Iowa uses more pesticides per capita than any other state—nearly 54 million pounds annually. But according to research engineer Chris Jones, we might be focusing on the wrong chemicals when it comes to cancer risk. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith sits down with Jones, author of "The Swine Republic" and president of Driftless Water Defenders, to unpack Iowa's chemical cocktail crisis. We explore why 60% of Iowa's corn goes to ethanol production that exists only because of policy—not environmental benefits. Jones argues it's time to "slaughter the sacred cow" and redirect farm conservation dollars toward systems that don't pollute in the first place. Toss some bags at Iowa's pesticide problem... why ethanol might be our biggest policy mistake... and what a progressive water quality platform actually looks like. Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. This podcast is produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg. Our music is by Avery Mossman and our show art is from Desirée Tapia. SHOW RUNDOWN: 01:00 - Iowa uses more pesticides per capita than any other state 02:00 - The dangerous "chemical cocktail" effect explained 03:30 - Neonicotinoids: The overlooked pesticide in our drinking water 07:00 - How weeds fighting back is making everything worse 08:00 - Dicamba drift: Why everyone in Iowa is breathing toxic chemicals 12:00 - The "D-Day invasion" of crop dusters poisoning our air 22:00 - Why ethanol is Iowa's biggest policy mistake 24:30 - Slaughtering the sacred cow: What needs to change now LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS: YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju Substack - https://cornholechampions.substack.com/ Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cornhole-champions-podcast/id1779497714 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64 PocketCasts - https://pca.st/74atty1j ... and everywhere you listen to podcasts FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter - https://x.com/zacharyos Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zachosmith Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/zacharyos.bsky.social Threads - https://www.threads.com/@zachosmith LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyos/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/iastartingline Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/IowaStartingLine TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@iowastartingline Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iowastartingline YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@UCXN791Qw5opBRLyvTWYl43w FOLLOW IOWA STARTING LINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter -   / iastartingline   Facebook -   / iowastartingline   TikTok -   / iowastartingline   Instagram -   / iowastartingline   YouTube -    / @iowastartingline   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices