Loves Ida County
To the editor:
An April 24 Farm News cover story highlighted Ida County and its quality of life. We know it’s true first-hand, because we’re a farm family that lives and works in Ida County.
In fact, our family has been active in crop and livestock farming in the Ida Grove and Arthur communities for more than 100 years. We grow corn and soybeans and raise turkeys. Our three children are active in numerous school activities and love to spend time with their grandparents and really enjoy Grandma’s home cooking. There are hog and turkey barns and cattle feedlots dotting the countryside. It’s a great place to live, be involved in livestock and rear a family.
Therefore, it didn’t surprise us when Farm News reported that Ida County was selected as the third best county in the nation to raise a family by Progressive Farmer, a national magazine (Clinton County ranked fifth). The publication makes its determination based on a careful evaluation of employment trends, education, land prices, access to health care, crime rates and other criteria.
As farmers and residents of Ida County, it’s obvious to us that a strong agricultural base and community quality of life go hand-in-hand. We lived outside of Iowa for a few years before returning here to farm and rear our family. Doing so allowed me to work side-by-side with my folks and to provide our children with the opportunity to get a quality education. Since returning, we’ve diversified our farm by raising turkeys.
Rural living is one of a kind. Communities with strong and growing livestock, hog and poultry farms are and will continue to be destinations for families. In fact, a survey of nearly 500 Iowa FFA members attending their state conference earlier this spring found that 9 of every 10 want to live, work and rear families in Iowa after completing their education.
Good employment opportunities and strong agricultural communities will enable them to fulfill their dreams.
Agriculture is more than just corn, beans, hogs, cattle, poultry and turkeys. It’s more than steel, machinery and seed. It’s about the people who tend to the soil and their livestock to provide food, fiber and fuel for a growing world.
We’re proud of what we do and the shared role we play with our urban neighbors in making Ida County and other destinations in Iowa among the best places to live and work in the U.S.