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Chris Jones launches Iowa ag secretary campaign with call to ‘retreat from ethanol’
Jones centered his campaign on water quality, criticizing Iowa’s reliance on ethanol and the influence of industrial agribusiness on state agriculture policy
Jan. 15, 2026 3:44 pm, Updated: Jan. 15, 2026 5:03 pm
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DES MOINES — Clean water advocate and author Chris Jones formally launched his campaign for Iowa secretary of agriculture with a sharp critique of the state’s farm economy — calling for a “retreat from ethanol” and a fundamental shift in how Iowa produces food in order to improve water quality.
Standing outside Des Moines Water Works on Thursday, Jones said Iowa’s heavy reliance on corn grown for ethanol has helped drive pollution while offering diminishing long-term returns for farmers and rural communities.
“I think ethanol is a dead end,” Jones said. “With the emergence of electric vehicles, we see that demand for liquid fuels overall is going to decline, and so we really need to think about a retreat from ethanol.”
Jones argued that Iowa devotes enormous amounts of land to corn for fuel — “an area of the land the size of 20 counties,” he said — contributing to nitrate pollution in rivers and drinking water supplies. Rather than continuing to expand corn production, he said Iowa should incentivize alternative crops that he said could diversify agriculture while reducing environmental damage.
“Instead of continuously trying to find what we can do with more and more and more corn, maybe let’s think about growing something else,” Jones said, suggesting oats as one possible alternative crop he said requires less fertilizer and produces less runoff.
Water quality at the center of the campaign
Jones centered his campaign on what he called Iowa’s worsening water quality crisis, arguing the state’s dominant agricultural production system has failed both the public and farmers.
“The public is not getting the environmental outcomes that they want from this production system, and farmers are not getting the economic outcomes that they want,” he said.
Nitrate concentrations in many Iowa rivers reached near-record levels in 2025 following a wet spring after years of dry conditions. Last summer, Central Iowa Water Works — which serves about 600,000 customers — implemented its first-ever lawn-watering ban to reduce demand so the system could keep pace with nitrate removal.
Jones said communities are left managing pollution tied to row-crop farming and animal agriculture while wealth generated by the system flows elsewhere.
He also questioned whether the current system has served rural Iowa, pointing to population loss and declining services in many communities.
Jones pointed to federal aid for farmers hurt by trade disputes as evidence the system isn’t working for either producers or the public. He noted the government is providing “$12 billion in relief to farmers that are suffering under the tariffs,” yet farmers are not getting the economic outcomes that they want, arguing instead that “multinational and ungovernable corporate agribusiness corporations” are the ones “extracting the wealth” and leaving Iowans with the pollution.
“Has this current production system been good for rural Iowa? Has it been as good as it could be for farmers?” he said. “I would say the answer to that is no.”
Background and criticism of current leadership
Jones, a former University of Iowa researcher, previously worked for the Iowa Soybean Association and Des Moines Water Works. He began publicly writing about water quality in 2016 while overseeing a network of pollution-monitoring sensors at the university.
In 2023, Jones published “The Swine Republic,” a critique of Iowa’s agricultural and political leadership on water quality. He continues to write on Substack and in 2024 founded Driftless Water Defenders, a nonprofit environmental law and advocacy organization.
Jones sharply criticized incumbent Republican Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, a former Monsanto lobbyist who has held the office since 2018, arguing the secretary is too closely aligned with corporate agribusiness, and said the current system serves corporate interests over the public.
He also faulted Naig’s handling of animal disease issues, including bird flu, saying a focus on disease management fails to address what he described as the underlying risks posed by large-scale livestock confinement systems.
Naig’s campaign and a representative from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, which represents Iowa’s ethanol industry, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon.
Naig, who announced his re-election campaign in May, rolled out a wide-ranging legislative proposal dubbed the “Iowa Farm Act,” just ahead of the start of the 2026 legislative session. According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the legislation is intended to support farmers and rural communities while positioning Iowa agriculture for long-term growth.
The proposal drew public backing from a broad coalition of agricultural groups, including the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. Naig said the package reflects ideas gathered from farmers and rural communities and is designed to expand economic opportunities, support the next generation of farmers and reduce regulatory and tax burdens.
Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, in a statement, said Naig has a record of “expanding markets for Iowa agriculture, accelerating conservation efforts, and delivering real results for Iowa families.”
“That’s the steady leadership Iowans want, not Democrat policies that lead to higher taxes and heavier regulations that drive up gas and grocery prices,” Kaufmann said.
Policy agenda
Jones said improving water quality would require both incentives and regulation. He called for publicly funded “off-ramps” to help farmers transition from corn-soybean monoculture to more diverse, multiyear crop rotations, along with common sense environmental rules.
Among the changes he outlined:
- Ending fall tillage and banning manure application on snow or frozen ground;
- Requiring stream buffers instead of farming to the water’s edge;
- Aligning fertilizer use with recommended application rates;
- Rethinking Iowa’s Master Matrix system for livestock confinement projects and returning some siting authority to counties and
- Creating publicly funded “off‑ramps” to help farmers move from corn-soybean monoculture to more diverse, multi‑year rotations.
Jones also said he opposes the Summit carbon pipeline and taxpayer subsidies for carbon sequestration tied to ethanol, reiterating his belief that ethanol does not have a strong future.
A message to farmers — and Democrats
Jones acknowledged his message may make some farmers — including those aligned with the Iowa Farm Bureau — uneasy, but said his agenda is ultimately pro-farmer and pro-rural Iowa.
“I know there’s some trepidation from farmers about me, but look, I want what’s best for farmers,” he said. “I want our farmers to be prosperous. Iowa cannot be prosperous if farmers aren’t prosperous.”
He argued agriculture policy affects all Iowans and said the race for secretary of agriculture “should not be a farmer popularity contest.”
Jones also said he has been critical of both political parties, arguing Democrats and Republicans alike have embraced policies — including ethanol — that he believes have worsened environmental conditions. He said he is not beholden to corporate agribusiness or party politics and hopes his candidacy pushes Democrats to take a more aggressive stance on water quality.
Sixth-generation farmer Wade Dooley of central Iowa announced he is also seeking the Democratic nomination for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2026.
Iowa’s primary election is June 2. The general election is Nov. 3.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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