
  • Business
  • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
  • Entertainment
  • Living
  • Kids Gazette
  • Photos
  • Milestones
  • Data
  • Gazette Sites
  • Special Events
  • Special Sections
  • Other
  • Digital Edition
  • All News
  • Election 2020
  • Coronavirus
  • Business News
  • Community
  • Crime and Courts
  • Education
  • Government
  • Health
  • Nation and World
  • Time Machine
  • Search Archive

Our Journalists

  • Rod Boshart
  • Lee Hermiston
  • Erin Jordan
  • James Q. Lynch
  • Trish Mehaffey
  • Vanessa Miller
  • Kat Russell
  • Grace King
  • John Steppe
  • Gage Miskimen
  • Marissa Payne
  • All Sports
  • Iowa Hawkeyes
  • Hawkeye Football
  • Hawkeye Basketball
  • Prep Sports
  • Prep Volleyball
  • Prep Football
  • Prep Basketball
  • Prep Wrestling
  • Iowa State Cyclones
  • UNI Panthers
  • Small College Sports
  • Minor League Sports
  • Outdoors

Sports Desk

  • Mike Hlas
  • Jeff Johnson
  • Jeff Linder
  • J.R. Ogden
  • K.J. Pilcher
  • Leah Vann
  • All Opinion
  • Editorial Mission
  • Guest Columnists
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Political Cartoons
  • Staff Columnists
  • Staff Editorials
  • Submit a Letter or Column

Our Columnists

  • Todd Dorman
  • Adam Sullivan
  • All Food and Drink
  • Chew on This
  • Recipes
  • Restaurants
  • All Business
  • Agriculture
  • Business Notes
  • Companies
  • Personal Finance
  • Economy
  • Employment
  • Energy
  • Manufacturing
  • Openings & Closures
  • Real Estate
  • Retail
  • Small Business
  • Transportation

Our Journalists

  • Rod Boshart
  • Erin Jordan
  • John Steppe
  • All Obituaries
  • In Memory Of
  • Submit an Obituary
  • All Podcasts
  • Daily News Podcast
  • Fact Checker
  • Hlastradamus Odds
  • Iowa Prep Sports
  • On Iowa
  • On Iowa Politics
  • On UNI
  • Pinning Combination
  • All Entertainment
  • Art
  • Books
  • Museums & Galleries
  • Music
  • Theater
  • Things To Do
  • All Living
  • Health & Wellness
  • Home & Garden
  • Milestones
  • People & Places
  • Pets & Animals
  • Recreation
  • Religion & Belief
  • Travel

Our Writers

  • Diana Nollen
  • Elijah Decious
  • See All
  • Kids Cooking Series
  • Kids Galleries
  • Printables
  • Activities
  • Articles
  • Submissions
  • Resources
  • All Photos and Videos
  • The Iowa Photo
  • Photo Store

Our Photojournalists

  • Andy Abeyta
  • Liz Martin
  • Rebecca Miller
  • Jim Slosiarek
  • Gazette Visuals
  • All Milestones
  • Anniversaries
  • Days To Remember
  • Engagements
  • Holidays
  • In Remembrance
  • New Arrivals
  • Thank Yous
  • Submit a Milestone
  • Arrests
  • Building Permits
  • Interactive Maps & Charts
  • Salaries
  • Classifieds
  • Corridor Careers
  • Garage Sales
  • Gazette Gives Back
  • Gazette Rewards
  • Gazette Store
  • Green Gazette
  • HER
  • Iowa Wedding Experience
  • Holiday Light Finder
  • Hoopla
  • Iowa Ideas
  • Photo Store
  • About The Gazette
  • Archives
  • Article Removal
  • Business Directory
  • CR Arrest Database
  • Mobile Apps
  • Customer Care
  • Order Back Issues
  • Privacy Policies
  • Puzzle Answers
  • Sponsorship Requests
  • Submit a Letter
  • Weather
Daily News PodcastDaily News Podcast Daily NewslettersDaily Newsletters
LOG OUT

