Chris Jones, left, launched his campaign for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Jan. 15, 2026. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Chris Jones, an author, researcher and Iowa water quality advocate, launched his campaign for Iowa secretary of agriculture Thursday outside of Des Moines Water Works.
Jones’ platform for the role includes a more diversified agricultural landscape, more regulations on polluters and concentrated feeding operations and greater access to locally grown food.
“We need a secretary of agriculture that is for the people … and not just for corporate agriculture,” Jones said. “And so that’s what I endeavor to do if I’m elected secretary of agriculture.”
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Jones was formerly a research engineer studying Iowa water quality at the University of Iowa. He spoke Thursday in front of Des Moines Water Works to highlight the fact that the Raccoon River, one of the drinking water sources for central Iowa, had nitrate concentrations in excess of federal safe drinking water standards.
“So clearly, here in Iowa, we are not getting the environmental outcomes that we want from this agricultural production system,” Jones said.
Central Iowa Water Works has been running its nitrate removal system since Jan. 6 in order to continue providing drinking water within safe drinking water limits. Over the summer, nitrate concentrations were so high in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers following a wet spring, that the utility issued a lawn watering ban to decrease demand on the system and remain within safe limits.
Jones said the nitrate levels, which have remained high through the fall and winter, are due to row crop and animal agriculture systems upstream. Jones’ writings and his book, “The Swine Republic,” center largely on the same theme.
This stance, and his calls for Iowa to transition away from corn and soybean farming, has led some, including incumbent Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, to say Jones is anti-farmer.
Jones said he “wants what’s best for farmers” and that means deviating from current production models. Jones said the current agricultural model — of mostly large operation corn and soybean farms and concentrated livestock feeding operations — has not been prosperous and has led to a decline in rural populations and essential services.
“I hope farmers see that I want what’s best for them – I want our farmers to be prosperous,” Jones said. “Iowa cannot be prosperous if farmers aren’t prosperous.”
He also said the role of secretary of agriculture should not be a “farmer popularity contest” and he wants non-farming Iowans to vote for him as well because “agriculture policy is too important just to leave it to agriculture to make the decisions.”
Jones is running for the Democratic nomination against farmer Wade Dooley who announced his campaign Monday.
Jones said more diverse cropping and livestock systems would fix a lot of the current problems facing agriculture, including, water pollution, low prices for corn and the ongoing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
That means different crops, like oats, for example, need to be subsidized and livestock production should transition to “more traditional” methods outside of animal confinement, Jones said.
“Instead of continuously trying to find what we can do with more and more and more corn, maybe let’s think about growing something else,” Jones said.
In his writing, Jones has criticized both the Republican and Democratic parties’ approaches to agriculture and water protections, but he said he is not worried his critiques will impact his campaign.
“I have my own views on things, and they’re not molded by party politics,” Jones said.
Jones will host a campaign kickoff Thursday at Confluence Brewing in Des Moines and a Clean Water Town Hall in Grinnell Jan. 24.
Editor’s note: Chris Jones is a member of Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, which has an informal association with Iowa Capital Dispatch.
This article has been updated to show that Central Iowa Water Works owns the nitrate removal facility in Des Moines.
