Going into this May X I had no idea what to expect. I had never been to Iowa in my life, and I could count the number of times I had been on a “small” farm on my hand. That all changed on this trip. Throughout the trip, we met with farmers, lobbyists, politicians, and businessmen and heard a little from each one. With each conversation, I was able to better understand the situation of Iowa farmers. I have learned a lot about Iowa and the many misconceptions like that the whole state is flat, which from the cross-state road trip was not the case. I have come to realize that the farms seem to get the short end of the stick a lot. Yes, the government tries to help them in various way, but in many other areas, they are vilified and portrayed as the bad guys. Unlike popular opinion, they do care about the environment, and they have to because that is how they make their money and without it, they would lose everything.

Another takeaway from this trip is the politics behind farming and how divided it is. The thing that makes this division even worse is the fact that there is no one solution to any of the problems that Iowa faces. Topics such as CAFOs, organic farming, and GMOs are all heavily debated with no end in sight. The problem here is that many of the people in charge believe there is a one-size-fits-all solution and that cannot be further from the case. Every farm is different, and I feel like that is one thing that is not emphasized enough. Each farmer has his preferred practices and what might work for someone farming chestnuts in Radcliffe might not work of the farmer growing soybeans and corn in Essex or the dairy farmer in Lansing. This May experience has really shed the light on the issues that Iowa faces now and in its future.

Monday began back in Radcliffe, with a trip to the Friest Farm. Unlike most of the farms we had seen recently, the Friests were conventional farmers through and through. At the farm, we got our first opportunity to get into a running tractor and get a better understanding of it. What surprised me the most about it was all the things it had inside it. There were ac and heating, a radio, and the tractor was able to drive by itself and only needed the farmer to turn it. After that, we saw how the feed for their hogs was made. They showed the group they use their corn and beans they grew in their feed as well as some other nutrients. I think that the practice of using the things grown on your farm as feed to be some of the most sustainable farming because you do not need any outside products. The next thing was feeding some of the hogs in their barns. One of the most interesting things I learned was that at each stage of the pig’s life, it gets a different ration of feed. The last thing and by far the coolest thing I did at the Friest Farm was AI (artificially inseminate). We learned the technique of using the boar to stimulate the sows, and then the techniques for artificially inseminating the sows; finally, we got to do the procedure ourselves.

After the time on the farm, we made our way to Iowa City to the University of Iowa to meet with Connie Mutel. Here Connie compared the change in farms to climate change. She showed how the landscape has changed since settlers came here and because of this extreme change, the climate has been affected. This climate change, according to Connie, is irreversible and us now affecting everything about the weather. Connie thinks the future is in a carbon neutral world with renewable energy and no fossil fuels. She also thinks that the innovation of new technologies will also help in the future to prevent these changes.

On Sunday, the May X put on the show Map of My Kingdom. It was written by Iowa’s Poet Laureate, Mary Swander, and deals with the issue of land transition. Even before the play, the idea of land transfer had been talked about a lot. The reason for this is with the aging population of farmers there will be a lot of land in Iowa trading hands. This was the reason why Practical Farmers of Iowa commissioned Mary Swander to write the play in the first place–to help start the conversation within the family. This conversation can be so hard to have with ones family because it deals with two topics that are hard to talk about: money and death. The play was in my mind an excellent way to start that type of conversation with a community because it gave examples of times where the family was prepared and had talked about it and then avoid some of the worst case scenarios. Not only would this show be prevalent to farming communities, but it would also be good to see with most families no matter what they do for a living and how to deal with the tough situation.
After the play and a talk back with Mary Swander, there was a panel who talked about how they experience and how they dealt with the situations. The three people on the panel were Rev. Dr. Matthew Rueger, Mr. Ron Pepples, a lawyer., and Mr. Chris Brinkmeyer, a banker. All three had very interesting things to say and gave more real world answers about how to go about this.

Throughout the trip we have continuously talked about water quality in Iowa and Saturday was no different. We started our day at the Storm Lake Times, where we talked to Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen. During our conversation with him, we hit on so many different points. The first and biggest one was with water quality and Storm Lake. This water issue was highlighted by the fact that Storm Lake uses to be super deep and clear, but over the decades of farming, the lake became foggy and much more shallow. This is due to runoff created by farmers who till and don’t plant cover crops. Many of the lakes are becoming more shallow or drying up completely throughout Iowa. Art views that one of the two biggest issues in the upcoming caucus is the environment related to farming. The conversation then shifted over to more political issues. Just like Councilman Ibarra, Art pointed out a big thing within the election on the single issue voters. Art thought that the politicians should not be so focused on these issues and try to please both sides and not be extreme to one idea.
After the long drive up to Lake Okoboji to meet with the queen of water, Mary Skopec. While with her she showed us how we can test our own water from our taps. We first tested a little river that was on the property of the laboratory. We found that it was very clean because we tested for nitrites and nitrates, phosphorus, and dissolved oxygen. We then went to another site where there was planting and the tests came back a lot different with higher levels of all of these items..

