2026 Candidate Conversations
The Iowa Food System Coalition’s 2026 Candidate Conversations give Iowans a nonpartisan way to hear directly from candidates about the food, farm, health, land, water, and rural community issues shaping Iowa’s food system.
IFSC invited candidates for Governor, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, all four U.S. House districts, and Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat to participate in recorded conversations between August 15 and September 30, 2026.
New conversations will be added to this page as they are recorded throughout the series.
Each conversation explores how candidates approach issues including beginning farmer and land access, farm and food business development, local food infrastructure, farm to school and public purchasing, Food Is Medicine, agricultural workforce challenges, environmental stewardship, water quality, and pesticide drift. These conversations are designed to help Iowa voters better understand how candidates would use the office they are seeking to influence Iowa agriculture and the broader food system.
Alongside these recorded conversations, IFSC’s Voter Engagement Guide provides information about the 2026 series, participating offices, and ways Iowans can engage with candidates around food and farm issues.
The Iowa Food System Coalition is a statewide, nonpartisan coalition working to strengthen Iowa’s food system through research, collaboration, policy development, and public engagement. IFSC does not endorse candidates. All candidates for the offices included in this series were invited to participate. The goal of the Candidate Conversations is to give Iowans useful information so they can decide for themselves which candidates best reflect their priorities for Iowa’s food and farm system. Candidates who have not yet accepted may do so by contacting Tommy Hexter at director@iowafoodsystemcoalition.org.