On Tuesday the 28^th, I woke up to a beautiful view overlooking the Mississippi river. We could see Wisconsin sitting on just the other side. Lansing is unlike anywhere else we have been thus far. The land is made up of big rolling hills and valleys. This puts a serious dent in my preconceived notions about Iowa being a flat state. After a quick breakfast at our host’s home, we headed out to an Amish farm in Waukon, Iowa. It was interesting to hear about the differences between the Amish farm and the other farms we had visited. They have a dairy operation and were able to use a vacuum system to milk the cows to circumvent the need for electricity. I was happy to hear that their cows were grass fed and they used a rotational grazing system. My favorite part of the visit was hearing the banter about weather and crop yields between the Amish woman and our hosts, Mark and Marsha Kruse. Although they live very different lives, one big thing unites them. They are all trying to make a living off the land. This basic fact means they have more in common than they have in differences. 

Later in the day we visited the Welsh family farm. The Welsh Family Farm is one of many farms that are in Organic Valley. Their products are sold through Organic Valley Cooperative, and they adhere to all organic standards. They produced pigs, cattle, chickens, and some crops. I was impressed at the scale of their operation. The chicken barn was amazing. The size of the operation was incredible. The technology used was very impressive as well. The floor of the chicken barn was on a conveyer belt so that the floor would be replaced at regular intervals. This keeps the barn much more hygienic, disease free, and drastically helps with odor problems.

 It was really interesting to compare this organic farm to other farms we have seen, such as Grinnell Heritage. This farm was on a much larger scale and was producing the conventional products, just using different methods. 

We woke up early and headed to Mr. Friest’s farm where four engaged in AIing sows and two rode in a tractor with Mr. Friest’s son. Before AIing sows we were treated to a tour of the Friest’s hog operation, beginning with the nursing unit. It was extremely similar to the Liljedahl operation, however, we saw evidence that the nursing crate for the sow can only work so well at preventing piglets from being crushed. We then fed some sows in another unit before being taken to the main event. To AI a sow, without being too graphic, you insert a tube and then begin an IV drip essentially. It is a fairly simple procedure, complicated only by involving the hog, which was not a problem the way we were shown. After our visit at the Friest farm we quickly turned around and headed to Iowa City to meet with professors and the Honorable Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City), a member of the Iowa House of Representatives.

We had a complication with our first meeting which was rescheduled for the following day. Thus, our first meeting was with Connie Mutel, who gave a climate change presentation to the class. Some of the interesting takeaways from this lecture were climate change has been observed since the 1800s and that Iowa is the world’s most transformed surface. For taking the class in the hydrology department the discussion surrounding water was lacking, however, she offered hope for the future. This was nice compared to our meeting the following day with Dr. Chris Jones, who offered more of a doom and gloom perspective. To him we are past the point of no return and he does not believe that there are any options to reverse what has happened. We discussed his blogs with him and he described where problems are, such as not knowing the amount of hog operations there are in the state, and not having the DNR personal to regulate the hog barns in a way that he believes is sufficient.

Monday night we had a fantastic dinner with State rep. Mascher, where we discussed the current state of politics and individuals views, and then transitioned to state-level issues. Rep. Mascher elaborated on the sanctuary city bill signed by the governor and said it did not change any practices, but worried for what it could lead to in legal cases and application. What was a more interesting discussion about proposed solar panel legislation. This legislation would change the pricing and place more of a burden on the individual with solar panels for connecting to the grid vs the power companies. Rep. Mascher wants a study to be conducted to see if the price is enough to warrant raising the burden shared by the individual. But this could harm farmers similar to the Welshs (near Lansing) who put up solar panels for energy, shade for chickens, and the financial benefits they get for sending energy back to the grid.

Back to Tuesday, we met with Dr. Dave Cwiertny to discuss water. A major focus of this discussion was well water. Well water is private water, and thus falls outside of federal oversight. It is up to individuals to check their wells; however Iowa has a state program on the county level that will test wells for certain bacteria, however, it is underutilized because it does not leave the well owners with anything other than a recommendation as to their next steps. Some people will also not use it because they view it as giving the state access to their land. The burden is in those who take the extra step and pony up the money to filter or shock their well. Dr. Cwirtny also discussed how other countries monitor water at the source and restrict by watersheds to reduce costs. He ended with offering some hope, our generation is much more informed due to technology, and looking forward this will result in problems being solved.