Friday was spent in Storm Lake with Public Safety Director and Chief of Police Mark Prosser, and Storm Lake City Councilor Jose Ibarra. The meeting with the Chief of Police had some very interesting info in it. The way Chief Prosser directs the police reminds me of a lot of my home town, which is not surprising because both have an immigrant population. They both try to get their officers to create a connection with the community so there is no tension between the community and police. One point that Chief Prosser made that I had never considered before is that these immigrants are not used to how the police here work or things they can and cannot do within the city limits and the officers have to take care of it. Another issue they face is the language barrier. Storm lake has a diverse immigrant population so there are around 30 languages spoken in the community. This becomes a challenge because they need to find a translator which can be hard at times.
Later that day when we talked to City Councilor Ibarra, we got the perspective of an immigrant who has gotten involved within his community. He said the reason he got involved was that there was no diversity within the leadership and it did not mimic the community. Councilman Ibarra said he was so surprised by how much he won by but thanks to his job he knew a lot of people which helped him out a lot. He said that a lot of the presidential candidates want to meet with him to secure his assistance with the immigrant vote. He says his biggest issue is trying to fix the city’s image because it is seen as a town of immigrants, so when there is a crime it will get blown out of proportion. The things that he wants to see changed is the immigrant population more active in the community and that everyone needs to take more pride in the place they live. Councilman Ibarra also found that a lot of voters are one-issue voters, and they vote for the candidate who is pro-life or pro-gun and that consideration overrides all other issues.

Thursday, we found ourselves at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah. Throughout the day we went through some of the various processes they do at their company and through that, I learned a lot. We started out in the field with a bunch of the field hands cleaning around the plants and weeding. I was so surprised how enthusiastic some of the employees were to participate in weeding. After this, we went to the Oneonta Co-op to have lunch and were able to get a tour and learned more about the Co-op. This tour was really in-depth and we learned some of the struggles the Co-op is beginning to face with the growth of organic and local foods in chain supermarkets. This Co-op really was focused on the community aspect as well and getting community involvement. They offered classes for the community as well as deals. After this tour, we returned to Seed Savers Exchange where we learned so much more about the company. We first heard the history of the company and how it started with just 30 people and then grew every year after that. They grew to both store seed as well as sell and exchange seeds with everyone. One thing that the Seed Savers are worried about is their aging community in the exchange aspect of the company. Many of the members have been participating since the first couple of years, so it is a growing concern for the company. Then we met with Phil Kauth who explained to us all the ins and outs of preserving seeds and what they look for. He also pointed out the ways they maintain other things that they just can not keep seeds of, such as apples and potatoes. The final person we talked to was working on preserving their apple orchard. This is another key part of seed savers because this is how they maintain their wide verity of apples. He explained how to keep the apples the same type they have to graft them onto the roots and you can not just plant the seeds of an apple if you want a pure breed apple tree.

Tuesday morning began early on the Kruse household. We were out in the barn seeing how the cows were milked and then helped feed the calves milk. After a quick breakfast, we began our trip to various farms with the help of the Kruse’s. Our first stop was at an Amish Farmstead, that had a food store, bakery, and dairy operation. Of all the farms we would visit that day this one had the biggest impression on me. I had seen how the Amish had lived when visiting my grandma in Pennsylvania, but now thinking about actually trying to run a farm or a business and following the religion seems so much work. The work they had to put in to plow a field or harvest it with just horsepower is mind-blowing. After the Amish, we headed to the Peake family farm, just like the Kruse’s they had a grass-fed dairy operation. Then we headed to the Welsh Family Organic farm to see their operation. They began growing organic crops before there was the certification because they saw what the pesticides did to the animals and wanted to try to keep them from going crazy due to the chemicals used on fields. On their farm, they raised organic livestock, like chicken, beef, and hogs. After seeing the tour most of their practices in raising livestock is not much different than conventional farming. For example, the cattle on the Sweeny farm are raised the exact same way until right before they are sold, when they are fed corn to fatten them up. Another thing that I found kind of interesting was how the manure was stored on the Welsh Farm. Unlike a CAFO, which has a storage tank underneath the barn, the Welsh Farm just has it all piled up right next to a stream. The reason this surprises me so much is that there a negative connotation when it comes to the conventional way to raise livestock when it is not much different than the way organic farmers raise their livestock.
The next morning as a group we made our way to Wisconsin to the Organic Valley Cooperative headquarters. We started in their distribution plant which was so cool see up close. The precision that the warehouse runs with all the different moving parts on is insane. After the tour of the warehouse, we made our way over to the building next door which was their headquarters. Inside we learned about the business side of Organic Valley. The building was pretty new, so it had many features that were eco-friendly such as the way they heat and cool their building and the materials they used for the ceiling or carpeting. They also tried to make their office building as conducive to collaboration with 90% of it being an open area to work and the other 10% is office space. They emphasized that they include a lot of amenities within the building to help build the community as well as retain employees. After lunch, we sat down and talked about the history of the company and how it grew to the size it is today. The biggest thing they pointed out was they work with their organic milk producers to set a price so they have a stable price throughout the year. We ended our trip to Organic Valley with a detour through Minnesota before returning to the place we were staying for the night.

