~by State Sen Jesse Green
March 11, 2022
I would like to start this week’s newsletter by wishing my dad Frank Green a happy 70th birthday. I appreciate him so much. He taught me to always fight for what I believed, which is why I ran for office. I did not run for office to push buttons, to gain a title, or to be someone. I came to office to fight to protect our rights but also to advocate for more choice and funding for all of Iowa’s educational environments. I firmly believe that if something has brought us joy in life that we have a moral obligation to give back to those things and fight for those things. This principle is what has guided me to serve at the Dayton Rodeo, volunteer at my old private school, and now serve at the Capitol. Thank you, Dad, for inspiring me to fight, preserve, and protect our conservative values and our way of life that makes rural Iowa so special.
The Senate this week passed out quite a few bills but I will highlight a couple ag bills this week. Dairy related issues took center stage on Wednesday. The Senate debate two bills related to the dairy production and marketing in Iowa. The first bill, SF 2309 legalized the sale of fresh milk for very small producers, 10 animals or less, to sell directly to the consumer. This bill ensures clear labeling so consumers know they are buying an unpasteurized product. It maintains strong consumer protections and is similar to laws in adjacent states governing the sale of fresh milk. These very small producers can now access a new business opportunity to sell a niche product directly to consumers. Fresh milk, and cheeses made from it, are growing in popularity and SF 2309 provides an opportunity for small producers to capitalize on that popularity safely.
Earlier in the day the Senate also ran SF 2290 to foster and develop innovation in the traditional dairy industry. Last year the Legislature passed, and the governor signed, a bill commonly referred as the Butcher Bill to address the overwhelming demand for meat processing in Iowa exacerbated by the pandemic. SF 2290 applies a number of those policy initiatives to the dairy industry as well. It creates a Dairy Processing and Milk Production Innovation and Revitalization program in the Iowa Economic Development Authority in coordination with the Iowa Department of Agriculture. An artisanal dairy study is also created to explore establishing an artisanal dairy processing program at a community college or university. The goal of this bill is to help create new career opportunities in the dairy industry and expand economic development in rural Iowa.
This week I was honored to have local students rally at the capitol for school choice. To see children take the time to advocate for issues that mean so much to them is inspiring. I was also happy to see our local county officials stop by to say hello. Communication is vitally important as a senator, so to have our local officials stop by in person to share their thoughts and concerns was helpful.
We are blessed with such talented local leaders who are also great communicators. Please give a special thank you to your local city and county leaders for serving and helping their communities through the challenging COVID environment we all faced. Have a great week and happy trails till we meet again!
