A farm organization is choosing to celebrate agriculture, rather than fixate on current conditions.
Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA) commemorated Iowa Farm Bureau Day at the Iowa State Fair. The organization, which advocates for Iowa farmers, chose to recognize the special occasion by celebrating agriculture. Andrew Wheeler, public relations coordinator with Iowa Farm Bureau, speaks to this year?s theme – ?Real Farmers, Real Food, Real Meat.?
?This year we?re in a tough climate, but we?ve taken an approach to celebrate Iowa agriculture. That?s what the State Fair is all about,? Wheeler said. ?Our theme is ?Real Farmers, Real Food, Real Meat,? which plays off research we have from consumers. We?re celebrating grain farmers, livestock farmers… Farm Bureau represents a variety of farmers, raising different commodities, different ways, and we wanted to use the 11-day Iowa State Fair to celebrate all of Iowa agriculture.?
Iowa Farm Bureau further celebrated by hosting its 56th Annual Cookout Contest, which featured a variety of Iowa meats. Farm Bureau research concludes a majority of Iowa households partake in eating meat weekly.
Wheeler speaks to the importance of this statistic, especially as alternative ?meats? enter the marketplace.
?Livestock farming is a lifestyle for a lot of family farmers. When they see alternative products coming into the market, it raises some concerns. Thankfully, we have research that shows 95-percent of Iowa households eat meat at least weekly. What we?ve heard is Iowa households like animal-based protein, so the off-shoots, petri dish meat might not play over as well in Iowa, which is a good thing for our Iowa livestock farmers and consumers – They have choices and that choice is animal protein,” Wheeler said.
