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Laurens-area barn ‘stronger than ever’

LAURENS — “If these old walls could talk” could be the calling card of Jerry Sobotka’s century-old barn five and a half miles south of Laurens — but the stories would have plenty of wild twists and turns. Roy and Annie McCormick built this 32-foot-by-50-foot barn in Marshall ...

Ready to serve the next generation

POLK CITY — As the seventh generation of farmers to tend their land outside Polk City, Anna and Tyler Moeckly work hand in hand with Tyler’s parents. A dominant feature of the family farm happens to be a huge red barn that catches everyone’s attention driving by. The farm was settled ...

‘The heart of the farm’

AUBURN — It’s a rare person who knows both the builder and the history of his or her barn. Donetta Stewart is well-versed in both, since her father helped build the Gothic-style barn that has graced her family’s Sac County property since 1939. “Overall, the barn is still in good ...

Sioux County barn fosters memories

ALTON — The De Graaf family has owned this farm since 1952, and — while the exact date of the barn’s construction isn’t known — the family figures it has been around since the 1920s. “There are a few leather bridles hanging in the barn,” said Jeff De Graaf, current owner ...

Heritage Timbers barn serves as event venue

STORY CITY — In 1873, Ashley Keech’s great-grandparents established the family farm in Story County, which several years later included the construction of a state-of-the-art dairy barn that also doubled as an entertainment center for the square-dancing parties they used to host. But ...

Rolfes barn is backdrop of family life near Gowrie

GOWRIE — They came here from a place of love — and heartbreak. For Dave and Kim Rolfes, the barn on their acreage outside of Gowrie is a storehouse of family memories, where the blended family they nurtured together set down roots and built a strong foundation of love. “When we bought ...

Castle barn perfect for 120 acres

SMITHLAND — “It’s just an old barn,” said Dan Castle, owner of this outbuilding in the rolling hills of northwest Iowa. “We hope to fix it up sometime. I bought it four years ago, but my father rented the barn and the pasture since the late 1970s; eventually, we rented it together ...

Redig barn a place for cows, cats, and kids

CLARION — A person has to step inside the barn of Mike and Barb Redig to appreciate what went into the construction of their barn on the family’s Century Farm. It was around 1941 when the barn that was on that location needed to be replaced. Lawrence Spencer (Barb Redig’s ...

Meet the 2024 Farm News Ag Show speakers

Dr. Kapil Arora is a field agricultural engineer with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Kapil received his doctorate and master’s from Iowa State University in agricultural engineering. Kapil has been serving central and north central Iowa counties in his current role for more ...

Flowers, fun and more at Howell’s

CUMMING — Just off a gently curving highway west of U.S. Interstate 35 in southern Iowa sits a diversified farm bustling with goats, sunflowers, pumpkins, fresh flowers, chickens, Christmas trees and more. The Howell farm — best known now as Howell’s Greenhouse and Pumpkin Patch — ...