Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2020

Rural
The
From weeds
to axes to
chickens,
these books
tell a story
The rural landscape we call
home here in Eastern Iowa
is pretty much in the heart
of the Midwest. Hot, humid
summers and cold winters.
Country where the sky forms most of
the landscape at times.
When someone in Europe or China,
for example, thinks of this section of
the United States they imagine miles
and miles of corn and soybeans, a
virtual sea of endless fields, Grant
Wood’s American Gothic and agriculture’s
impact.
Incredibly, just about one percent of
us now are actually production farmers
here in the United States. Industrial
style farming, GMO crop hybrids,
massive tractors and equipment
BY Lowell Carslon
eastern iowa farmer columnist
have come to dominate our region’s
farming system.
And yet, interest in agriculture has
never been greater. People want
to know about the food
they eat, the
farmers