“If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.” 

I was reminded of that quote from former New York Yankees catcher and philosopher Yogi Berra when reading through background information for the 2025 suggested opinionnaire that will help shape Iowa Farm Bureau’s advocacy ef­forts for the upcoming year and beyond.

The state resolutions committee and Farm Bureau staff spent a lot of time putting together information on the issues that have been surfaced this year, which you can read about in this week’s Spokesman or by going to the policy development section on our website at www.iowafarmbureau.com.

Typically, I’m at least somewhat familiar with the issues being discussed, but this year’s backgrounder on hydrogen exploration and mineral rights was completely new to me. The information covers two full pages in this week’s paper, which I’ll admit can appear daunting. You might glance at it and be tempted to say “TLDR,” which in today’s digital slang stands for “too long, didn’t read.”

Trust me when I say that reading the entire article is time well spent. And if you’re like me, it’ll have you hunting for even more information online about the discovery of hydrogen deposits in Iowa, their potential value as a source of clean-burning fuel or fertilizer and, most importantly, how exploration and extraction activities could provide value or create headaches for landowners.

With the thoughtful and informed input of county Farm Bureau members to tell us where we're going, I’m confident that we’ll end up in the right place on policies covering hydrogen exploration and other issues being considered this year.