From food to fuel, Iowa meets demand

Iowa isn't just corn. Apples, grapes, melons are among the other food products/Gazette file photo.

By B.J. Smith
Iowa.com

Name a common agricultural product and chances are good that someone in Iowa grows or raises it. Corn, soybeans, alfalfa, wheat – even Muscatine melons – might come to mind.

Iowa agriculture, however, is much more than beef, pork and poultry.

It’s apples, bison, catfish and Christmas trees. Iowans raise donkeys, emus, flax seed and grapes. We produce hay and honey, popcorn and pumpkins, nuts and berries. And don’t forget the asparagus, cucumbers, green beans, llamas, onions, sheep, strawberries and turkeys.

And sweet corn, the stuff of festivals.

Click the image to see how Meteorologist Josh Baynes handles the job of being a farmer.

Most of those crops and livestock – and there are more – are raised to feed and clothe us or other people, next door or thousands of miles away. Hundreds of millions of bushels of Iowa corn are processed into livestock feed and ethanol for fuel. Lesser amounts are processed into starch, corn oil and sweeteners.

With all of that going on, it’s no surprise that farming is one of the first things that come to mind when people hear “Iowa.” While the percentage of Iowans who live on farms is a far cry from what it was a century ago, agriculture continues to be one of our most important industries.

Learn more

• Interesting Iowa ag facts
• Iowa Farm Bureau
• Iowa Department of Agriculture

Your Turn: What’s the future of Iowa agriculture?  Add your thoughts below.