Today has been full of presentations, three to be exact. As well as a meeting with the president of Des Moines University, who is a Furman Alumni. The theme of the day was commodity crops. As a result, we visited Corteva, the Iowa Soybean Association, and the Iowa Corn Growers. Each place we visited told a completely different narrative.

In the morning, we met with Dr. Kevin Diehl. Kevin works for Conteva which is an AgriScience company that genetically modifies seeds to withstand different conditions and provide specific desired traits. It was the largest company we saw today, and since we’ve been on the trip. The company is mostly interested in the productivity of corn, how much they can squeeze into the smallest amount of land and how they improve the yield of the corn . Conteva is very profit driven, and they are critical of most regulations in agriculture. Kevin Deihl specifically discussed that he believes that regulations are an unnecessary hindrance to science, and the people often regulating do not understand the science behind the GMOs. I am not strongly for or against GMO’s, but I am strong against an operation the size of Corteva. Who, by the way, is in the end stages of a merger which brought together Dow and Dupont Chemical companies.  

I asked Kevin what he thought the future of the company was and he said they are planning more improvements for corn and soy in the future. This means that the company does not plan to diversify the crops they provide to people. This is huge because of the amount of influence a company like Corteva can have on the market and eventually our diet. They stressed that farmers have a choice to use their products or not. Diehl’s perspective was that Corteva offered many kinds of products suited to their customers, but the variations was on the corn and soy theme.  The real issue is whether farmers have a choice to plant corn or soybeans.  Given the Farm Bill’s insurance coverage for soy and corn, a farmer would have to undertake a much larger amount of risk to plant anything else. Why would a farmer, whose livelihood depends on the success of their crop, deviate from the insured corn or soy? So, what choice do they really have? A small one: corn or soy.

After Corteva, we went to the Iowa Soybean Association where we met Michael Dolch, Karey Cleghorn, Grant Kimberley, and Chris Hall. The group works with soybean farmers. The group had a lot of interesting things to say about the trade war with China and how it has affected the soybean market. Our next stop, which was BACK in Johnston, was with Rod Williamson and Kevin Studer, of the Iowa Corn Growers Association (there are a LOT of Kevin’s in Iowa). The corn growers were also concerned about our relations with China. They seemed a little upset that the government did not give more money to corn growers when the trade war affected their sales.

My impression of the soy and corn associations is that they are kind of fraternities for farmers that grow the same crop, hence the title. While the idea is nice in that it gives a farmer a platform to express their concerns about some the farming industry, I think that it can also alter the individual farmers opinion based on the agenda of the association. A farmer can be in more than one association, so if they grow corn and soy beans they are likely to be in both.

To bring our day to an end, we visited Des Moines University where a Furman graduate, Dr. Angela Franklin, is the president of the university. I thought it was so cool that someone who graduated from Furman is now in such a prominent role. It goes to show what amazing places Furman can take you if you take advantage (the FURMAN Advantage) of all of the things our school has to offer.

To synthesize the day in a sentence: things are beginning to get very political. Every Iowan, as an individual and as a company, seems to have a different opinion that derives from a different point of view that seeks to accomplish a different goal. Who knew there could be so many opinions about two seeds? Who the heck gave those two seeds this much power across so many sectors? King Corn was very appropriately titled.

Today we went to the Iowa Agribusiness Association, The World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, the Des Moines Water Works and the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation of Iowa State. The most memorable part of the day was the tour of the World Food Prize. When originally interviewing to take part in the Farm MayX, HN tasked those interviewing to look into a few agriculture celebrities and come prepared to chat about one. The person I chose to look into was Norman Borlaug. Norman Borlaug, among many other significant achievements, created the World Food Prize to honor people in the agriculture business who make a difference in the realm of world hunger and food supply. The award has been given out every year since 1987. The World Food Prize Hall of Laureates was a beautiful building and held a fascinating story. The part of the tour that stood out to me the most is the photography exhibit donated by photographer Howard G. Buffett. The exit was called Forty Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World. The exhibit displayed photos of people from around the world. Looking at the pictures in the photo display I can’t help but wonder how these people would feel about being displayed in an exhibit that is portraying poverty and hunger around the world. If they could see us walking around and pitying them and their circumstances what would they say? We were told some people go through the gallery and are brought to tears with sadness. The pictures were breathtaking and moving but at the same time almost intimate as we were looking at people suffering and impoverished. Additionally, many of the pictures were of children. It felt almost wrong to be exposing that innocence when they are too young to really consent to having their pictures used.