Land disputes can ruin a family, or at least harm a good relationship. Passing down land or one’s estate is a complex and serious matter that should not be taken lightly. It is a difficult decision for one to make and can be emotionally exhausting as well. “Map of My Kingdom”, written by the Poet Laureate of Iowa, Mary Swander, explores these issues in a way to promote dialogue among family members and others. The play is a one-person, one act play exploring the issues of the family farm being sold, or deciding who gets the farm. Stories told included selling the farm to prevent conflict, murdering siblings to get the farm, or convincing parents that you should get the farm for illegitimate reasons and creating sour relationships in their path. The play used Shakespeare and religious texts to reinforce the ideas discussed. Following the play there was a talkback with Mary Swander where she explained how the play related to her own life when her grandmother sold the farm. Following the talkback, a panel consisting of a reverend, a lawyer, and banker convened to field questions from the audience. Many questions were personal in nature or clarifying such as what is the difference between a will and a trust. The panel did a fantastic job, and the audience seemed to take well to the play, and the attendance was astonishing considering it was the first consecutive warm, dry day in a long time. The stage was also set up perfectly for the first performance in 40+ years at the Garden City Community Center.

On Saturday when we finished meeting with Art Cullen, we began our journey to Okiboji to meet with the “Queen of Water”, Mary Skopec. After arriving at Lakeside Laboratory, the most expensive land in Iowa, we were taken away to learn about water testing. We walked to a stream that had been created to help in filtering water running off into Okiboji to reduce nitrate and phosphate levels and increase oxygen levels found in the water. The tests were easy to conduct and only required a few moments before data could be collected. All of the levels were in the appropriate range. We then got into the van and went to a spot on the lake where we again tested the water. Here the levels were far higher than what was found in the stream, and the number of mosquitoes were far higher as well. Runoff into water sources is a serious problem for Iowa and one that should be looked into further and research preformed to determine what has caused the problems.

During our second day in Iowa City we met Dr. Dave Cwiertny, he is the director at Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination at University of Iowa. We talked a lot about water with Dr. Cwiertny and what he thinks about some of the known contaminants of water that cause human health effects. Dave mentioned that there is a funded program that supplies Iowans with different types of water quality tests for free. He says that most people do not take advantage of the program and he is not sure why. Mary Skopec also talked about providing individuals with water quality tests. It seems like resources are available to people who want them. I think that people not utilizing the water testing resources has a lot to do with the stubbornness that we have seen through our trip. It has caused some people to do things that allow them to deny that there is a problem. Dave also mentioned that the population of rural Iowa is old, and people of an old age are less concerned about their water quality because there are no infants.

We met another scientist, Dr. Chris Jones at City Park in Iowa City. The information he gave us pretty much aligned with other except for his closing statement. He basically said his hope is gone, and he is not an optimist about our future. He also thinks all the people his age and up need to die before we can make any progress. He’s not wrong, but dang. He also thinks that fake meat will make a huge difference.

On a lighter note, we got back to Radcliffe just in time for dinner at Morris’s. He made Adare and I a vegetable pizza that was DELICIOUS. After dinner some people went to the Neubauer Family Farm to play croquet. I came in last place both games. I’ll blame it in Shadow (the dog) for distracting me.

Before we left for Iowa City, some of the group went to the Brent Friest Farm to learn how to artifically inseminate sows. (Brandon will be a dad to 17 babies now). While the boys were learning the finer points of animal husbandry Hannah and I went to ride a planter with Brent Friest. After playing ISpy to find the planter in like seven different fields, we spotted the green tractor with a blue planter (blue = Kinze implments in Iowa). We hopped in the tractor and got the run down on how it works and everything the human needs to do, and everything the human does not need to do. Most of the work is done my automatic GSP steering. The farmer must turn around at the end of a row but can just watch the monitors when going down the row. There were five screens in Brent’s tractor that showed him his progress and productivity. He was planting around 35,000 seeds per acre while going 7 mph. He said it would take him about 5 hours to finish his field today.

Riding the tractor was SO COOL and is really nothing like I would have imagined it before coming to Iowa.

When we got to Iowa City, we went to speak with Connie Mutel about Climate Change Presentation. She was the first person to talk about individual efforts to lessen effects of climate change, other presenters focused on mitigation strictly through agriculture. That was interesting. She basically gave a science lesson that filled in the blanks between all of the policies and opinions we have been getting. It was helpful to hear facts to help us shape our own views.

Tonight, for dinner we ate with Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City) at Orchard Green. It was a really fancy restaurant and the food was amazing. I’m not one for overpaying for food but I certainly understand why others are. Representative Masher, who is friends with Morris, is just as nice as Morris. She really thinks we need a moderate president to accomplish anything beneficial. We chatted with her over dinner more about what we’ve learned and about politics. After dinner, some of us went with her to a microbrewery and continued to chat over hipster beer.

In the morning we ventured back to Radcliffe from Okoboji. We got back and had some free time before we headed to Garden City to help set up for the performance of “Map of My Kingdom” that was put on for friends of the Neubauers. The one-woman play was written by Professor Mary Swander who is the Poet Laureate of Iowa. It was performed by Lindsay Bauer. The play was commissioned by Practical Farmers of Iowa (a group that we visited earlier in the Maymester). She writes about the struggles that families face over land ownership and the regrets and mistakes it leads to. It was a good show; I have no idea how one woman can remember so many lines.

