Today we just got to Iowa, luckily it was a short ride and some pre-visit talk with a native born on the flight actually got me a bit of a preview of some things to come. We immediately had lunch at a “green” grocery and eatery that was delicious and gave us all a chance to talk a little about what would be going on for some real conversation between all of us here. The rest of the ride up to the family farm was interesting since we got to see the grid pattern that the more rural areas are built in, the large fields of recently planted corn, and a few interspersed wind turbines which we were told are not all local (those at the family farm are actually owned by a Florida group).

Once here we all unpacked and relaxed a bit. Almost immediately afterwards though Dr. Halva-Neubauer’s brother arrived and gave us the tour around the farm. The house itself is generations old, nearing its 100th year with lots of renovations since, and it was really impressive to hear how many of the buildings were built by him or his grandparents. After hearing about the buildings we actually got to see some of the impressively large equipment, and we were told they more than triple in size when actually unfolded to plant/apply the herbicide. Afterwards we had a brief house tour with Dr. Halva-Neubauer himself before Dalona (a neighbor friend and our chef) had finished dinner. Lastly we ended the day with a movie about the Iowan and US Vice President Henry A. Wallace. The quickest way to sum up the video is that it was admittedly focusing on the good side of an idealistic man who spoke his mind in politics, worked for the benefit of the common man, advanced agriculture while in and out of office, and tried to support the environment too. He seemed to have been a great man who wanted peace and was the rare idealist who can actually accomplish what he or she believes to be possible. So the first day has definitely been nice, and I feel it will be great getting to see this area with some others interested in some of the same topics. Off to a good start so far, and I’m definitely feeling interested in seeing what we start doing now that we’re officially in the course!