FOLLOW US

More Stories

Brucemore celebrates 40 years of being open to the public

IMU COVID vaccine clinic coming

Meet the Iowan behind the Vaccine Hunter website

Wellington Heights home gutted in 2017 fire finally coming down

26-year-old man killed in shooting in NE Cedar Rapids

Peggy Whitson to be keynote speaker for Iowa Ideas 2021

Here’s how to get rid of your derecho tree debris

Livestream: Funeral for Iowa state trooper Jim Smith

Home / Opinion / Guest Columnists

Republican for Biden: Iowa farmers are suffering under Trump

Christie Todd Whitman Sep. 25, 2020 4:13 pm Updated: Sep. 25, 2020 4:13 pm
Republican for Biden: Iowa farmers are suffering under Trump

Droughts, floods, more frequent and devastating storms and a novel virus - clearly Mother Nature is not happy with us. The science is clear; we can expect more, and greater intensity weather events that will devastate our local communities and our economy if we don't take action now. The impacts of climate change will be widespread and particularly hard on our agricultural sector, which we have all seen firsthand during this pandemic is essential to keeping us well-fed and prosperous as a nation.

You might ask, what does a former governor from New Jersey know about agriculture and the impacts of climate change on farms in Iowa? Isn't she just some coastal elite whose notion of a farm is conjured from movies and stodgy government reports?

A fair bit, and not really. I live on a small family farm that's been in my family since 1933. I don't grow enough to feed a nation, but we do grow enough vegetables and raise enough pigs, chickens, beef cattle, turkeys, goats and sheep to feed myself, my grandkids, and the occasional guest who gets treated to fresh eggs every time they come over for dinner.

It also might surprise you to learn that while we don't produce as much as the farmers in Iowa, agriculture is the third-largest industry in New Jersey. New Jersey is home to more than 9,071 farms covering 715,057 acres of farmland and our state is the third-largest producer of cranberries, spinach and bell peppers. On a percentage basis, New Jersey has preserved more farmland than any state in the nation.

And as for those stodgy government reports, not only do I read them, but I also oversaw the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President George W. Bush, which used to work with the Department of Agriculture on the extensive impacts of climate change on our nation's agricultural production and output.

What I saw then, and what I see now, is the urgent need for policy action by the next administration - to address climate change to protect our national food security and the future prosperity of our country by rapidly accelerating our shift to renewable energy, creating millions of new jobs and growing our economy.

Iowa's farmers know all too well the economic suffering and pain caused by inaction and rapid intensification of weather events due to climate change. I watched in horror alongside millions of Americans as historic flooding across Iowa in 2019 caused more than $2 billion of damage, wiping out much of that years' crop and leaving farmland in an unrecoverable position for years to come.

These heartbreaking disasters are too often forgotten, left behind in the wake of yet more natural disasters with yet more Americans losing their homes, their economic livelihoods and even their lives. Even now, the West Coast is literally on fire while our friends along the Gulf have experience two hurricanes in two weeks dumping devastating amounts of rain.

Amid all this tragedy, there is a glimmer of hope, but only if the farmers of Iowa and Americans across the country decide to make a change this November by voting for Joe Biden.

While this administration has actively worked to deny science, looked backward to dirty sources of energy to power our future, loosened emissions standards and engaged in destructive trade wars that have crippled farmers in Iowa and across the country, Joe Biden has offered a plan to address climate change that puts our agricultural communities at the forefront. He has proposed sensible policies such as providing low-cost finance for the transition to new equipment and methods, funding research and development in precision agriculture and new crops, and establishing a new voluntary carbon farming market that rewards farmers for the carbon they sequester on their land.

As a Republican governor in a blue state, I had to work across the aisle to get big policy ideas passed. Joe Biden has proved that he can work with Republicans to get important environmental legislation passed that is good for the environment and good for the economy. He introduced the Global Climate Protection Act, the first climate change bill in the Senate and worked with President Reagan to get it passed, jump-starting research and development on a strategy to deal with global warming.

After four years of climate science denial and inaction from this administration, we need this kind of leadership to address one of the greatest challenges we've ever faced. Joe Biden doesn't deny the science. He has the right track record, experience, and plan to help Iowa farmers address the impacts of climate change and to create a modern economy that puts America first.

Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman is the national chairwoman of Republicans and Independents for Biden.

Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden during a community event at Prairie Hill Pavilion in Marion, Iowa, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Trending

  • Drake Relays 2021 form chart, after Thursday’s qualification deadline

    Jeff Linder

  • Suspect in Iowa trooper Jim Smith’s fatal shooting had run…

    Ap

  • Meet the Iowan behind Vaccine Hunter, the site that helps…

    Michaela Ramm

  • Are aliens real? A lot of evidence has come out…

    Michaela Ramm

  • Maps and charts: Coronavirus in Iowa

    The Gazette

Give us feedback

We work hard to provide fair, accurate coverage because we value your trust. If you find an error or omission in our reporting, please tell us here.