Immediately following the play there was a Talk Back with the Poet Laureate. She discussed that the play was based off of people that she knew, including her grandmother. She encouraged people to take steps to be prepared for passing down the land. She answered questions from the audience and then talked a little about how common it is for families never to discuss their parents will. It is an awkward and upsetting thing to bring up. After a short break we closed with a panel siscussion with The Rev. Dr. Matthew Rueger, Mr. Ron Pepples, Esq., and Mr. Chris Brinkmeyer from Central State Bank. The panel consisted of a reverend, a lawyer, and a banker. They each gave a small introduction and then answered questions. The panel was selected based on which professionals deal with these issues the most. The lawyer got the most questions, and I think this was a good thing because it meant that people are thinking about their own situations.  

I found that this play is relatable even if you are not from a farming family. After the death of a loved one, there is so much to take care of and it can be very complicated and create a lot of dispute if there is no planning.

Tuesday, June 4th

Today was our last day of presentations for the Farm MayX. We headed to the University of Iowa to meet with Dr. Dave Cwiertny. Again the main topic was water quality. Iowa’s water quality has also been a concern to us since we have been drinking the water for 3 weeks. However, we eventually get to go home. What does this mean for those who call Iowa home?

From the little we have seen of Iowa, the state appears to be mostly rural. This means that a majority of citizens will be using a private well. Private wells fall outside of the government’s regulation domain. This places added responsibilities on homeowners to regularly have their water tested. How many of us regularly do this, if at all. I live on property that uses a private well and I cannot remember the last time we had our water tested. Dr. Cwiertny told us that there is a program in Iowa that will test private wells for free. However, it is underutilized and there is no remediation if pollutants are found. Dr. Cwiertny argues that voluntary testing rarely works and that we might make progress on water quality if we regulated non-point source pollution. There are thousands of chemicals on the market and also other pollutants like hormones and antibiotics that reach our water through many means other than agriculture. To me, it seems regulation is almost impossible unless we ban the use of all chemicals. Maybe we should take a cue from Europe and start practicing the precautionary principle.

Later in the day we met with Dr. Chris Jones. Being that he studies water quality I never would have expected the turn our conversation took. “Glyphosate is good when dealing with corn and soybeans.” Good for who? The applicators? Some have associated the close contact with glyphosate with cancers. The plants? Weeds targeted by glyphosate have started to become resistant to the chemical. Dicamba may become our weapon of choice after glyphosate becomes ineffective. And Dicamba is not “good.”

This morning we woke up and made our way to the Storm Lake Times to meet Art Cullen. Art Cullen is a Pulitzer Prize winner for his newspaper. We were assigned his book Storm Lake before we arrived in Iowa forever-ago. I read half the book and then downloaded the audiobook to listen to the second half while on the plane. The narrator of the audiobook led me to believe that Art was going to be much different than he was. Art was casual and opinionated. He responded to every question we had with a well worded, well rounded answer that aligned with what many of our class thought as well. Like Jose Ibarra, he was very humble. I got him to sign my graph paper notebook, I think he thought that was crazy. It was cool to meet someone who has brought so much attention to an area that people outside of Iowa probably would not have heard much about otherwise.

The second half of the day was spent testing water in Okoboji with Mary Skopec. We went to two different sites to test the water quality. The first site was on the site of the Lakeside Laboratory, which is reserved landscape, so we didn’t expect to find any issues. The next place we tested was besides a field that had just been planted. Although we were expecting to find issues there, they were minimal. The levels of Phosphorus and Nitrogen were definitely elevated but not enough that they would be regulated as unsafe. Mary Skopec said that at one point all of the rivers in Iowa were clear enough to see the bottom. I thought that was really crazy to think about.

After we were done testing the water, Hannah and I decided it was clean enough to go Kkayaking in. We paddled around Lake Okoboji until it was time for dinner. It was really fun and relaxing. For a while, we followed a group of geese for fun.

Sunday, June 2

Today there was not much on agenda except for making the journey back to Radcliffe from Lake Okoboji. Later in the day our itinerary consisted of putting on a play for the community in Garden City. 

“Map of My Kingdom” was written by Mary Swander and was commissioned by Practical Farmers of Iowa. When we met with PFI in May, we learned that PFI was formed in 1985 because people were not satisfied with the single track of information available to farmers. I feel that the commissioning of this play fits in nicely with why PFI was created. The play deals with the tough subject of farm transfers. Her hope is that presenting this play will help families open up the conversation on who gets the farm. 

Farm transfers do not always go easy and can cause rifts in a family. Planning can make the process easier for everyone. It takes the involvement of the family and outside entities to make it happen. This is why after the play we had a panel discussion made up of a Pastor, Lawyer and Banker.