Oftentimes, farmers are reminded of the importance in telling their story and sharing agriculture’s message. Iowa’s top agricultural leader encourages farmers to incorporate stewardship practices into these meaningful conversations.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey recently spoke to Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs) at the Agribusiness Association of Iowa (AAI) – 2018 Agribusiness Showcase and Conference. Northey stressed to them the importance of telling their story.
?We can?t assume everybody knows the great things going on in agriculture,? Northey said. ?We have a lot of great things in Iowa agriculture. We had our second year of 200 bushel statewide average corn yield, and we had a less than perfect weather year. That?s a pretty amazing accomplishment.?
Northey says agriculture?s message starts one farm at a time, one conversation at a time.
?We often talk about this in the big scale,? Northey said. ?You all know it?s not about big scale, it?s about the farmer you?re working with and the field you?re working on with that farmer. This gets done one conversation at a time. The big pieces add up and we end up with more corn produced in Iowa than all but three countries in the world, more soybeans produced in Iowa than all but three countries in the world as well.?
Northey adds part of a farmer?s story is all the work he or she is getting done in regards to water quality.
?I?m proud to be able to have 4R Plus introduced here,? Northey said. ?I happen to believe it?s very fitting that it happened in Iowa because I?d argue more work is getting done here around water quality issues than any place else out there. It?s not done because the state has done something magical or the Department of Agriculture is forcing you to do things. It is because you all have figured out that we need to do things in a better way, apply technologies, be productive and have a better story for the way we are caring for our resources out here.?
