Today, we hit two very different extremes. On one hand, we met with Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds at the Capitol building. The building was gorgeous. I have never seen gold on a building, but I sure wish there were more with it. The inside was just as pretty. Unfortunately, we only got to meet with Mrs. Reynolds for ten or fifteen minutes, so we didn’t get to talk much. She basically told us why Iowa is so wonderful and what they are doing right. I wish she had talked about the not-so-great aspects, like pollution, and how she planned on addressing them. She seemed nice, though, and I really did enjoy meeting her. Being a huge book nerd, the library was phenomenal to me. It was huge and antique-y and really just amazing.

After that, we headed over to Southern Iowa for a change. HN was right, the topography was way different! There were more hills and grass and I even saw some trees! I personally thought it was much prettier and I wish we spent more time there. We went to the Henry A. Wallace Country Lice Center, about two hours away from where we are staying. The drive was 100% worth it! I was not the biggest fan of lunch, but I think that was me being oddly picky. I did really like the salad; the dressing was delicious. After lunch, we got a short tour and then started working with Moosa, the farm manager. He was exactly as I pictured. We picked weeds and thinned out the green bean plants. I’ve decided I really like gardening, much more than I thought I did, and I would like to continue when I get home.

It was really nice to see a simpler way of doing things. The simple way that the garden was managed at the farm center made it seem much more accessible. I know they make a lot of money off of restaurant and things, but it was nice to see that farming could be done without huge expensive tractors. Although everyone might not have the time or funds available to work a garden without such extensive machinery, its nice to know that its possible. After that, I’m very excited for Table Top Farm tomorrow.

Today we focused on the environmental aspect of farming, which is ironic considering that was my topic yesterday. Anyway, we started out going to Des Moines to meet with HN’s friend from high school, Jenny Terry, at the Iowa Environmental Council. She was definitely one of my favorite people we’ve met with so far. She was so funny and energetic.

The meeting with the Iowa Environmental Council focused on the impact that farming has on the water. I knew that the water was affected by farming, but I had no idea that it was such a big impact. The pictures that Susan Heathcote showed us were disgusting. I’m really glad the water in South Carolina is better because I play in the creek behind my house all the time. I feel like the pictures had more of an impact on me personally than the statistics did. I think that they should put more pictures like that in their public relations materials if they want more public support.

Paarlberg seemed to take a very different view, though. He highlighted the environmental impact of conventional farming, but was adamant that organic farms also had environmental consequences. He made it seem like organic was just as bad as conventional farming and the goods outweigh the bads of conventional farming. I think he made a good point, but I do think that there needs to be more regulation of conventional farming to reduce runoff and soil erosion. Today’s meeting really solidified that for me.

One of the main issues surrounding organic versus conventional farming is the effect both have on the environment, specifically in regards to fertilizer and pesticide. Conventional farmers use nitrogen and synthetic pesticides while organic farmers will use “natural biological controls” and animal waste (Paarlberg 174). So which is better?

Some will argue that organic farming is greener for many reasons. For one, the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides runoff into the Mississippi and eventually end up in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a “Dead Zone” where nothing but algae lives. The major chemical here is nitrogen, which is essential for the higher yield that conventional farmers desire. Organic farmers do not utilize any of these chemicals and therefore do not contribute to this type of water pollution. Second, certain conventional farmers do not utilize things like crop rotations, resulting in extreme soil erosion. These farmers will constantly plant the same crop, mainly corn, over and over without giving the soil any chance to rejuvenate essential nutrients. Organic farmers, in contrast, will alternate between planting corn and legumes or even plant the two together to improve soil conditions. Finally, conventional farmers can make use of genetically modified plants (GMOs) while organic farmers do not. While the environmental effect of this is not certain, organic farmers choose to err on the side of caution. All of these care explained in detail on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO) website.

On the other hand, there are environmental problems associated with organic farming as well. For one, organic farms can not produce as high a yield as conventional farmers and therefore need more land. As Paarlberg mentions in his book, “yields per acre for organic row crops and vegetables are found to be only 40-80 percent as high as the conventional average” (174). As a result, organic farms need much more farmland to achieve the same results. To put this in perspective, Paarlberg gives the example that Europe would “need an additional 28 million hectares of cropland, equal to all the remaining forest cover of France, Germany, Denmark, and Britain combined” to feed itself organically (175). FAO’s website does not address this issue. In addition, using manure as fertilizer does not entirely eliminate harmful runoff, as there are absolutely organic farmers “who over-apply or mismanage animal waste” (Paarlberg 173). Supporters of organic farming will argue that while it does not eliminate harmful runoff, it minimizes it as much as possible.

