For the series, the Register selected four farm families, ranging from a large-scale grain and beef farm in southwestern Iowa to a 76-acre farm mid-way to becoming certified as an organic produce farm.
“The Iowa farm family, with its deep community roots, extended family ties and a large dose of savvy born from living close to the soil, finds itself at the epicenter of a new cultural and economic landscape,” says the Des Moines Register in opening its “Harvest of Change” series. “In rural America, the aging of the population and ever-bigger farms enabled by technological advances are already depopulating the countryside.” A farmer profiled in the series says it’s almost inevitable there will be fewer farms, fewer farmers and fewer vibrant rural communities.
For the series, the Register selected four farm families, ranging from a large-scale grain and beef farm in southwestern Iowa to a 76-acre farm mid-way to becoming certified as an organic produce farm.