Sen. Joni Ernst takes a group photo with the employees at the Corteva Agriscience facility during her visit. Photo contributed

Ernst was available to speak with the Tama Toledo News Chronicle at the end of the tour about agriculture and other issues facing the county and country.

“Being able to come out and seeing the Corteva operations here, and understanding what products that they are pushing out the door, we talked about labor shortages, which is something that we see everywhere with the supply chain interruption,” she said.

The supply chain interruption has been affecting many aspects of everyday life for Iowans including hunger. One in eight Iowa children face hunger, according to Feeding America.

“Food insecurity is a big topic right now globally knowing that we have Corteva operating here in Iowa providing the types of services that folks are in desperate need of,” Ernst said.

Ernst with administrative supervisor Janell Boldt (left), production location manager John Schutt (middle) and plant operations manager Dalton Owen (right). Photo by Cyote Williams

Inflation has also caused construction costs to soar, with the largest project in Iowa, the Iowa Premium Beef expansion in Tama, currently on hold. The project was set to bring nearly 400 more jobs to the area.

“Nothing as far as the federal government right now is concerned (will bring construction costs down). There are a lot of things that I would like to see done and easing up on regulation, easing up on fuel costs by producing more energy here at home,” Ernst said. “Making sure that we are solving these port issues and container issues. We need to focus on that and yet we don’t see the federal government coming out of the White House. We don’t see them focusing on the issues that are affecting everyday Americans.”

In light of the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, gun violence has continued to be a major topic of discussion throughout the country. There have been over 250 mass shootings in the United States since the beginning of the year, which does not include a shooting at the Cornerstone Church right near Ames on June 2 that left three people dead including the shooter.

According to a Public Policy Polling survey, 83 percent of gun owners support universal background checks before the purchase of a firearm.

“There are a lot of things that we’re considering right now in the Senate and I think the Senate is the key. The House will pass whatever the house wants to pass, but in the Senate, it does have to be a bipartisan solution,” Ernst said when asked what proposals she would support. “So what we’re looking at is a way that yes, we need background checks, we know and understand that. But there is a lot that traditional background checks through NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) that it doesn’t pick up. Not picking up on mental health issues, not picking up on some of the juvenile actions that have been masked. So we’ve got to have a real hard conversation about what we can include as part of those background checks. I do think that there are a lot of ideas that are being floated around. The good news for everybody is that we are considering a lot of different options. It’s not that we’re going to endorse one plan or another, but at least we’re having those hard conversations.”

Sen. Joni Ernst visits the inside of the Corteva Agriscience facility in Dysart and speaks with production location manager John Schutt. Photo contributed