485 Century and Heritage Farm Families Honored at Iowa State Fair
Program celebrates farms that have been in the same family for 100 and 150 years, respectively
DES MOINES, Iowa (Aug. 29, 2019) — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Craig Hill and Vice-President Joe Heinrich honored 485 Iowa farm families with Century or Heritage Farm designations at the Iowa State Fair. The program celebrates farms that have been owned by the same families for 100 and 150 years, respectively.
“When you consider the inherent risks that farmers assume every day, the 80s recession, and the current trade concerns, it is incredible to think of the challenges these families had to overcome to keep their farms for 100 or 150 years,” said Secretary Naig. “The Century and Heritage Farm program celebrates these families for their tenacity and dedication to agriculture.”
“Agriculture has long been the backbone of Iowa’s economy and critical to the vitality of rural communities across the state,” said Craig Hill, Iowa Farm Bureau President. “It’s an honor to co-sponsor the Century and Heritage Farm program which allows us to recognize the multi-generational farm families that have withstood countless challenges over 100 or 150 years to keep their farms in the family.”
The Century Farm program began in 1976 as part of the Nation’s Bicentennial Celebration. This year, 332 Century Farms and 153 Heritage Farms were recognized. A full list of families who received Century and Heritage Farm designations at the 2019 Iowa State Fair is available at iowaagriculture.gov/century-and-heritage-farm-program. High-resolution Century Farm photos and Heritage Farm photos are available now.
To date, more than 20,060 Century Farms and 1,360 Heritage Farms have been recognized across the state of Iowa.
Media: 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 all the families who came to the ceremony; 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's name. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig (light blue button-up) and either Craig Hill, President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (green “Farm” t-shirt), or Joe Heinrich, Vice President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (pale blue polo), presented the awards.