"I have to give you a little straight talk about the farm bill that is wending its way through Congress," McCain said Thursday at the Polk County Convention Center.

"I do not support it. I would veto it," he said. "I would do that because I believe that the subsidies are unnecessary."

McCain was in the heart of farm country, a place where subsidies for corn and ethanol fuel are wildly popular.

His long-held position against subsidies has cost him in Iowa, the state that traditionally begins the presidential nominating process. Yet the Arizona senator didn't hesitate to bring up the issue.

"I just thought I'd start out with that non-controversial statement," he said as he began the town hall-style meeting.