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***REPORTERS AND
EDITORS: A spreadsheet of
all the Century Award winners can be found here and a spreadsheet of all the Heritage Award winners can be found here. Photos were taken of families
that came to the ceremony and the final column lists the families for which
there is a picture available. All photos
are posted on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Flickr
page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/iowaagriculture/albums. Photos will be labeled with the county
and family name for each recipient. Iowa
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig (light blue polo) and either Craig Hill,
President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (grey t-shirt) or Joe Heinrich,
Vice President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (pale blue polo) are the
award presenters included in the photos.
For Immediate Release: Monday, Sept. 10, 2018
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Farm Bureau
celebrated families that have owned a farm for 100 years or 150 years
DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig recognized
Century and Heritage Farm families during a ceremony at the State Fair. To qualify, a family must have owned at least
40 acres for 100 years or more in the case of Century Farms and 150 years or
more for a Heritage Farm.
This year 359 Century Farms and 148 Heritage Farms were
recognized.
“To keep a farm in the same family for 100 or 150 years is a
testament to the passion and perseverance of these families and a true picture
of sustainability,” Naig said. “These
families inspire all of us to roll up our sleeves, identify innovative
conservation solutions and forge new public-private partnerships to ensure our
agriculture industry remains strong for generations to come.”
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
has partnered with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation since 1976 to recognize
families that have owned and worked a farm for 100 years or more. Including this year’s recipients, more than 19,000
farms from across the state have been recognized.
The Heritage Farm program was started in 2006, on the
30th anniversary of the Century Farm program and more than 1,000 farms have
been recognized.
The 2018 Century and Heritage Farms Program ceremony was
held at the Iowa State Fair in the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion on Thursday,
August 16. Craig Hill, President of the
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, or Joe Heinrich, Vice President of the Iowa Farm
Bureau Federation joined Naig to recognize all award recipients.
“It
was a great honor to help present these awards and celebrate the rich history
of these farms and farm families,” Naig said.
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For more information, contact Dustin Vande Hoef, (515) 281-3375 or (515) 326-1616 (cell) or Dustin.VandeHoef@IowaAgriculture.gov
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