Allamakee County families receive Century, Heritage Farm honors
Curtin family farm recognized as Century and Heritage Farm ... Members of the Pat and Kate Curtin family were present at the Iowa State Fair August 18 to receive the recognition of the family’s farm, located at 104 West Ridge Drive, Waukon, as a Century and Heritage Farm. Submitted photo.
Koehring family farm recognized as Century Farm ... Members of the Sandra Koehring family were present at the Iowa State Fair August 18 to receive the recognition of the family’s farm, located at 875 Ludlow Road, Postville, as a Century Farm. Submitted photo.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Brent Johnson and Vice President Joe Heinrich honored 351 Iowa farm families with Century or Heritage Farm designations at the Iowa State Fair August 18. The program celebrates farms that have been owned by the same families for 100 and 150 years, respectively.
Allamakee County Heritage Farm honorees included the George and Helen Beardmore family of Dorchester, Susan Cahoon family (Indian Hill Farm, LLC - Dorchester) and the Krystal Johnson family of Waukon. Century Farm honorees included the Sandra Koehring family of Postville and Kathy Kruse family of Dorchester, with the Pat and Kate Curtin family of Waukon honored with both awards. Two Allamakee County families attended the August 18 ceremony and are pictured below.
“I always look forward to honoring our Century and Heritage Farm families and hearing stories about their incredible journeys,” said Secretary Naig. “This event is about recognizing the legacy and resiliency of the family farms that make up the fabric of our agriculture communities.”
“Agriculture and Iowa’s farm families are the backbone of the state and an essential part of our rural communities and economy,” said Brent Johnson, Iowa Farm Bureau President. “We are honored to co-sponsor the Century and Heritage Farm programs celebrating multi-generational farm families that have persevered over 100 or 150 years and kept their farms in the family.”
The Century Farm program began in 1976 as part of the Nation’s Bicentennial Celebration. This year, 232 Century Farms and 119 Heritage Farms were recognized. Photos of the recipients can be found at flickr.com/photos/iowaagriculture/albums. To date, 20,773 Century Farms and 1,685 Heritage Farms have been recognized across Iowa.
