AMES, Iowa—Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT) has welcomed Joshua Hjelmaas as its new agricultural law research specialist. Hjelmaas is an Iowa native and began his role on June 1, 2026.
In this role, Hjelmaas researches legal issues affecting Iowa agriculture and shares that information through CALT’s Ag Docket Blog, serving farmers, agribusinesses, policymakers and legal and tax professionals who provide services to the agricultural community. His work focuses primarily on real property, taxation, environmental law and business entities, ensuring Iowa farmers and agribusinesses receive timely, relevant legal updates.
Hjelmaas will also contribute to an upcoming ag-tax training, a collaborative project between CALT and the Ivy College of Business. The free, 40-hour course will educate tax-preparation professionals nationwide on the complexities of agricultural income taxation and address a growing need for tax professionals who understand farm income. Hjelmaas is looking forward to the program’s impact.
“It’ll be a free program, both online and in-person, geared toward providing rural communities and agribusinesses with more experienced, qualified professional services. And that’s something rural communities really need,” said Hjelmaas. “It’s exciting to be on a project that’s trying to solve that problem.”
Formerly, Hjelmaas served on active duty as a judge advocate (military attorney) in the United States Air Force and Space Force, where he advised military commanders and units on areas including criminal justice, government ethics, acquisitions and national security law. His military service included assignments in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Lompoc, California, as well as a deployment to Kuwait and Iraq. Hjelmaas continues to serve as a judge advocate in the Iowa Air National Guard, providing legal counsel for state and federal missions.
Beyond returning to the Midwest, Hjelmaas is most looking forward to developing deep expertise in agricultural law — knowledge he hopes will help inform the agricultural community, legal and tax professionals and lawmakers on legal decisions affecting rural farmers and the state as a whole.
“Agriculture is our state’s lifeblood. If I can play a role in bringing professional services and education to our ag community, I’ll have made a difference I can feel proud of,” he said.
Hjelmaas received his Bachelor of Business Administration, Master’s and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Iowa. In his free time, he enjoys distance running and traveling and is a self-proclaimed “geography nerd.”
Hjelmaas can be reached at hjelmaas@iastate.edu or 515-294-4412.
About the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation
The Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University was created by the Iowa Board of Regents in 2006. It is a unit of Iowa State University, functions under Iowa State policies and rules and reports to the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The Center provides timely, objective, unbiased information to producers, professionals and agribusinesses concerning the application of important developments in agricultural law and taxation (federal and state legal opinions of relevance, as well as legislative developments) and serves as a primary source of professional educational training in agricultural law and taxation.
Joshua Hjelmaas
(contributed press release, ISUANR)
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