In conclusion, I don’t think that there is a cut and dry answer to which is better environmentally. I agree with Paarlberg, who argues that “the best farming systems for the environment will actually integrate conventional and organic methods” (174). I really like Natalina’s idea from Iowa Corn that the two can live and thrive together and that the two methods do not have to be pitted against each other. It is important to me to have options, as it is for most Americans, and providing the opportunity to choose between organic and conventional foods is a blessing, not a curse. I do not see the need to eliminate or try to minimize one option or the other as there are plenty of people who are willing to pay for both. As long as there is a market, let the farmers do what they want and the consumers buy what they want.

Today we went to the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. Our tour guide made sure we knew every detail about everything in that museum. It did take a very long time, but it was very informative. I cannot believe that I had never heard of Norman Borlaug before even though he is one of seven (two other two being Ellie Weisel and Martin Luther King Jr.) to earn the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Gold Congressional Medal, and the Nobel Peace Prize.

The chapter we read in  Robert Paarlberg’s book was really helpful in forming my opinion about the Green Revolution. It was very obvious that the World Food Prize organization had a positive view of the Green Revolution since its main guy was the brain behind it, but Paarlberg made it a little less obvious. He provided both arguments, but it seemed like he leaned on the side of agreeing with it. He provided lots of statistics that supported his point while undercutting those who reject it.

My favorite part of the museum today was the hall of Howard Buffet’s photography. The pictures were striking and really held my attention. Seeing how people from other countries really had to work for their food humbled me. Many of the children were skinny, even emaciated. My favorite was the picture was the one of the girl from Bangladesh with the scarf over her head. Her eyes were beautiful and reminded me of the girl in National Geographic. They looked so distrustful, though, and maybe hurt, but curious. I love eyes. I’m probably reading too much into it, but that wouldn’t be unusual for me.

Women make up 75-80% of the world’s farmers!

My favorite is the girl with the scarf over her head and pretty eyes

I’ve heard it at least once a day since I’ve been here: corn is king or, similarly, king corn. I learned about it in school, but I always thought it was just a catchy title for a social studies chapter. Here, it’s a reality.

After a long day of lots of talk about corn, I really think I understand the issues better. The Dupont Pioneer plant was interesting, especially with all of the robots. I didn’t understand the science behind a lot of it, and it raised a lot of questions that I didn’t want to ask because I wanted an answer from an unbiased source (our smiley tour guide would not fit that bill). I feel more confident in my opinion now that GMOs are scary, and I would like more research done on the long term effects before I want them on my plate.

Iowa Corn was also very informative about current issues farmers are interested in, especially ethanol and the farm bill. Talking about ethanol was especially interesting considering my personal experience with it. Everyone around here talks about ethanol like its amazing and a great gas source. At home, on the contrary, everyone hates it, including me. It ruins gas mileage (I go from 16 mpg to around 14 mpg) and I wind up spending way more on E85 than regular gas (and my truck is a gas guzzler). It was interesting to hear another perspective, but it was really hard for me to connect to what they were saying.

The thing I like the most is what Natalina said about conventional versus organic farming. She said that they didn’t have to be pitted against each other and that it was possible, even helpful, for them to live in harmony. For the first time ever, I heard that it was a good thing to have both conventional factory farming and small organic farming. I really liked her opinions on choice and how important options are to us as Americans. Out of all of the things that we talked about today, this is what really stuck with me and left me feeling like I took something away from all of the discussions.

I spent most of today with the Friests and Hedley. We brushed and saddled horses all day and then got to go on a trail ride in a state park. I rode Sunny and Hedley rode Patty, the horse I rode yesterday. Both were really good, and I have to admit that Sunny took Teaka’s place as my favorite horse here! I really enjoyed spending so much time with the family. The kids actually opened up to me and were playing around with Hedley and me. Jocelyn is such a wonderful person to be around, and it’s nice to have someone my age who loves horses as much as me. Sydney is still so much fun to be around, too. It’s so funny to hear their accents though, especially their incessant use of the word “pop.” They also apparently don’t say “y’all” around here, either. Brent likes to make fun of my accent.

Today was a much needed day, from sleeping in to spending the day with horses. I feel reenergized and ready for the week ahead!

