Bill Northey
Studies find one Iowa farmer produces enough food to feed more than 144 people.
National Agriculture Week is wrapping up this weekend as we honor farmers and everyone involved with bringing food to our table. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says as he travels around the country and around the world, he hears many people express their respect for Iowa’s ag industry.
“We had a great crop year this last year,” Northey says. “Only three countries produced more corn than the state of Iowa and only three countries produced more soybeans than the state of Iowa. We’re going through a challenging time right now with lower prices but the basis of what we do is very strong, the production, the technology.”
Northey says he’s encouraged by so many young Iowans getting involved with pursuing careers in agriculture. “We continue to see, even in these challenging times, young people come back to the farm and be excited for farming,” Northey says. “I think the future is very bright. It is a huge economic engine for Iowa, not only the farmers directly but the folks who are involved in helping farmers produce.”
He says agriculture has a great story to tell and farmers need to continually tell the story of agriculture through social media and the general media. Northey says people need to be reminded that our food is not necessarily produced by a large mega-corporate entity, but by farm families who care about the quality of food that we consume every day.
(By Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars)