To the editor:

In response to Mr. Kruse’s article recently entitled, “There are a few in every bushel,” I will admit I am one of those “few.”

You participated in a demonstration at the Iowa State Capitol lobbying against a bill that you say would “bar the use of eminent domain for virtually anything” HF2104 states it plainly enough: “No eminent domain for carbon oxide pipelines.”

When we as landowners and farmers are at the capital we are called, “activists, environmentalists, and extremists.” Your group consisted of many I assume paid Corn Grower’s staff and Summit employees. We as farmers and landowners have been using our own time and money to preserve our private property rights for our next generations. The House and the Dauntless Dozen in the Senate support our constitutional rights. That is the oath all elected officials take when sworn into office.

You think Sen. (Mike) Klemish’s bill SF2067 would solve the eminent domain issue for “reasonable” people. So, are your “reasonable” people the ones who are willing to sell away their property rights for a big enough offer? I guess I’m not “reasonable,” because no amount of money is worth losing my property rights. There is no protection against eminent domain in Klemish’s bill.

Sen. Klemish must be a “reasonable” person having received $5,000 from Bruce Rastetter on Nov. 18, 2025, and again on Dec. 24, 2025, just before the new legislative session started.

Iowa Corn Growers portray ethanol in a gloom and doom scenario, but ethanol seems to be doing well without the pipeline.

U.S. ethanol producers have officially set a new ethanol production record in 2025, according to the latest EIA data.

“The official EIA data released today confirm that 2024 was a banner year for the U.S. ethanol industry,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

We all know one of the biggest competitors for our ethanol is Brazil. And who owns ethanol plants to compete against us — Bruce Rastetter! We give him control over these pipelines and ethanol plants here in the Midwest, our markets may very well be dictated by Bruce Rastetter.

Zach Brummer from Farm Bureau sums it up very well in the Feb. 4, 2026, edition of the Farm Bureau Spokesman: “In closing, I want to acknowledge that while the current outlook, especially for row crop farmers, appears challenging, market sentiment can change quickly. Commodity markets are cyclical and better times will return.

“We are resourceful, determined and stubborn. We know how to hunker down and wait out the storm.”

I hope Mr. Kruse has seen the latest Summit maps filed in the Iowa Utilities Commission dockets on Phase 2, that are about 80% unsigned easements. If this pipeline was a good idea, landowners would be standing at Summit’s door begging to sign easements.

The original HF 2401 bill is a good compromise. It protects property rights and still allows Summit to build.

Kathy Stockdale

farming for 50 years