Here's What Iowa Ag and Environmental Groups Want in the '26 Legislative Session

Without your donation, some stories vanish. Support Decorah News. Water quality, property rights and pesticide labeling are top issues that Iowa agriculture and environmental groups hope to see addressed in the 2026 legislative session. Property rights issues center on the use of eminent domain for a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline. Demands to improve water quality take a couple of different approaches, including appropriated funding for a nitrate monitoring network and various land management strategies. This will the the third year that a bill related to pesticide labeling has appeared in the Iowa Statehouse. Eminent domain and property rights Debate around eminent domain and a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline have filled the halls of the Iowa State Capitol for the past four years and dominated the final days of the 2025 session, when lawmakers passed a bill restricting carbon sequestration pipelines' abilities to build in certain areas. Farmers, ethanol industry employees and union members gathered on the steps of the Rotunda May 9, 2025 to voice support for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The bill was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Landowners and lawmakers, however, are already preparing for renewed policy and debate over the issue. Iowa Corn Growers Association noted in its 2026 legislative priorities that it will back "all efforts to lower (the) carbon intensity score of corn-based ethanol and promote ethanol as a carbon reduction solution across all markets while maintaining property rights." The association, along with renewable fuel groups, have been supportive of the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which would transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to an underground storage site and give the ethanol and corn industry access to low-carbon fuel markets. Leading up to session, Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, has said he plans to introduce legislation that would allow pipeline companies to route around landowners without the use of eminent domain. Pesticide labeling Past bills, supported by the manufacturer of the common pesticide Roundup, would have ruled that pesticide labels issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be sufficient in satisfying a requirement to warn users of the product's health and safety. Opponents argue these bills would give pesticide companies, like Bayer and beyond, immunity from lawsuits where users claim the product gave them cancer. A bill passed the Senate in the 2025 session, but was not picked up in the House. Iowa Corn Growers Association supported the bill in 2025 and said in its 2026 policy guide that it supports "regulating pesticide residues in consumer products in finished goods, not by restricting pesticide use as labeled during production." Iowans told lawmakers to "do your job" at a rally organized by Food and Water Watch on Feb. 10, 2025 in the Iowa Capitol Rotunda. They were opposing a Senate bill relating to pesticide companies. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch). The association's president, Mark Mueller, said in a news release that policy priorities are shaped by policy surveys and roundtable discussions with members. "The issues outlined in this year's priorities reflect issues that matter most to Iowa's corn farmers, and with the start of the legislative session next week, we are excited to fight for these issues on behalf of Iowa's corn growers," Mueller said. A policy update from Iowa Soybean Association said the ag group anticipates a bill that will "provide consistency and clarity on pesticide labeling" and provide "consistent" labeling from state to state. Environmental groups opposed the bill in past sessions, alleging such protections to pesticide companies stripped Iowans of their right to sue pesticide companies for causing illnesses. The EPA holds that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is unlikely to be a carcinogen, but opponents of the bill argue otherwise. The scientific journal that originally published a key study on the safety of the chemical, recently retracted the study, citing concerns around authorship and the validity of the research findings. Food & Water Watch, in its "blueprint" for clean water in Iowa, said the Legislature must "resist and oppose all efforts to protect corporate pesticide manufacturers through language granting pesticides immunity from liability." Water quality Improving water quality in Iowa has been a priority for environmental groups in Iowa for years, but things like a lawn watering ban and a water quality report in central Iowa in 2025 elevated the issue for lawmakers and other groups. Notably, several groups have called on the Legislature to restore funding, at $600,000 annually to the Iowa Water Quality Information System, or IWQIS, which gives real-time measures of pH, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and temperature in streams across the state. The network has been supported by the Walton Family Foundation since the Legislature diverted funds for the network in 2023, but the funding is set to run out this summer. Iowa Environmental Council listed restoration of state funding for the program as a 2026 priority. "A clear picture of how water moves through Iowa's waterways — along with where pollution comes from and how water quality is changing — is essential for developing effective, evidence based solutions that protect our health and ecosystems," the council said in its legislative priorities. The group is also asking the Legislature to protect water quality by prohibiting the discharge of coal ash leachate, a byproduct of burning coal, into waterways. Food & Water Watch, a non-profit environmental group, called for the restoration of funding for the water monitoring system in its long list of priorities for clean water in Iowa. The group pointed to nitrate as the "primary pollutant of concern" in Iowa waterways. Food & Water Watch asked for an end to large animal feeding operations in "vulnerable" groundwater areas, tighter language around manure lagoons and manure application procedures and requirements that producers submit manure management plans to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other policy recommendations. "Iowa's current policies fail to keep the public informed or to address pollution before it reaches people's drinking water," the blueprint reads. Iowa Corn Growers Association also noted conservation and water quality as top priorities for 2026. The association asked the Legislature to maintain funding for the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy — a state-led program to assess and reduce nutrient runoff into Iowa waters and the Mississippi River. The strategy promotes practices like cover crops, fine-tuned fertilizer application and reduced tillage, but it does not mandate nutrient reductions. Other priorities: Lawmakers have highlighted that lowering Iowa property taxes will be a key goal of the 2026 session and Iowa farm groups noted property tax policies were also a priority this year. Ag groups also spoke in favor of a comprehensive agriculture bill, not yet filed but proposed, by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. The bill includes provisions for tax relief, expanded economic opportunities and enhanced biosecurity policies. Last year lawmakers considered several bills restricting food ingredients, including banning margarine from school lunches. Iowa Soybean Association noted that it would continue to advocate for the health attributes and safety of soy-based foods in the wake of similar bills. Iowa Environmental Council additionally called on the Legislature to invest in programs and resources to reduce the prevalence of radon exposure in Iowa residences. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that has been linked to lung cancer. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin the 2026 legislative session on Jan. 12. Your inbox, upgraded! Subscribe for free and enjoy handpicked stories, helpful advice, and local insights delivered weekly.