Today was such an awesome experience. First, the farmer’s market. Wow, it was so huge! I had expected maybe fifteen vendors only selling vegetables. Nope! There were hundreds of vendors down multiple streets selling anything you could think of! It was such a blast. I bought goat cheese, stinging nettles, fudge, and some cards to send to my parents and boyfriend. I really liked the atmosphere of the farmers market. However, when Hedley and I asked one man about his blueberries, he admitted that they were not in fact local but from Georgia. Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of a farmer’s market? My least favorite aspect was how rushed all the vendors seemed. None of them seemed like they really had time to talk to us so I did not get to ask very many questions. The woman that I bought the nettles from, however, was very helpful. She told me how to get the stinging properties out of them, what recipes she liked, and how to find recipes online. I do think that farmers markets are a great thing for people who want to eat locally. However, it can be difficult for those who are not financially well off because it was not very accessible. I assume that Des Moines is not close to everyone and that it would be expensive and time consuming for the average person to go there often. Further, why go there if a lot of the food, like the blueberries, isn’t even local? I think it’s a great idea, but it has some kinks that need to be worked out. I think there should be more to make it more accessible, and it should be stricter so that only locally made/grown products can be sold.

The Living History Farm was so much fun! I definitely enjoyed that experience. I especially liked the 1750s Indian time period (hence the name of this post: “Aha” means hello from a woman). It really put things into perspective that the past was not as great a place to live as I like to think. It actually seemed really hard and inconvenient. My favorite part was definitely the piglets. They were so precious! I worry about the runt, though. I hope he makes it…

Like the cherry on top of a sundae, I even got to ride this evening with Jocelyn and Sydney. And I get to sleep in in the morning! I am in such a good mood.

Day three was packed full of adventure! We started out by going to Des Moines (which I learned today means some monks) and learning about the pork industry. I found this to be incredibly informative and interesting. I learned a lot about what it takes to raise pigs for meat, and it really improved my opinion of the industry as a whole. I figured that it would be inhumane, but it really seemed like the pig’s welfare was really taken into consideration.

Second, we went to the Cargill biodiesel factory. That was honest to God the worst smell I had ever smelled and detracted from the whole experience. I could hardly concentrate because I felt like I couldn’t breathe the whole time. I’m not much into science either, so I couldn’t understand a lot of what they were saying. Kris seemed to really enjoy it, though, and that made it worth it. Overall, however, it was not my favorite experience so far.

Last but definitely not least, I got to go to the neighbors’ farm and ride horses with their 13 year old daughter! I got to ride a sweet bay mare named Teeka and she rode Bootsie. Riding with her just felt like home, and I loved feeling free and being able to talk with someone who loved horses as much as I do. We got to run and, even though Teeka let out a few bucks, it was such a liberating experience. I hope that I’ll have time to get to go out with Sydney again soon.

Now that I am finally here, I am a little less nervous but just as excited. Flying in was nerve racking, but getting to see how different Iowa is from home is interesting. Everything is so flat and straight and organized. Even the cemetery that we passed over was in neat little rows as opposed to the conglomeration of headstones in the cemeteries at home. I’m so used to the hills and twisting roads of Greenville that it was completely foreign to drive straight for so long.
I feel very comfortable here. Even the smell is comforting, oddly enough. I think it reminds me of my grandparents’ house in Indiana, or maybe just the barn. I loved seeing all of Denny’s tractors and machines. I can’t wait to relearn how to drive one! Today was a good start, but now that it’s over, I’m utterly exhausted.

Today was certainly packed. We woke up early and went nonstop. Waking up this morning was, thankfully, not as difficult as I imagined it to be. I really enjoyed spending the majority of the day with Prof Butt. He was funny and engaging and a good teacher. The things he taught us, though, and the pictures he showed us scared me. I never realized how quickly a machine could catch on fire (who knew tractors were so flammable?) or the dangers associated with manure fumes. I work with that nearly every day at home! I wonder what kind of havoc that is reeking (haha, get it?) on my lungs.  I did learn important things, though, and I’m glad we went.

Seeing the horses was the highlight of my day. I am homesick something awful. I miss my cats a little, my family a lot, my dog a whole lot, but I think I’m actually going through horse withdrawal. Seeing them comforted me entirely. Smelling them, seeing them, hearing them, touching them was just such a good feeling. I’m so grateful that Mr. Butt was able to get us into the equine center, even if only for a short time.

Dinner was incredible. The Wallace Center was not at all like I expected. It was nothing more than a house! An adorable old house, but a house in a neighborhood! The workers clearly knew a lot about the Wallace family and the house that they were in. Katie was a phenomenal cook as well! My whole family is pretty picky, but not me. I love trying new things, so being here with such different food is really an adventure! My favorite part was without a doubt the cheese. Talking to the man about farmer’s markets was interesting, too. It made me think of Herdklotz, the park right by our local farmers market. Happy memories. I’m glad it was such a noncontroversial topic and not something that sparked a lot of debate. I think I’m still too tired and cold for debating right now! Maybe when it warms up…