May 20, 2019

To begin our day we ventured from Morris’ house to Johnston, Iowa for a tour of Corteva AgriScience. Kevin Diehl, Regulatory Platform Director of Global Seed, led the tour and discussion. One interesting aspect of his presentation was that he gave us a different perspective of crop insurance when he talked about crop protection products. When using this term in the seed business, it refers to the following products: herbicide for weeds, insecticide for insects, and fungicide for controlling diseases. Although these pest, weed, and disease control products help protect crop yields, they can have a negative impact on the environment due to runoff affecting water quality. He also discussed new innovations in genetic editing, specially CRISPR. By using CRISPR, plant geneticists can more easily find the part of the genome that they wish to delete, edit, or replace. CRISPR allows plant scientists (among others) to work more quickly to breed plants, but also it also allows plant scientists to bring GMOs to the market more quickly as well. It’s molecular scissors can quickly locate a target phase sequence. These technologies are helping farmers increase their farm’s productivity. Corteva AgriScience is working on ways to meet the increasing worldwide demand for food.

Later we made our way to the Iowa Soybean Association in Ankeny, Iowa. We met with Michael Dolch, director of Public affairs, Chris Hay, Senior Environmental Scientist, and Grant Kimberley, Director of Market Development. During the presentation, Chris Hay took us to his water lab and the work the association does to monitor water quality and how it deals with nutrient reduction strategies. He discussed how communities as far away as the Gulf of Mexico could be affected by this nutrient runoff. Dead zones caused by nutrient runoff are created in rivers that travel downstream. Iowa is a leading producer of soybeans in the U. S. so the work done by this association is important to farmers. While soybeans do not require farmers to add additional nitrogen to their crops (soybeans fix nitrogen), ISA sees that soybeans are in a rotation with corn, which does require nitrogen, so the association sees the nitrogen-reduction problem as a system issue, not one that is limited to corn production.

Speaking of corn, we also visited the Iowa Corn Growers Association. We met with Rod Williamson, Director of Research and Development and Kevin Studer who is a Federal Policy Advisor. The presentation reinforced what was covered in one of our readings about the farm lobby. The farm lobby promotes subsidies included in the Farm Bill. They discussed how the Iowa Corn Growers Association lobbies for its corn farmers on state and federal issues taking their agenda from its grassroots members–the farmers. This agenda then shapes ICGA’s policy positions. At present, the association has formulated a long-term water quality funding effort and also focused on transportation issues, including infrastructure maintenance and upgrades to the inland waterways system.  The grassroots meetings that are facilitated by Iowa Corn to its members influence the importance of the lobbying work these organizations are making to farmers.

To conclude our day we were fortunate to meet with Dr. Angela Franklin, President of Des Moines University, who is a Furman alum. She discussed her Furman career, her career advancement to Iowa, and her role as Des Moines University President. She has had an impressive post-Furman career. On our journey back to Radcliffe, I was given the responsibility of selecting music to make our ride a little more enjoyable, not an easy task I must say.

Sunday, May 19th gave a much needed day of rest, even though the weather has slowed us down all week. I, personally, was totally fine with being just as busy as a drone bee (more on that later). Eventually, we all went to visit Mark Tintjer who is a beekeeper. Much like Heath Stolee, Mr. Tintjer’s bee operation is currently a hobby. Both Mr. Stolee and Mr. Tintjer do not subsist solely on the income derived from their farm incomes as both have regular jobs off the farm. Mr. Tintjer showed us his bee operation, how he sets up his hive, and how honey is extracted. This discussion also featured eating drone larvae, tasting different honey varieties, and the nth mention of the Iowa State Fair (Iowa loves its fair).

As with any farm operation, the prevention of pests is a constant theme. I found it interesting that mice were one of the pests in beekeeping. Mice build their nests inside the hives and destroy the honey combs. Heath Stolee also struggles with mice building nests within the tree protectors on his Chestnut trees. They chew the bark from around the young trees when they are bored. Rabbits also pose this threat as they girdle around the tree, taking its life. Mr. Stolee and Mr. Tintjer are not the only types of farmers who have trouble with pests.

Corn farmers have to worry about corn borers who eat the planted corn seed before it has a chance to grow. This is why farmers like Kevin Butt use treated corn seeds. And if farmers aren’t using treated seeds, they are probably spraying pesticides. Pesticide use and its drift have been detrimental to Mr. Tintjer’s bee population in the past, wiping out many of his hives.

