Iowa’s Rightful Place
Today is national ag day…frankly, if you eat, wear clothes, or drive a car, every day ought to be a day to thank ag producers and farm families…because without them, you wouldn’t have that food to eat, clothes to wear, etc.
We Iowans are a humble sort, and don’t like to brag…but as they say, it’s not bragging if you can back it up…and Iowa can certainly back it up.
We are first in the nation in production of pork…number one in corn…tops in production of eggs…and no one produces more ethanol, or more biodiesel, than Iowa does.
We’re second in the nation in soybean production, behind Illinois…but our number of bushels keeps increasing.
And while we pay so much attention to those top production categories, let’s not forget that we’re pretty good in other areas…for example, number 12 in the nation in terms of milk production, number 10 in the amount of beef cows—nearly one million in the state. And Iowa’s turkey products are popular, so much so that our production is number 6 in the country in terms of pounds produced, and number 7 nationally in the number of head produced.
That is a major part of our state’s economy; sure, manufacturing is the top sector overall, but how much of that manufacturing is due to Iowa’s agricultural economy? That’s right, a lot.
So on this fiftieth anniversary of national ag day, let’s take a moment to recognize Iowa’s rightful place at the top of the agricultural world…and it’s because of the men and women, entire families, who dedicate themselves to this special way of life. It’s not easy…but it’s mightily important.
