Iowa Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Agriculture=== [[File:Iowa harvest 2009.jpg|thumb|Harvesting [[maize|corn]] in [[Jones County, Iowa|Jones County]]]] [[File:Survivor, Northwest Iowa 7-13 (22550505788).jpg|left|thumb|Farm in rural Northwest Iowa]] [[File:maytag.jpg|thumb|left|Central Iowa cornfield and dairy in June]] Industrial-scale, commodity agriculture predominates in much of the state. Iowa's main conventional agricultural commodities are [[pig|hogs]], with about 22.6 million hogs in 8,000 facilities large enough to require manure management plans in March 2018, outnumbering Iowans by more than 7 to 1,<ref name =Jordan>{{Cite news |last=Erin Jordan |date=May 6, 2018 |title=Large-scale pork production may push farther into Eastern Iowa |url=https://www.thegazette.com/business/large-scale-pork-production-may-push-farther-into-eastern-iowa/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |work=The Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref> [[maize|corn]], [[soybean]]s, [[oat]]s, cattle, eggs, and dairy products. Iowa is the nation's largest producer of [[ethanol]] and [[maize|corn]] and some years is the largest grower of soybeans. In 2008, the 92,600 farms in Iowa produced 19% of the nation's corn, 17% of the soybeans, 30% of the hogs, and 14% of the eggs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=19&StateName=Iowa#.U8Q5wbEXtQs|title=Iowa State Fact Sheets|author=USDA|access-date=February 21, 2015|archive-date=February 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222014931/http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=19&StateName=Iowa#.U8Q5wbEXtQs|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2009}} major Iowa agricultural product processors included [[Archer Daniels Midland]], [[Cargill, Inc.]], Diamond V Mills, and [[Quaker Oats]].<ref name="gazette grain">{{cite news|url=http://gazetteonline.com/top-story/2009/11/28/impact-of-grain-processing-industry-runs-deep-but-people-don%e2%80%99t-see-it |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209003425/http://gazetteonline.com/top-story/2009/11/28/impact-of-grain-processing-industry-runs-deep-but-people-don%E2%80%99t-see-it |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 9, 2012 |title=Impact of grain-processing industry runs deep, but people don't see it |last=Ford |first=George |date=November 28, 2009 |work=Cedar Rapids Gazette |pages=1A |access-date=November 29, 2009 }}</ref> During the 21 st century Iowa has seen growth in the [[organic farming]] sector. Iowa ranks fifth in the nation in total number of organic farms. In 2016, there were about 732 organic farms in the state, an increase of about 5% from the previous year, and 103,136 organic acres, an increase of 9,429 from the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2017/11/03/looking-greater-profits-more-iowa-farmers-move-organic-corn-soybeans/821234001/|title=Looking for greater profits, more Iowa farmers move to organic corn, soybeans|author=Eller, Donnelle|date=November 3, 2017|newspaper=The Des Moines Register|access-date=January 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.iowaorganic.org/|title=Iowa Organic Association|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416151849/https://www.iowaorganic.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> Iowa has also seen an increase in demand for local, sustainably-grown food. Northeast Iowa, part of the [[Driftless Area]], has led the state in development of its regional [[food system]] and grows and consumes more local food than any other region in Iowa.<ref>{{citation|url=https://northeastiowarcd.org/wp-content/uploads/LF-Expansion-Plan_FINALWEB_Version.pdf|title=Northeast Iowa Local Foods Expansion Plan|publisher=Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232925/https://northeastiowarcd.org/wp-content/uploads/LF-Expansion-Plan_FINALWEB_Version.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://northeastiowarcd.org/category/grow-the-local-food-system/|title=Grow The Local Food System|publisher=Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=January 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122044054/https://northeastiowarcd.org/category/grow-the-local-food-system/|url-status=live}}</ref> Iowa's Driftless Region is also home to the nationally recognized [[Seed Savers Exchange]], a non-profit [[seed bank]] housed at an 890-acre heritage farm near [[Decorah, Iowa|Decorah]], in the northeast corner of the state.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/saving-seeds/|title=Saving Seeds|date=September 27, 2011|publisher=National Geographic|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416174041/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/saving-seeds/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode202/|title=Episode 202: Best of Season One—Inspiring PLACES|date=July 9, 2011|publisher=Growing a Greener World|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416174039/https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode202/|url-status=live}}</ref> The largest nongovernmental seed bank of its kind in the United States, Seed Savers Exchange safeguards more than 20,000 varieties of rare, heirloom seeds.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.seedsavers.org/mission|title=About Us: Today|publisher=Seed Saver Exchange|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416174042/https://www.seedsavers.org/mission|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Wall Mural, Mt Ayr, IA Post Office, 1998.jpg|thumb|Mural in [[Mount Ayr, Iowa|Mt. Ayr]] Post Office, "The Corn Parade" by Orr C. Fischer, commissioned as part of the [[New Deal]]<ref name="CornParade">{{cite web|title=The Corn Parade|date=1941|author=Orr C. Fischer|url=http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6702|access-date=July 3, 2010|archive-date=June 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610130945/http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6702/|url-status=live}}</ref>]] As of 2007, the direct production and sale of conventional agricultural commodities contributed only about 3.5% of Iowa's gross state product.<ref>2007 ''Iowa Factbook'' p. 59, Des Moines:Iowa Legislative Services Agency.</ref> In 2002 the impact of the indirect role of agriculture in Iowa's economy, including agriculture-affiliated business, was calculated at 16.4% in terms of value added and 24.3% in terms of total output. This was lower than the economic impact of non-farm manufacturing, which accounted for 22.4% of total value added and 26.5% of total output.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/isu/genres/10180.html|title=Multiple Measures of the Role of Agriculture in Iowa's Economy|author1=Swenson, David A|author2=Eathington, Liesl|date=December 1, 2002|publisher=Iowa State University, Department of Economics|agency=Staff General Research Papers, number 10180|access-date=July 26, 2014|archive-date=July 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715030735/http://ideas.repec.org/p/isu/genres/10180.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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