Zach Lahn is running for Governor in Iowa and is the first candidate to be endorsed by RFK JR’s MAHA Action organization. If elected, he intends to stop subsidies and veto incentives for big ag, actions that could anger likely campign contributors. Can he win without party backing if it comes to that?
Lahn discusses President Trump’s executive order protecting Glyphosate. Is a new rift forming between MAHA, MAGA, and the GOP? Are new battle lines being formed in Iowa? And can he convince Iowa farmers to lead the country in regenerative agriculture? With rising cancer rates and our kids fleeing the state, we can’t wait any longer.
Who is Zach Lahn?
Zach Lahn is an Iowa businessman and regenerative farmer. His campaign focuses on systemic issues including the state’s high cancer rates, the loss of 10,000 family farms over two decades, and the rapid out-migration of young residents. He argues that captured government agencies have prioritized multinational corporations over the health and economic stability of everyday Iowans.
Challenging Corporate Immunity and Agricultural Monopolies
Lahn takes a firm stance against “shield laws” that protect pesticide manufacturers from legal liability, promising to veto any legislation that grants immunity to companies like Bayer. He argues that such protections subvert the free market by denying citizens recourse for harm. A view two likely competitors, Adam Steen and Rob Sand didn’t share on earlier interviews.
Lahn goes as far to advocate for federal antitrust action to break up the “Big Three” agricultural giants—Bayer, Corteva, and Syngenta—which he claims have consolidated the market and exploit farmers. “No product should have immunity from liability, period,” Lahn stated during the interview. “Part of the free market is to give people the ability to have recourse if they’re harmed from a product.”
IEDA is currently advocating for incentives to get Corteva’s need seed headquarters in central Iowa—a move Lahn opposes.
Economic Incentives and Bringing Iowans Home
Critiquing the state’s current economic development strategy, Lahn pointed out that Iowa often provides “welfare” to profitable, publicly traded companies while homegrown businesses struggle to compete. He highlighted a massive data center project receiving over 500 million dollars in tax abatements for only 30 promised jobs as a prime example of “backwards” incentives. Lahn proposes diverting these funds to help Iowa graduates return to the state through down-payment assistance or bonuses. “Governors don’t grow economies; people grow economies,” Lahn noted. “How can we have our economy grow if we’re exporting our most valuable resource we have?”
Lahn went as far to suggest money currently given to large ag companies should be given to students to incentivize them to return. He didn’t give specifics on this plan however.
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Lahn, who operates his own regenerative farm, also advocated for “food freedom” laws to allow small farmers to process and sell meat locally without federal interference. He believes shifting toward regenerative and organic practices is a path to financial independence for the next generation. “My goal is to help Iowa’s farmers make more money,” Lahn emphasized, “so they don’t have to have an off-farm income job, and that they can pass their farm onto the next generation.”
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