Local Families Recognized for Century & Heritage Farms

Over four hundred families were recognized at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday.

They all have farms that have been in the same family for at least 100 years. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig handed out the certificates.

A Century Farm has been in the same family for at least 100 years, while a Heritage Farm has been in the same family for 150 years. Thursday’s ceremony was held in the first building on the fairgrounds that was made of brick. It opened 122 years ago for cattle and horse shows — and Naig imagines some of the founders of Iowa’s Century farms have been in that building.

Local farm families receiving the Century Farm Award this year include: 

• Delaware County – Don Burns, Brock Herman, Maurice Kirkwood Trust, D&D Lansing Family Trust, Daryl & Rosalyn Nurre and Sally Robinson Whaley
• Buchanan County – Ronald Monaghan and Mary Lou Monaghan Thimmesch
• Clayton County – James and Brenda Meier and Connie Puffett
• Dubuque County – Michael and Kenneth Clemen, David and Michelle Klas, Kathleen Schmitt, Lloyd and Marlene Till and the Thole Farm
• Fayette County – Christian Miller, David Rueber, Robert and June Swenson and Michael and Patti Wardell
• Jones County – Lynn and Shelly Ahrendsen, William Patrick McQuillen and Kevin Steiner
• Linn County – Bill and Verna Boland and Pospisil Farms

Local farm families receiving the Heritage Farm Award this year include:

• Delaware County – Sally Robinson Whaley, Tom and Joyce Pasker and Millenkamp Cattle Inc.
• Buchanan County – Russell Ray Finley and Reidy Farm LLC
• Clayton County – Gary and Darlene Kregel, James and Brenda Meier and O’Brien Family Farm
• Dubuque County – Michael and Karen Connolly, Clint and Kelly Dietz, Ted and Rhonda Freiburger, Gene Klein and Daniel and Samantha Meyer
• Fayette County – Christian Miller and Lusson Farm
• Linn County – Patricia Ament and C & Q Farms

More than two-thousand Iowa farms have been owned by the same family for at least 150 years. And there are more than 21-thousand Century Farms on the state’s registry – including the farm near Cylinder where Secretary Naig grew up.

partial story contribution courtesy of Radio Iowa; photos courtesy of Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship