From urban D.C. to rural Iowa, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker came to Boone to discuss issues facing farmers and show his support for J.D. Scholten.

Scholten is the Democratic candidate running against Steve King, the eight-time incumbent for Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District.

The Boone County Democrats welcomed Booker as a special guest Monday afternoon for an agricultural roundtable event and to voice his support for Scholten.

Booker and Scholten were both received by applause and a standing ovation as they were welcomed into a room filled to standing capacity.

Booker began by saying farmers are being treated unfairly by the current markets.

“Farmers are getting squeezed in the middle,” Booker said.

Booker said he has visited several Midwest states and seen that farmers were hurting. He decided to make a bill intending to aid agricultural communities.

The bill Booker recently introduced to the Senate that put an 18-month moratorium on certain agricultural business mergers and acquisitions. Under the proposed legislation, any qualifying company worth $160 million or more would be prohibited from merging or acquiring another company worth $16 million.

“40 percent of Iowans are income insecure,” Booker said, pointing to large corporations and saying they are hurting the lower income earning of Americans. including rural farmers.

“The benefits of low commodity prices are not being passed on to American consumers,” Booker said about what his bill would change. “The gap between what shoppers pay for food and what farmers are paid is growing wider.”

The audience was receptive to the message and punctuated each point with a cheer. Booker promised that if they elected Scholten, he would work hard for them.

Although Booker did blame some for attacking Iowa farmers and their livelihoods, his ultimate message to the crowd was that helping America’s farmers is a bipartisan issue.

“This is not right or left, it’s right or wrong,” Booker said.