Century Farms featured at Iowa State Fair today

The 2002 Century Farm program is today at the state fairgrounds. There are 445 farms enrolled this year, the highest number in the past decade. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Patty Judge says farm families will attend the ceremony and receive plaques honoring their “century farm.”She says every one of the families could tell stories about their ancestors who came to Iowa and farmed that same property for a century or more. While corporate ownership and land renting are changing some practices, Judge says the Century Farms embody Iowa history.She says the face of agriculture is changing, though Iowa has a tradition of guardianship of farmland and what she calls “real” Iowans are seldom more than a generation or two away from the farm. The Century Farms honor ceremony begins this morning at 9:30.