• Early Agriculture
• Farmers and Farm Life
• Agricultural Products
• The Science and Technology of Agriculture
• The Economics of Agriculture
• Business & Industry
• Iowa

How has agriculture in Iowa changed over time?

 

• Settler farmyard
• Spring plowing
• Four-row tractor corn planter
• Inspecting ears of hybrid seed corn
• Cultivating corn
• Farm scene
• Dairy Farming Booms in Iowa

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Investigation Tip:
Get up-close and in-depth when examining artifacts such as photographs. Look for details such as clothing, technologies or street signs in old photographs to learn more about the past.

 

• Iowa farmers raised corn, beans and squash. Find out more about these early farmers of Iowa.
• Check out these Iowa Agriculture Quick Facts.
• There were so many things to do on the farm in the 1850s that everyone was busy.
• See how life on the farm has changed in this timeline from the 17th Century to present.
• Interested in a career in agriculture? Meet an agricultural scientist.
• Take a look at these amazing pictures and descriptions about the early methods of plowing.
• Would you want to clone your pet? Do you care if your strawberry contains a gene for fish?
• Get a close-up view of this combine as it harvests soybeans.
• In 1995, the President of the United States was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin with a joke: No one should be allowed to be president, if they don't understand hogs.
• Can you imagine plowing the prairie with this farm implement?
• Food is everybody's business. Market to Market looks at global trade, environmental controversies, changing technologies, emerging enterprises and more.
• Stopping for lunch during haying was a time to rest, eat and plan the rest of the work day.
• The Iowa Hall of Pride showcases the achievements of all Iowans, from student athletes to sports legends, movie stars to scientists.

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Agriculture

Agriculture is an occupation. It's a lifestyle and a business. It involves producing crops and raising livestock.

The first people who arrived in the area now known as Iowa were farmers. They planted corn, beans, squash and pumpkins. When European settlers arrived, they too decided to make a living from Iowa’s rich soil by planting crops and raising animals such as cows and pigs. As time passed, Iowans used railroads and waterways to turn farming into big business. From the pizza delivered to your front door, the wrapper on your music CD, or the ethanol fueling your car, agriculture now provides us with products that were unimaginable to the first Iowans.

With advances in science and technology, agriculture has changed. But here's something that hasn't changed: People all over the world depend on Iowa’s farm products. Can you predict how the business, science, and lifestyle of agriculture will be different in the future? How will those changes affect you?

From the days of growing simple vegetables to today's diversified farming… Explore the rich story of agriculture in Iowa. Your discoveries may surprise you!

 

1. Agriculture