UMRC Chris Jones Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Candidate
Sep 12, 2026 · 4 min · 3 segments
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Sep 12, 2026 · 4 min · 3 segments
Chris Jones, candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, will be presenting at the 2026 Upper Mississippi Conference.
Chris Jones' campaign is centered on responding to Iowa's growing water quality concerns and the elevated cancer rates that result from agricultural pollution.
Chris has a PhD in chemistry and has studied nutrient management, hydrology, and agricultural watersheds for the majority of his career.
Chris's campaign journal highlights the fundamental issues that prevent farmers from more sustainable farming practices, and he lays out the steps Iowans must take to remedy this timely concern.
In one of his recent articles, he emphasized the role of ethanol in creating a feedback loop of environmental degradation and nitrogen pollution.
Demonstrated in his article, How Much Corn is Enough?, Jones' take on biofuels is that they are not the future of Iowa's economy.
He states that even if the nation maintains a 10% ethanol blend, we are already producing more than enough corn for ethanol.
and American corn growers would need 34.4 million fewer acres by 2050.
He goes on to add that this industry, which takes up over 25% of the state's total area, will likely always be reliant on governmental policy for its existence.
especially as demand for these liquid fuels is projected to decline.
Aside from the economic implications of the state's relationship with the ethanol industry, most Midwesterners are even more concerned about its effect on the quality of the water they consume.
Nitrate concentrations in Iowa are among the highest in the nation, and the load continues to grow.
Further, only 4% of Iowa's community water systems have the capability of removing this nutrient load.
Even water sources that are able to meet EPA standards can be unsafe, as a growing body of research associates colorectal, ovarian, bladder, thyroid, and prostate cancer to nitrate levels far below the organization's designated limit of 10 milligrams per liter.
The primary contributors to these large nitrate loads are concentrated animal feeding operations, millions of farm acres with tile drainage, and lack of regenerative farming practices, which encompasses a lack of crop diversity.
Policy incentive would also boost the production of alternative crops and make livestock in pastoral systems and not feed operations feasible.
To learn more about the issues facing Iowa's waterways, such as crop insurance, pesticides, sustainable alternatives, to traditional farming practices.
Subscribe to Chris Jones's Substack and read the 2026 Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa's Cancer Crisis Report by the Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute.
Chris Jones, candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, will be presenting at the 2026 Upper Mississippi Conference.
Chris Jones' campaign is centered on responding to Iowa's growing water quality concerns and the elevated cancer rates that result from agricultural pollution.
Chris has a PhD in chemistry and has studied nutrient management, hydrology, and agricultural watersheds for the majority of his career.
Chris's campaign journal highlights the fundamental issues that prevent farmers from more sustainable farming practices, and he lays out the steps Iowans must take to remedy this timely concern.
In one of his recent articles, he emphasized the role of ethanol in creating a feedback loop of environmental degradation and nitrogen pollution.
Demonstrated in his article, How Much Corn is Enough?, Jones' take on biofuels is that they are not the future of Iowa's economy.
He states that even if the nation maintains a 10% ethanol blend, we are already producing more than enough corn for ethanol.
and American corn growers would need 34.4 million fewer acres by 2050.
He goes on to add that this industry, which takes up over 25% of the state's total area, will likely always be reliant on governmental policy for its existence.
especially as demand for these liquid fuels is projected to decline.
Aside from the economic implications of the state's relationship with the ethanol industry, most Midwesterners are even more concerned about its effect on the quality of the water they consume.
Nitrate concentrations in Iowa are among the highest in the nation, and the load continues to grow.
Further, only 4% of Iowa's community water systems have the capability of removing this nutrient load.
Even water sources that are able to meet EPA standards can be unsafe, as a growing body of research associates colorectal, ovarian, bladder, thyroid, and prostate cancer to nitrate levels far below the organization's designated limit of 10 milligrams per liter.
The primary contributors to these large nitrate loads are concentrated animal feeding operations, millions of farm acres with tile drainage, and lack of regenerative farming practices, which encompasses a lack of crop diversity.
Policy incentive would also boost the production of alternative crops and make livestock in pastoral systems and not feed operations feasible.
To learn more about the issues facing Iowa's waterways, such as crop insurance, pesticides, sustainable alternatives, to traditional farming practices.
Subscribe to Chris Jones's Substack and read the 2026 Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa's Cancer Crisis Report by the Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute.
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