Iowa Food & Family

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa was often the focus of news reports. During reports of outbreaks at meat-packing plants and how much Iowa farmers fed consumers around the globe or references to the “bread basket of the world,” news anchors referred to commodities, such as pork, beef, turkey, dairy, soybeans, corn, and eggs.

Wouldn’t it be great if all the farmers who produce the goods could work together in a cooperative spirit to inform the world of the importance of what they do to feed the world?

Well, indeed, they already do, says Kelly Visser, Ag Awareness Manager for the Iowa Soybean Association in Ankeny. In 2011 a group of farmers and the state’s commodity groups came together to form the Iowa Food & Family Project. The initiative works to build trust in modern agriculture and involve more than 35 partners across the farm-to-fork chain. “Over the years, the collaboration has worked out beautifully, and it continues to be a powerful group,” she says.

She says the program is funded by the Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Beef Industry Council, Midwest Dairy, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Egg Council, Iowa Turkey Federation, Farm Credit Services of America, Cargill, Corteva Agriscience, and Key Cooperative, along with a variety of in-kind partners and supporters.

Visser, also the editor of Fresh Pickings, the project’s quarterly magazine, says the statistics show the importance of the “bread basket” concept: “In 1964, one U.S. farmer produced enough to feed 46 people. Because of improvements in seed genetics and equipment technology, one farmer now produces enough to feed 155 people.” And, because of those improvements, in 1960 Americans spent 16.8% of their income on food. Now it’s 9.7%.

Iowa farmers are among the nation’s leaders in pork, corn, soybeans, and egg production. Pork producers, for example, are responsible for one-third of the nation’s supply of hogs. Not surprising when you realize that 10% of the world’s most productive farm ground is in Iowa.

What’s more, nearly 90% of Iowa’s land area is devoted to growing food, the highest percentage of any other state.

Nearly 97% of all farms in the United States are owned and managed by families. In Iowa, those numbers translate to 87,000 farms, with an average of 351 acres per farm.

Besides Fresh Pickings magazine, the Iowa Food & Family Project publishes a newsletter and hosts farm tours, all focusing on the farm-to-fork food supply chain and its ramifications.

In addition to partnering with commodity groups, other organizations, and food purveyors, the project takes an annual consumer survey of consumers, those who purchase the food products.

“It really is special,” Visser points out. “We get to see what’s important to grocery shoppers and consumers. It’s a benchmark, where we get to see what’s popular and what trends are developing.”

It was interesting to see what trends home cooks and families implemented during the long stay-at-home time that many Iowans worked at home, home-schooled, and ate at home when restaurants were closed. For the survey, the project sought opinions from those who receive the Iowa Family & Food Project newsletter and those involved in a polling focus group.

“During the pandemic, we know that lots of people baked bread, planted vegetable gardens, shopped for groceries online, and generally slowed down,” Visser says. “It will be interesting during our next survey to see how many of those habits and preferences are still in place.”

In 2021, the project will mark its tenth anniversary of celebrating Iowa farms, food, and families. •

Fun Farm Facts

(from Feeding the Future)

SOYBEAN FACTS

• Iowa ranks among the top three for soybean production, with 13% of all soybeans grown in the United States each year.
• Iowa soybean farmers have invested more than $40 million in research and conservation efforts.
• ½ cup of edamame, a popular soybean side or appetizer, offers 11 grams of protein.

PORK FACTS

• Iowa farmers raise more hogs than any other state, with 40 to 50 million annually, ⅓ of the nation’s total.
• The leanest cuts of pork have “loin” in their name, such as pork tenderloin and loin chop.

EGG FACTS

• At 15 cents per serving, eggs are an affordable source of high-quality protein.
• Iowa produces 55 million laying hens and 16 billion eggs each year.
• One egg has 70 calories, 6 grams of protein, and all 9 essential amino acids.

BEEF FACTS

• Cattle, which outnumber people in Iowa, are raised in all 99 counties.
• Today’s beef is leaner than ever. Just 3 ounces of beef provides 10 essential nutrients, including protein, iron, zinc, and Vitamin B12.

DAIRY FACTS

• Iowa’s 1,200 dairy farms produced about 601 million gallons of milk in 2017.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires all milk to be free of antibiotics.
• It takes 48 hours for milk to go from farm to grocery store.

CORN FACTS

• One acre of corn is about the size of a football field.
• In an average year, Iowa grows more corn than most countries. In fact, if it were a country, Iowa would rank fourth in the world’s corn production.

TURKEY FACTS

• Iowa farmers raise about 12 million turkeys annually and are the number one supplier of turkey to Subway and Jimmy John’s.
• With more than 130 turkey farms in the state, the industry contributes $10 billion to the state’s economy.
• The average American eats 16.7 pounds of turkey annually. A 3-ounce serving of boneless, skinless turkey breast provides 26 grams of protein.