State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat running for governor, is proposing new tax credits and more funding to help farmers implement conservation practices as part of his plan to improve water quality and Iowans’ health.
He is calling for a state income tax credit to help farmers pay for conservation practices and a property tax credit for farms that use approved nutrient plans.
“I’ve talked to farmers who have been on a waitlist for conservation programs for two or three years, and I think that we should be focused on making sure that we can bring as many people into those as possible,” Sand said in an interview with IPR.
Some water quality advocates have argued the state should establish more regulations on farms to address Iowa’s persistent water quality problems. Sand did not say if he would rule out pursuing regulations.
“I think that we’ll see real, substantial improvement if we actually invest in monitoring and we invest in conservation programs in a way that politicians so far just haven’t been willing to do, despite the fact that Iowans across the political spectrum want these things,” he said.
Sand also said he wants to boost state funding for water quality monitoring after the Iowa Legislature diverted funding for the Iowa Water Quality Information System in 2023. The system has been supported by a nonprofit organization in the meantime, but that money is expected to run out this summer. State lawmakers are considering providing some of the funding needed to keep the system going.
Sand also proposed creating a water quality notification system to alert Iowans when nitrate levels in drinking water exceed the federal limit and when swimming areas are impaired by E. coli.
Managing manure
Under Sand’s plan, the state would make livestock operations’ manure management records accessible to the public.
“When you know that there’s transparency around what you do, it just helps you do the thing that you know you should do and that you want to do anyway,” he said. “So those moments where you’re tempted to do something else, you don’t give in to that temptation.”
Water quality advocates say too much manure ends up in Iowa’s water, contributing to high nitrate levels. Asked if he favors more enforcement of manure management plans, Sand said he believes in “enforcement for everything.”
Sand called for state investment in digesters, which break down manure to produce biogas. He said they create a closed-loop system to capture methane, produce more stable and usable fertilizer, and help farmers be more profitable.
“This is the thing that, to me, people on the left and the right should be able to agree upon, because at the end of the day, you’re reducing waste and improving efficiency in the system,” Sand said.
Some environmental advocates have criticized digesters, saying they encourage the expansion of concentrated animal feeding operations, causing more pollution.
Sand also said he will oppose efforts to shield pesticide companies from health-related lawsuits.
“We shouldn’t be doing immunity for chemical companies that are sickening Iowans,” he said.
Last year, the Iowa Senate passed a bill to block lawsuits claiming that a pesticide company failed to warn consumers of health risks, as long as the product has a federally-approved label. The bill was proposed by Bayer, which has faced thousands of lawsuits from individuals claiming Roundup caused their cancer.
Sand said it’s important for Iowans to know that a key study that found the active ingredient in Roundup wasn’t a human health risk was retracted by the scientific journal that published it.
Sand lays out healthcare proposals
Sand said he would start to reverse Medicaid privatization on his first day in office if elected governor. Private insurance companies have managed most of Iowa’s Medicaid services since 2016.
IPR asked Sand how he would undo that system without disrupting services for Iowans.
“Privatization of Medicaid is literally inherently a disruption of services,” he said. “It’s raising costs for everybody in the state. It’s making things incredibly expensive, and part of the way that they make a profit is by disrupting services and denying services.”
Sand said he would veto “culture war bills,” including any new abortion restrictions. He said that is important for bringing OB/GYNs to the state and ensuring Iowans don’t have to travel far from home to access prenatal care and give birth.
Sand is proposing creating a cancer task force at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services focused on combatting Iowa’s high cancer rates.
He said one aspect of that would be addressing exposure to radon, which causes lung cancer. Sand said home inspectors should be required to ask potential home buyers if they want to test for radon, and the state should put resources into training more people to work in radon mitigation.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in January that Iowa will use $50 million from the Rural Health Transformation Fund to start addressing cancer prevention, screening, and treatment — including radon mitigation and testing.
Sand said that is one-time money provided by the federal government to offset some Medicaid cuts made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“So they can talk about the money that’s been added to healthcare in Iowa, but the reality is that when you factor in the size of their cuts, we are at a net $80 billion cut,” he said.
Sand is also proposing “cracking down” on pharmacy benefit managers and expanding insurance coverage for telehealth services.
