"Yesterday Iowa won a tremendous victory that will help strengthen our state’s economy for the next five years. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

"After several months of hard work we have successfully completed the farm bill. I’m proud of this legislation. I’m pleased that it garnered bipartisan support. Our bill strengthens income protection for farmers, doubles our commitment to conservation, provides valuable resources for rural economic development, and expands the development of renewable energy.

"Best of all this farm bill will help Iowa. Iowans will find a lot to like in this farm bill. They are depending on its success, and I think I’ve delivered a bill that focuses on Iowa’s future. That’s because we listened to Iowans and drafted a bill that reflects their values and the lives they lead.

"This farm bill will help renewable energy programs like one I visited recently in Waterloo. Curt and Blake Hollis produce and market soybean based grease. This soy-grease, which is 100 percent biodegradable, can be marketed around the world for use on everything from semis to train tracks. This is one example of how both the energy and the rural development initiatives in the farm bill can help build a market for a type of product that grows across Iowa and can be produced right on the farm.

"This farm bill also helps companies like John Deere and the thousands of Iowans they employ, who rely on farmers to stay in business. When I was in Moline last month visiting John Deere, I was told that they were running out of work because farmers could not place orders for new machinery until they and their bankers knew what the farm bill was going to provide over the next crop year. Now those decisions can begin to be made and those orders can be filled.

"Another thing I learned during my visit to John Deere is that the production of switch grass for renewable energy production is becoming so common that the company is beginning to adapt hay bailers so that they can bail switch grass. As many of you know we’’’’ve been able to create a pilot project in the Ottumwa area where switch grass from the Chariton Valley RC&D is burned in an Alliant energy plant and used to provide energy to the region. Through this program we have been able to create a new market for farmers, produce clean and renewable energy at a lower cost for consumers, and now we have created a new market for Iowa’’’’s industries.

"Iowa wins with this farm bill. The Senate bill will pump billions in new investment into the Iowa economy. But it will do this by providing for more than just commodity payments. It will help Iowans start new businesses in our small towns and rural communities by providing greatly needed start-up capital. It will also promote new value added products like soy diesel and ethanol. Our bill will not only raise incomes for farmers by creating new markets for their products, it will create new well-paying jobs for other Iowans who will work in production facilities.

"Families and businesses across Iowa will also benefit from expanded high speed internet access to our rural areas and small towns. If you are a kid that wants to use the tools of the internet to learn, or an entrepreneur who wants to start an internet business at home, it shouldn't matter whether you live in New York City or Brooklyn, Iowa.

"And this bill follows through on our commitment to make conservation a cornerstone of farm policy. That will help our family farmers and it will mean cleaner air and cleaner water for all Iowans and for our kids and grand kids.

"This farm bill learns from the mistakes of the policies of the past. We know that farmers cannot be completely reliant on the government to make a living -- and they shouldn't. And we know that we can't just pull the rug out from under them and expect them to survive. My farm bill gives farmers the support when they need it while rewarding them for using smart environmental practices that helps them make a good living, whiles preserving the land and keeping our water clean.

"Iowa wins under this farm bill because we protect farm incomes, strengthen rural communities and businesses, and open new markets for the products we produce."