Who is to blame? A corn farmer is trying to make it financially just like a beekeeper or an organic farmer. Should conventional farmers be regulated on pesticide use for the benefit of their specialty farmer counterparts? It’s a complicated issue that needs a solution that benefits all farmers. I hope that through this trip I can understand this issue more and learn about potential solutions.

After visiting the Mark Tintjer, the beekeeper, we came back to Mr. Stole’s house. As I mentioned earlier we were as busy as bees (drone bees that is). Within the society of bees, drones are pretty lazy. The worker bees do a lot of the work and drones stay within the hive and eat the honey. A hive with a lot of drones is not considered part of a productive hive. So today we were all a busy as a drone bee.

This morning when at Corteva, Dr. Diehl discussed regulations placed on seed companies and on all GMO products. The science has proven that they are not dangerous to those who consume them so what is the problem? They take about 15 years to be developed and about $150 million in research without seeing a profit. This is similar to The Nutty Farmer’s investment in his chestnut trees. Furthermore, in the USA are regulated by the FDA, USDA, and EPA making it the third most regulated sector in the USA behind pharmaceuticals and crop protection products (read pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides). So again, what is the big deal? Obama had attempted to reduce regulations on GMOs, and rumors are that the Trump administration is decreasing regulations even more.

When visiting the Corn Growers Association and the Soybean Producers Association commodity groups in the afternoon the main focus seemed to be about China. China imports the most soybeans from the USA, and the exports to China have gone down drastically as the trade war continues. There is much speculation as to what is going to happen next; whether the trade war could end, China manipulate their currency or have their infrastructure shifted to South America to supply their demands. These organizations also receive money through check-off programs, the soybeans from federal government check-off programs, and the corn from state check-off programs. The soybean group has different regulations as to what they can do due to it being a federal program, whereas the corn group has a different structure where the checkoff money goes to marketing and media and the other side is lobbying where the funding comes from member dues. The government is dealing with the trade war and listening to concerns these groups voice to attempt to help farmers by giving them checks in an effort to offset the cost of the trade war. Both commodity groups seemed to put on a happy face in a difficult time, and it was difficult to tell how they felt about current policy coming from the Trump administration. Before I began writing this I read an article from Reuters titled “Rural Iowans ponder Trump alternatives as China trade war drags on”. The gist of the article is as the trade war harms farmers, especially soybean farmers, they begin to look at other presidential candidates, resulting in a potential loss of much of President Trumps Midwest voter base.

Today we spent most of the day listening to Iowa Corn and Iowa Soybean Association. To be completely honest with you, if I hear Iowa is number one in corn one more time, I might explode. We get it, trust me, we do, Iowa makes a lot of corn. So much corn in fact that there is actually a surplus of the crop. Iowa Corn explained that Iowa makes so much corn that there is an over flow of the crop and all of it is not being used right away. This fact was also briefly mentioned last week at Poet, an ethanol plant, when I raised a question about a possible lack of crop production for this season. Both sources say that there is enough corn to sustain if something were to go wrong for a season and yields are not as high as they have been in the past.

Reflecting on the idea and use of crop diversity, I started thinking, why don’t farmers grow something else? Then I really started thinking, WHY DON’T FARMERS GROW SOMETHING ELSE? There is so much corn that the value per bushel (farm unit of measure) has slowly decreased. But, what really fuels my question is the want for world hunger to end. When I picture farms, I picture them as one thing, food sources. As farming has industrialized over time, I find it frustrating that there are people still without food. As a state that produces so much of one crop that isn’t for human consumption, I find it almost irrationally irresponsible that they continue year after year to plant the same things. I could understand, maybe, if Iowa was the only state in the corn business, but they are not. Surrounding states, like Illinois, come in a close second or third for corn yields.

Iowa Corn did mention that the surplus of corn is not as stable because, “we are about one drought away from an international disaster.” Regardless, I am off put by the fact that farmers refuse to grow anything else. Tomorrow we see the, “World Food Prize,” organization, and I would love to see their take on Iowa’s role in world hunger. Also, I want to investigate more on crop rotation/diversity and see how farmers find themselves investing time trying to grow other crops, like the green pea example at the Neubauer Family Farm. I think that Iowa farmers have room to grow produce producing crops. I also hypothesize, after getting more understanding of the geography of Iowa that if it was consistently warmer year round, like in the south, it could even be a good place for rice crops. Many areas of the state used to be wetlands and actual lakes, before they were drained. After drainage there are still significant places especially in the smaller towns in and around Jewell that can hold a lot of water and create wetlands that can support vastly different ecosystems than what you would typically find on an Iowa farm.

