By Joel Kurtinitis
Correspondent
Iowa ag leader Bruce Rastetter kicked off his Iowa Ag Summit with an apparent swipe at Texas U.S. Senator and outspoken Renewable Fuel Standard critic Ted Cruz.
Rastetter spoke of Iowa’s responsibility to feed the world, declaring the agriculture industry to be of supreme importance because, “There is not another industry in this country that affects more Americans, than agriculture does every day.” While wrapping up his introduction, Rastetter described the format of the event, concluding with an admonition to the speakers to “answer the questions, don’t filibuster the questions.”
The comment seemed a clear allusion to the 21-hour speech that Cruz gave on the floor of the Senate in 2013.
Governor Terry Branstad issued a warning of his own in following Rastetter. “Don’t mess with the RFS!” boomed the six-term Republican Iowa governor.
Cruz has recently drawn fire from ag-first Republicans for his opposition to the standard.
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