Landowner challenges USDA swampbuster rule in court

John Gilbert is a fourth generation farmer. He and his brother Greg raise hogs, beef cattle and soybeans on 800 acres of land in Hardin County, Iowa. 

John Gilbert, Gibraltar Farms, Hardin County,  Iowa: “In this era when we have virtual this and virtual that and virtual just about everything, the land is probably one of the realest things we have. And it is really something we need to be cherishing because quite frankly, all life on earth depends on how well we look after our soils.”

Nearly 120 miles to the east, Steve Besler and his wife Elle Guidant own a farm near Worthington, Iowa. 

Elle Gadient, Besler Century Farm: I grew up on my family's farm. Oh, about 20 miles southeast of here. 

Steve Besler, Besler Century Farm: “It's something I've always loved. My first task as a kid was to put eggs. And from there we went to bottle feeding cows. We dairy farmed and raised hogs growing up. Farming has been in my blood and it's thick as can be, so there is no doubt in the farming out of me.”

It's safe to say that for Steve, Elle and the Gilbert brothers, farming is a way of life. But there's a pending court case that could impact their way of life by stripping away what many environmentalists consider to be the last guardrail against the destruction of precious wetlands. 

The case is CTM Holdings, LLC versus USDA, and the guardrail is a provision in the U.S. Farm Bill called swampbuster. 

Katie Garvey is an attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago. She's intervening in this case, representing Iowa farmers. 

Katy Garvey, Environmental Law and Policy Center: “I don't have any reason to doubt that the plaintiff feels genuinely and subjectively aggrieved that he's not allowed to do whatever he wants with his land and get free money from the government. But that is not a legally cognizable injury.”

Jim Conlin, a hedge fund manager in suburban Chicago, is challenging swamp buster by suing the federal government. His investment firm, CTM Holdings, owns more than a thousand acres of farmland in Iowa.

The land at the center of this court case is a 72 acre parcel near the small town of Delaware, Iowa, population 140, which Conlin rents out to a local farmer. About nine acres of that land are considered wetlands. Under the swamp buster provision, the USDA pays Conlin in the form of subsidies for not plowing those nine acres. 

Conlin argues that the swamp buster provision is unconstitutional. 

Jim Conlin, CTM Holdings: “And the reason I say that is because the federal government prohibits it from being used for anything that has any economic value at all. You can't farm it. You can't build on it. You can’t clear it. You can't take the stumps out of it. And the underlying land is probably worth 20,000 an acre, if you could. It's worth zero. It's actually worth less than zero.” 

But Swampbuster is purely voluntary. So why doesn't Conlin just opt out of the program? 

Jim Conlin, CTM Holdings: “You couldn't participate in any of those programs that would make it difficult for a farmer to rent that land, because the     federal government's involvement in agriculture is pervasive.  It's difficult for a farmer, a renter, for example, to operate without USDA support.” 

Conlin maintains that the nine acres of wetlands on his property are not always wet, and are not connected to any other body of water. 

Jim Conlin, CTM Holdings: “I've never met an actual real farmer that has anything good to say about the wetland laws and regulations. They despise them. I don't know who the hobby farmers are that are near there, or what environmental groups they're part of, but if you interviewed 100 farmers in Iowa, various sizes, I don't think you could find one out of that typical hundred that would share that view.”

But contrary to what Conlin says, there are about 2,000 farmers in Iowa and South Dakota who are fighting to save swampbuster. 

Gilbert and other farmers are concerned about increased flooding on their farms if Conlin wins and swampbuster is overturned. wetlands slow water down, storing floodwater and preventing it from inundating farms, homes and riverfront towns further downstream. That's why Steve and Elle are concerned. 

Elle Gadient, Besler Century Farm: “We're downstream from the land in question in this lawsuit. We're about 12 miles southeast of this wetlands in question. And this is far greater than one stream and one wetland in Iowa. This directly comes down and affects us and affects our neighbors.”

A recent study conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that 30 million acres of wetlands in the upper Midwest, including the Great Lakes region, provide nearly $23 billion in annual flood mitigation for homeowners. Over the long term, the study estimates that protecting these wetlands could prevent between $323 billion and more than $700 billion in residential flood damages in the upper Midwest. But for Conlin, this case comes down to the rights of landowners. 

Jim Conlin, CTM Holdings: “I'm pro-environment. I'm I'm, I'm pro collective action, but I'm also pro property rights, which is if you're going to take from me for the benefit of society generally, including me, you have to pay me.”

For the farmers fighting to keep Swampbuster, the lawsuit hits closer to home. 

John Gilbert, Gibraltar Farms, Hardin County, Iowa: “Those of us who work the land will leave footprints and shadows on the land. You know the ethic we have, the relationship we have with the land is totally foreign to a lot of the outside people who are coming in and basically prostituting the land.” 

On May 29th, 2025, a federal judge ruled against CTM Holdings. CTM and the Pacific Legal Foundation said they planned to appeal, but no appeal was filed before a July 28th deadline. 

contact: miller@iowapbs.org