Submit a story idea

Do you have a story idea that we should look into? Please tell us here.

Related Stories

Persuasive speaking lessons from Greta Thunberg

Persuasive speaking lessons from Greta Thunberg

By Nick Westergaard Business News Oct. 23, 2019 7:55 pm

Capitol Ideas: Democratic caucus field finally may be taking shape

Capitol Ideas: Democratic caucus field finally may be taking shape

Erin Murphy Government & Politics Jan. 26, 2020 7:03 pm

Coronavirus lawsuits are mounting

Coronavirus lawsuits are mounting

Wilford H. Stone Business News Jul. 1, 2020 6:52 pm

Guest Columnists

’Back the Blue’ legislation makes Iowans less safe and free

’Back the Blue’ legislation makes Iowans less safe and free

Christina Bohannan and Janice Weiner

Guest Columnists Apr. 15, 2021 5:36 pm

The immigration crisis is rooted in conservative policies

The immigration crisis is rooted in conservative policies

Brad Wilson

Guest Columnists Apr. 14, 2021 11:19 am

Vaccines: A shot in the arm as an act of…

Vaccines: A shot in the arm as an act of…

Timothy Walch

Guest Columnists Apr. 13, 2021 5:27 pm

Reynolds puts politics before people in passport debate

Reynolds puts politics before people in passport debate

Bruce Lear

Guest Columnists Apr. 13, 2021 7:57 am

Opinion

Migrant children are not ’our problem,’ governor — they’re our…

Migrant children are not ’our problem,’ governor — they’re our…

Staff Editorial

Opinion 39m ago

Lack of oversight at Iowa’s prisons is a deadly problem

Lack of oversight at Iowa’s prisons is a deadly problem

Staff editorial

Staff Editorials Apr. 16, 2021 7:55 am

Don’t give college sports a blank check

Don’t give college sports a blank check

Staff editorial

Opinion Apr. 15, 2021 5:10 pm

Huddled masses? Not our problem

Huddled masses? Not our problem

Todd Dorman

Staff Columnists Apr. 15, 2021 8:09 am

News

NewBoCo to offer zero-interest loans to minority-owned businesses

NewBoCo to offer zero-interest loans to minority-owned businesses

John Steppe

Small Business News 90m ago

IMU COVID vaccine clinic coming

IMU COVID vaccine clinic coming

Vanessa Miller

Higher Ed 2h ago

Cedar Rapids man sentenced to 20 years for meth distribution

Cedar Rapids man sentenced to 20 years for meth distribution

Trish Mehaffey

Crime and Courts 3h ago

UI bookstore changes strip alternative book vendors from website

UI bookstore changes strip alternative book vendors from website

Vanessa Miller

Higher Ed Apr. 16, 2021 10:07 am

Sports

Keeping fit during quarantine is important

Keeping fit during quarantine is important

By Max Berry-Stoelzle

Iowa Prep Sports 3h ago

State-qualifying track and field assignments are released

State-qualifying track and field assignments are released

Jeff Linder

High School Track and Field Apr. 16, 2021 10:34 am

Iowa’s magical soccer season continuing

Iowa’s magical soccer season continuing

Iowa Hawkeyes Apr. 16, 2021 11:10 am

Drake Relays 2021 form chart, after Thursday’s qualification deadline

Drake Relays 2021 form chart, after Thursday’s qualification deadline

Jeff Linder

High School Track and Field Apr. 16, 2021 8:07 am

FOLLOW US

The Gazette is Iowa’s independent, employee-owned source for local, state, and national news coverage.

© 2021 The Gazette

All Rights Reserved.

  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy
  • Web Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 116 3rd St SE
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
  • customercare@thegazette.com
  • (319) 398-8333
  • Live Chat

Links

  • Puzzle Answers
  • CR Arrest Database
  • Article Removal Request
  • Gazette Archives
  • Green Gazette
  • Corridor Careers Jobs
  • Work at The Gazette
  • Customer Care

© 2021 The Gazette

All Rights Reserved.

  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy
  • Web Accessibility
Folience A Folience Company