398 Century and Heritage Farm Families Honored at the 2023 Iowa State Fair

Aug 21, 2023

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Brent Johnson and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Brian Feldpausch honored 398 Iowa farm families with Century or Heritage Farm designations at the Iowa State Fair today. The program celebrates farms that have been owned by the same families for 100 and 150 years, respectively.

This year, 242 Century Farms and 156 Heritage Farms were recognized. To date, more than 21,000 Century Farms and 1,800 Heritage Farms have been recognized across the state of Iowa. The Century Farm program began in 1976 as part of the Nation’s Bicentennial Celebration. The Heritage Farm program began in 2006.

“Achieving a Century or Heritage Farm milestone is a source of immense pride for an Iowa farm family. It’s important that we honor these generational families for the positive impact they have made on Iowa agriculture and acknowledge their resiliency, dedication, commitment and hard work,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “The Century and Heritage Farm Program recognizes Iowa’s deep tradition of family farming, and having the opportunity to congratulate each of the families, hear their inspiring stories, and celebrate their remarkable accomplishments makes this event one of my favorite of the entire year.”

“The legacy of Iowa’s Century and Heritage farm families isn’t something that just happens, but instead requires generations of personal sacrifice, decades of stewardship and a longstanding dedication to local community,” said Brent Johnson, Iowa Farm Bureau President. “It's an honor to recognize the work ethic, tenacity and commitment to sustainability of these farm families, and Iowa is a better state because of them.”

High quality photos of the recipients will be available within one month of the ceremony on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Flickr page.

Source : iowaagriculture.gov

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.