There is a larger role for produce in Iowa. I believe it. There just needs to be more incentive to make it happen!

Lastly, we had the best opportunity so far (yes this was better than the goats and the bees)! We met the President of Des Moines University, Dr. Angela Franklin. What makes this so significant is that she is a Furman Alum! What added to this opportunity even more for me was the fact the she was a Black woman and a South Carolina native. She grew up in McCormick, SC which is not far from my hometown at all. One message that resonated with me was to never be anyone’s second choice. The people who want you and who treasure your input and value will seek you out and make room for you. I feel that here in Iowa. I was nervous that this trip was not going to be the best experience, but I am seeing that as our conversations increase and we begin to breakdown the things we are learning, that my perspective and curiosity is unique and valuable!

We got an EXTRA late start today, but never fear we will be getting 6 am start the next two days and will have an excess of information to blog about. For today, I have two major events to report on; a bee farm visit and the reorganization of Morris’s refrigerator.

The bee farmer, who can be accurately described as a bee genius, gave us a tour of his beehives and all of the fun gear and gadgets that go along with it. We started at a hive that was queen-less, this left the bees wandering around confused with a lack of direction. They can be left without a queen awhile before going completely crazy in search of a new one. The queen was borrowed to put into a glass frame to show our class, without the fear of being stung. We spent a long while trying to locate the queen among the female worker bees and the drones (male bees). Bees are very systematic and intelligent, and so is bee keeping. We discussed swarming a lot. Swarming is when the bees leave their hive in a tornado-looking fashion and relocate in the form of a bunched ball. There are different reasons a beehive can choose to swarm, the most common is when they feel over crowed in their hive or there are too many drones beginning for form.

It was fascinating to uncover some connections between each of the smaller scale businesses we have seen over the last couple of days. They are all risking the certainty of a profit by entering markets that are less common in Iowa. Beekeeping, chestnut raising, and local cattle raising are not things that everyone is practicing here. The brave and adventurous ones all seem to want to go against the norm for some reason, whether it is religion, politics, or a respect and love for wildlife. They have also all found hardships regarding raising these uncommon crops in an environment dominated by corn and soy. A few years back, Mark (the bee genius) had a large portion of his bees die as a result of a neighboring farm spraying pesticides that killed his bees. He was able to meet an agreement to protect his bees, however, it was almost devastating to part of his livelihood.

One thing that holds true for everyone that we have met so far, there is some serious passion in Iowa. I have never experienced a group of people more willing to talk about what they do with such excitement and pride.

During the afternoon, the boys on the trip went to see Denny’s tractors. While they were gone, the girls stayed back to catch up on some reading and blog posting (it was not meant to be spilt by gender that is just how it worked out). During this downtime, I reorganized the two refrigerators required to feed our group of 10 people that have been eating at Morris’s. It was a large task to undertake but the results will hopefully decrease the stress level at mealtime for our chefs. It was therapeutic.

05/19/2019

“Well if you have a queen and a group of independent-minded bees that split off from the rest of the hive and look for another place to live, then you’ve got a swarm.”

– August from The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk KIdd

So, we saw the bees!

It was way more emotional than I was expecting. I was truly taken aback by everything. The beekeeper was Mark Tintjer, and his whole property was absolutely stunning. The best part, in my opinion, was the location. Around the back of the house were these intense hills. There were just so many trees and as my classmates have heard one of the most jarring things about the Iowa landscape has been the lack of trees.

Back to the bees. On the ride back from the bee farm I was thinking about the colony and how it functions. The worker bees, nursing bees, and the queen bee are all females. The bees work their whole lives, endlessly, building cities of honeycomb. Perfect hexagons. How is that in nature animals and insects find structure and order to make these strong functioning infrastructures? What can we learn from the bee? How are our infrastructures set up? Do they help or hinder our honeycomb cities?

