Following the resignation of Bob Packwood, Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley has won back a seat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

His appointment comes less than a week after introducing the “The Farm Income Transition Act of 1995.”

Grassley had served as a member of the Agriculture Committee from January 1992 to January 1995, but was temporarily ousted from his seat in January with an influx of new senators after the 1994 elections.

Grassley said he has participated in debate over issues affecting farmers in Iowa and across the country by introducing a comprehensive farm bill proposal.

“Now I’ll have a seat at the committee table, and I look forward to building on the momentum gained,” Grassley said.

In February, Grassley organized a “bipartisan farm bill coalition” with other agriculture-oriented senators not serving on the Agriculture Committee.

Iowa State’s Eric Hoiberg, a professor of sociology and agriculture, said farm states such as Iowa need to have “knowledgeable representation” on the Agriculture Committee. He said Grassley knows what farmers need because he operates a family farm himself in New Hartford.

“I can’t overemphasize the importance of having that knowledge base,” Hoiberg said. “Congress has become more and more urban oriented, representing their urban and suburban constituencies and sometimes, I think, the people on the agricultural committees don’t have a comprehensive understanding of what exactly is going on out there.”

Grassley also serves as a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on International Trade. He has left a position on the Governmental Affairs Committee to rejoin the Agriculture Committee.

Dennis Shannon, manager of the ISU Outlying Research Farms, said although ISU’s farms are not eligible for government farm incentives, Grassley’s position might bolster state agricultural positions.

Hoiberg said Grassley and ISU have a “mutual appreciation for each other,” in that the senator deems ISU “a leader in formulating foreign agricultural policy and agricultural research.”