Our third day in Iowa was very eventful! We spent most of the day with Professor Kevin Butt from Ellsworth Community College. Professor Butt was a great instructor on farm safety. Before his safety lessons, I was ready to drive a tractor. Afterwards, I was definitely scared straight into taking every precaution. He punctuated his PowerPoint slides and lectures with a large number of personal stories. His hair-raising narratives of near-death experiences from his tractor engine catching on fire to almost hitting a power line with his combine, demonstrated the numerous everyday dangers that farmers face.  Moreover, he was very excited about the GPS and other high-tech devices being employed to use on various farm implements. We even got to drive in his GPS-automated mini-car – it was pretty cool! For lunch, we went to a really cool little soda place and got to walk around the town and visit a coffee shop. As a self-proclaimed caffeine addict, the Coffee Attic on Washington Street in Iowa Falls was pretty amazing!

After dinner, we saw an intriguing documentary, Ocean Frontiers, on four stories from across the nation about cooperative efforts to protecting the oceans. As a Floridian, I am very interested in coral reef conservation in particular, and one of the case studies centered on efforts to protect the coral reefs in the Florida Keys.  Of course, as a sustainability sciences major, I’m interested and intrigued by sustainability practices for all waterways. During the movie, the filmmakers also touched on noise pollution found in the Boston port channel. I had no idea how much underwater noise ships emit and how that noise affects the communication of every living organism under the water, but especially the whales that live in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Also, due to different chemicals (particularly nitrogen fertilizer) used in Iowa farm fields draining into the Mississippi River, the run-off has caused a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Remarkably, a group of Iowa farmers are changing their farming practices to improve a body of water located hundreds of miles away from their business.  I think these farmers are incredibly inspiring for their desire to help restore wetlands in Iowa and champion new environmentally sensitive and cost effective farming practices.  In fact, the state of Iowa has embarked on a significant endeavor to reduce nutrients (notably nitrogen) in its waterways, and we’ve heard about this strategy a great deal during our time in Iowa.  We were fortunate to have the author of the agriculture portion of the strategy in attendance at our film viewing.  Ocean Frontiers was such an inspiring movie because people with different backgrounds, even states apart, can work together for a common good. Luckily, this good will positively affect humans and animals. With Iowa farmers being more careful about chemical runoff, maybe the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will lessen allowing life to again flourish in the area. In addition, with just changing the route of ships the number of whales killed in the Boston Port has decreased significantly. Inspiring stories likes these leaves no doubt that we can restore ecosystems and environments.

Our first full day in Iowa was very eventful! We started off to Des Moines to see the Wallace house. Before this trip, I had no idea who the Wallace family was, much less that Henry A. Wallace was FDR’s very influential, but controversial Vice President. Henry A. Wallace spent a large amount of his career in political life, and brought attention to many ideas too innovative for his time. After the Wallace family discussion, we ventured to a very yummy lunch at Gateway Market. The food was so good and very healthy – geared towards the organic side of the experience. Afterwards we toured the “Pride of Iowa”. It was a nice little museum mostly about Iowa’s high school sports and a sprinkling of various facts about influential Iowans. My favorite part of the day was watching Kyle and Dr. HN duel at Dance Dance Revolution at the “Pride of Iowa” – I might have taken a video. We ended the day by watching Forks Over Knives. I have heard about this film before and have wanted to watch it for some time. This movie will make anyone want to convert to an all-plant, whole foods diet! I learned a lot and would like to put many of the film’s practices into place in my own life. 

While on the flight to Iowa, I slowly start to wonder what will happen my first day of FARM. All I know about Iowa is what I have heard: black dirt and flat land with lots of agriculture. I start to ponder how the city and towns will compare to my childhood in central Florida: smaller and more widespread or larger with more people? Moreover, I am incredibly excited about finally getting to the farmhouse! I have no idea what the house, barn, or land will look like and I am curious to see a real farming community.

Upon arriving in the state of Iowa, I found the rich soil and flat land and so much more! The capital city of Des Moines is a beautiful, thriving city and small towns really are small towns.  However, I noticed when flying over the state how much farmland was being taken over by urban sprawl. Farmers are losing valuable land to developers who find expanding the city sideways to be more profitable than upwards. It is good logic for a businessman, but not for a farmer who needs the land for their livelihood. Moreover, I thoroughly enjoyed the arrival to the farm. All of the farmland was very interesting to see for the first time, including the wind turbines spotted throughout the landscape – they are so much bigger in person! I loved touring the farmhouse because of the historic significance to the family and the renovated barn is beyond amazing. So much hard work has been put into our arrival! The night ended with a discussion with the oldest brother, Denny Neubauer. It was very interesting to hear the point of view from a farmer who has worked the land for many years and his experiences with the transitions of new technology. On the Neubauer farm, they are renting a tractor worth a quarter of a million dollars! The new technology has GPS that tells the tractor exactly where to go without human control – unfathomable to me! I have already learned so many interesting things about farm life and am very excited for what is to come!