I have been on an avid search for diversity. Even if I haven’t found exactly what I am looking for, there has been a different talk of diversity happening around me. That is crop diversity. In Iowa corn is number one. It shapes the way farmers grow, but unfortunately it keeps them on a narrow path from which they rarely deviate. The biggest critique of the Iowan farmer is their lack of diversity in crops. For the bee to thrive they need diversity. Luckily for the Tintjer bees, they have plenty of foliage to choose from; lilac trees, a home garden, dandelions, and the few flower patches around the house. Because the diverse nature of the bee diet, they are able to produce specific honeys, and offer an array of products.

If farms were to seek more crop diversity they could find a number of advantages, and open their narrow field of corn farming into something way more expansive. A good example of crop diversity takes place right on the Neubauer family farmer. Denny and Scott Neubauer have started growing sweet corn (very different from the bitter grain corn that Iowans are know for) and green peas. One of the biggest advantages to this crop diversity, or crop rotation, is that essentially it gives the soil a break. When a farmer grows the same thing over and over it pulls all of the nutrients out of the soil. When something different is grown its gives time for the soil to restore itself and the new crop could even offer some new nutrition.

If the bees taught me one thing, it is to continue seeking out diversity. Diversity in crops offers great environmental benefits! If this is a trend that continues I am sure it could have big economic impact as well. I also see this diversity possibly branching out into animal nutrition by giving farmers options besides just corn to feed to the livestock.

The common theme of the past two days has been raining. It has changed a lot of our plans, but I was able to still learn so much. Day four began with an early wake-up and sorting cattle at my host family’s house. We helped separate the calves from the cows. After a bunch of close calls falling in the dirt, we finished the sorting. After changing out of our dirty clothes, we met up with the rest of the group and went and learned all about crop insurance. While talking to these people, it became clear how important insurance was. It allows farmers to continue to farm and never lose money due to the weather destroying crops. As we talked to other farmers these past two days like Heath Stolee, we learned that even though they might be non-conventional farming their are still crop insurance products to protect their crops like chestnuts. These insurances are subsidized by the government so there is less risk for the issuance. Heath Stolee’s operation was extremely interesting because he was growing a crop that is not common in this area and is including other ways to make money from his land. In between his trees, he has CRP land, a conservation program of the US government that pays to keep lands out of production to protect soil health. This allows him to make some money while his chestnut trees are still growing and protecting the wildlife around.
Another very interesting conversation we had was with Danny Neubauer. He showed us around his farm and displayed his extensive tractor collection, which he is very proud of. He described the role each tractor plays on the farm. One of the most interesting thing he said however had to do with the pig barn on his farm, not the crops or the tractors. We had already talked to a couple different farmers who were just getting into the farming business like with chestnut trees or with rotational grazing, but Danny thought the best way to make it with little land is to establish a CAFO and raise pigs. The reason behind this is because the financing is set up in a way you will own it outright in 10 years and during the ten years you can still make a little money.

05/18/2019

The highlight of today was definitely watching the kids. We had the coolest opportunity of going to local farm and helping its residents, the Fiscus’, vaccinate and de-worm a few of their kids, as in their baby goats!

A downer from the past two or three days has been the incoming rain. It is exceptionally daunting because I am really wanting to see the bees, a bee farm, but if the rain keeps coming and the clouds don’t clear we might have to skip out on that adventure. I have faintly heard talk of pollination while here in Iowa, but I know that it is an unspoken story because everyone knows that it needs to happen, and happens naturally. The bees, butterflies, and other critters come in do there pollen dance with plants and fly back out.

I am really invested in the bees because I am attached so strongly to my first introduction to bee farms. It was through the novel, The Secret Life of Bees. The novel tells the fictional story of three Black women in South Carolina (my home state), and how they fought against the wrath of racism through spiritually, maternal-ism, and honey bees. What made there honey so amazing is that they labeled there product, “Black Madonna Honey.” It was the sense of ownership not only of their bees, but of themselves that made this story shine. They stood in truth and did not waiver, even in the face of tragedy.

These days I just associate bees with blackness. I associate bees with beauty. As the first week is coming to a close I look towards what I want to challenge myself to think about and what I want to challenge others to think about. When some visualize farming one image that comes to mind is the famous American Gothic painting. The older white man with a pitchfork, and what can be assumed, his wife standing beside him. Farming does not look as muted or as stiff or as white. The tradition of farming for Black Americans traveled with them over the Atlantic and aided them in survival throughout all of slavery. Farming offered refuge during the era of sharecropping. Today Black farmers are barely recognized, let alone celebrated. I want to show others that there is a place for Blackness in farming.

“Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about”

– August from The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd