Rural Issue

Iowa farmer seeks answers on regulation of brokers

Doug Bell is a man on a mission.

Bell, a farmer from Thornton, Iowa, is trying to convince government officials that more needs to be done to protect the accounts that farmers have with commodity brokers. Bell says he lost 600-thousand dollars because a commodity broker did not follow industry rules. He says he’s been frustrated in his efforts to get answers at the state and federal level.

Bell says the commodity trading industry needs to be regulated “in a fair and effective way”–and that regulators should be held responsible to protect the public and ensure that farmer accounts are safe.

We visited with Bell at the Iowa State Fair.

AUDIO: Doug Bell