It is somewhat amazing how many miles we have covered in a little over two weeks time. It’s also amazing how much more productive the day is when you are up for breakfast by 8 o’clock. However, this 7:45 AM wake up was somewhat different, as we were about to venture to the northeastern part of the state and visit McGregor, Iowa. Our three-hour car ride was mostly uneventful, mostly consisting of my sleeping and others playing extremely loud music on their iPods and such. One thing that was eventful (in some way) was the magnificent change in geography as we progressed farther north and east. It really was fascinating. Our journey from the farmhouse in Hardin County, which is extremely flat, to the almost mountainous terrain of northeastern Iowa was really eye opening. It was also interesting to note how much the agriculture of the terrain changed as we progressed. There are distinct geographies in Iowa, and Northeastern Iowa is part of Little Switzerland, a region that encompasses Southeastern Minnesota, Southwestern Wisconsin, Northwestern Illinois, and Northeastern Iowa. The glaciers did not touch this region in the same way as North Central Iowa, and hence, it is filled with hills and valleys. It went from almost completely corn and soybean fields, to a few fields with hilly pastures, to very few fields of corn and predominantly cattle and livestock operations. I learned this is due to nature of the terrain. The mountainous features of the area make it very hard to grow crops because almost all of the nutrients and water run off to the bottom of these hills and steep slopes. This area is also referred to as the “driftless zone” due to the fact that glaciers did not touch this part of Iowa thousands of years ago. This perfectly fit what we were going to see at the farm in McGregor. We went to what I would essentially call a “town hall” for farmers. Really, it was a class for the locals and others from all over Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Practical Farmers of Iowa, which is an organization that encourages the transparency of new ideas for farming around the state, put on this event. They are an organization composed of over 1500 farmers and friends of farmers, who focus mainly on issues surrounding corn, soybeans, cattle and hay. Their mission is “to advance profitable, ecologically sound, and community-enhancing approaches to agriculture through farmer-led investigation and information sharing.” This “class”, however, was mainly centered on the importance of cover crops for protection from nutrient runoff, for a healthier soil, and for wildlife conservation. A member from the Audubon Society (a society for the promotion of bird wildlife) was even in attendance. However, it wasn’t hard to tell the birdwatcher had never been to a middle-of-nowhere farm in northeastern Iowa for a field day. All in all, I learned a lot about the importance of cover crops and how they are necessary for not only conservation, but also many other things. The most important to me was the significance of using that cover crop as hay in the winter or colder months for cattle. This saves literally thousands of dollars for farmers who choose to do this. However, it is much more labor intensive, as it requires the baling and transporting of your own hay. It can also be very profitable for the farmer. Overall, I thought the trip was a valuable experience and definitely worth the drive. We also got to take a short venture into Wisconsin afterward! I’ve never been to Wisconsin, so that was cool to stop and try to find some cheese that was worthy of my consumption (I ended up not buying any but did try some). We then made our trek back to Hardin County after stopping for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Oelwin, upon which I crashed like I just came off a sugar high.