Four Allamakee County farms recognized as Heritage Farms at Iowa State Fair
Beneke farm recognized as Heritage Farm ... Members of the Keith and Faye Beneke family were present at the Iowa State Fair August 17 to receive recognition for the family’s farm being honored as a Heritage Farm. The farm is located in rural New Albin. Submitted photo.
Bresnahan farm recognized as Heritage Farm ... Members of the Don Bresnahan family were present at the Iowa State Fair August 17 to receive recognition for the family’s farm being honored as a Heritage Farm. The Bresnahan farm is located in rural Dorchester. Submitted photo.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Brent Johnson and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Brian Feldpausch honored 398 Iowa farm families with Century or Heritage Farm designations at the 2023 Iowa State Fair in Des Moines Thursday, August 17. The program celebrates farms that have been owned by the same families for 100 and 150 years, respectively.
This year, 242 Century Farms and 156 Heritage Farms were recognized. To date, more than 21,000 Century Farms and 1,800 Heritage Farms have been recognized across the state of Iowa. The Century Farm program began in 1976 as part of the Nation’s Bicentennial Celebration. The Heritage Farm program began in 2006.
Among the farms recognized this year were four from Allamakee County farms that were all honored as Heritage Farms with at least 150 years of ownership within the same family. Two of those honored farms had their families make the trip to the Iowa State Fair to receive their recognition in person and are pictured in the photos accompanying this article.
Among those Allamakee County farms were the David J. and Doris M. Anderson farm located in rural Lansing and touting the year 1855 as its origin of family ownership, the Keith and Faye Beneke farm of rural New Albin that originated family ownership in 1868, the Don Bresnahan farm in rural Dorchester that had its family ownership originate in 1854, and the Neal and Ann Krumme farm in rural Waukon that originated family ownership in 1873.
“Achieving a Century or Heritage Farm milestone is a source of immense pride for an Iowa farm family. It’s important that we honor these generational families for the positive impact they have made on Iowa agriculture and acknowledge their resiliency, dedication, commitment and hard work,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “The Century and Heritage Farm Program recognizes Iowa’s deep tradition of family farming, and having the opportunity to congratulate each of the families, hear their inspiring stories, and celebrate their remarkable accomplishments makes this event one of my favorite of the entire year.”
“The legacy of Iowa’s Century and Heritage farm families isn’t something that just happens, but instead requires generations of personal sacrifice, decades of stewardship and a longstanding dedication to local community,” said Brent Johnson, Iowa Farm Bureau President. “It’s an honor to recognize the work ethic, tenacity and commitment to sustainability of these farm families, and Iowa is a better state because of them.”