Our search for one of the group member’s long lost relatives landed us in Essex Iowa, which is in the southwest part of the state. This connection landed us on the farm of Dennis Liljedahl, who is a member of the Pork Producers of Iowa. Along with being a Director on the Iowa Pork Producer’s Board, and having multiple hog barns, he also farms around 2800 acres of land. As a group, we were able to have a conversation with him before going to see his hog operation. During our conversation, there were a couple of points that I thought were very interesting and other points that echoed ideas mentioned in past presentations. One of the most interesting things that were said was that they were not happy that Trump was bailing out farmers again because of the low commodity prices resulting from the trade war. Mr. Liljedahl strikes me as someone who believes in open and free trade around the world with no tariffs. Another thing that was very interesting is that because of the landscape being so hilly, 98% of their farm is no-till, which is a stark difference from Radcliffe and Central Iowa which primarily till their land. The reason for this on Liljedahl’s farm is because it prevents run-off from the rolling hills which his farmland is located on. They also use terraces as another practice to prevent run-off.
After we finished our conversation, we headed over to the Liljedahl’s hog operation. Once we got inside the barns, I was surprised how the hogs were kept in very confined pens. The Liljedahl’s began to explain the reason behind this practice, stating that it leads to fewer deaths among hogs because they are a hierarchy among the group. This agrees with a study done that showed when given the option to be grass feed or feed in the creates most choose to be in the creation because they were guaranteed their food whereas in the pasture they would have to fight for the food.

Day 11 began with an early wake up in Radcliffe before we took off for Coon Rapids. In Coon Rapids, we began with a stewardship day at the Whiterock Conservatory. During this session, we helped to remove invasive plants that the grazing goats did not eat. The two plants we dug up were Dame’s Rocket and thistles. These plants had been brought over from Europe, and they have taken over ecosystems in Iowa. The goats eat some of these plants, but we had to try to remove them for good. One of the most interesting things was that a donkey was the guard animal of the herd, and if you got to close to the goats the donkey would push you away from the goats. After a lot of hard work in the field, we went back to the cottage we were staying at for a much-needed break and lunch.

After lunch, we went to Liz Garst house to talk about everything farming. We got some background on her and Whiterock Conservancy as a whole. The biggest takeaway from the talk with Liz was natural resource protection and conservation. The scariest thing she said was that half the topsoil has been eroded since the land was the first farmed. To prevent any more Liz was a huge fan of cover crops and pushed people around her to do the same. Liz underscored many points made by the Iowa Environmental Council and Andy and Eric at the Grinnell Heritage Farm.

A rare day of sunshine on back to back days was extremely welcome among the group. The morning started with a drive to Des Moines to meet with the Iowa Environmental Council. This meeting was unlike all of our other meetings with groups like Iowa Corn or Iowa Soybeans. The major difference was this group was made up of all women and were very to the point when talking about the issues that mattered to the council. They also had a very different view than the other groups we talked to. They were fed up with the farmers because they believed they were not doing enough to help save the environment, especially the water. They thought the only way they could fix the issue was through regulations by the federal government to get what they needed to be done. Another major difference, that should be called into question when looking back at their discussion was none of them still work on a farm and two of them grew up as “city kids.” With no experience on the farm, they have no direct knowledge of how some of the policies they are trying to implement may affect the farmers. The conversation as a whole was probably one of the best ones we have had on the trip so far.
After, we had another drive to get to Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge to meet with Omar de Kok-Mercado. Here we learned that Iowa had been all prairie before the settlers came and tiled the land. The refuge is making efforts to restore the prairie on its land with the indigenous plants. Omar’s job on the refuge is applying prairie strips to fields to help with runoff and to restore wildlife habitat. His view was similar to the Iowa Environmental Council but he does not think it should not be done through legislation and the government because it will not get enforced. The change needs to come from the farmers and especially the bigger corporations.