I somehow managed to roll out of bed at 5:45. It was a sight to see that is for sure. We were up early to head out to the Cory Farm in Elkhart, Iowa. The Cory Farm was another example of the rebellious Iowans who have refused to fall into large-scale agriculture of corn and soybeans. They specialize in grass-feed organic beef production, which is sold to very specific markets. I knew we had an interesting day planned for us, but I was not expecting to be exposed to as many things as we did. We started out the day by milking goats at 7 AM. The young Cory siblings took the lead in milking the goats, and they each let us have a go at milking. For some reason, I caught on pretty quickly and was thoroughly enjoying it. However, I did realize that I didn’t want to have to wake up at 7 AM every morning to squirt out some milk. Goat milking is somewhat different than cow milking. The goats, each assigned a certain stall and a specific milker, know exactly which station to go to be milked. It was almost like an assembly line. Mr. Cory then went on to show us his lamb and sheep operations, which were very interesting. We then got up close and personal with their chickens, which they were extremely proud of. They had state of the art chicken coops that are designed to be mobile and provide their pasture with a natural form of fertilizer. However, these coops have to be moved twice daily, or they defeat their purpose. This leads to a large amount of physical labor, which the Cory siblings take on headfirst. We then took a trip out to his fields, where we learned everything there is to possibly learn about cover crops and how necessary they are to his grass fed meat operation. We even helped lay a new fence that his animals would be occupying in the near future. So, that was pretty fun and interesting. While laying the fence, Mr. Cory noted how important his fencing system was. Because he grows cover crops that are high in nutrients, his animals that graze on the cover crops are extremely healthy. His rotation system is also genious, in which he allows his animals in a certain section of each field over a specific amount of time. His process is somewhat like crop rotation, but with animals. After our excursion to his pastures, we headed back to the farmhouse for a home cooked meal prepared by his Mrs. Cory and the young Cory siblings. All the food they prepared us could have come straight out of their backyard—and much of it was. Their menu was composed of grilled French-cut goat chops, asparagus, cornbread and an assortment of other organic goods. The meal was different, but very healthy. The Corys then went on to describe to us their business model and their products they were promoting. Their style of farming has completely changed their way of life—from the education of their kids to their type of health insurance (which is none). They then proceeded to describe how important their consumers are to them. Their products are for a niche market of white tablecloth restaurants, according to Mr. Cory. All in all, it was an eventful morning where I learned an abundance of things about goats, chickens, lamb and sheep, cattle, compost, cover crop rotation, grazing practices, and much more. As if the day couldn’t get any better, we then took off to the capital again to see Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, who carved 30 minutes out of his day to give us his spiel on how important Iowa is. It wasn’t like we had already heard that about 500 times! But, the presentation was very nice and I enjoyed getting to meet one of the most important names in agriculture in the US.