The Iowa Department of Agriculture is reminding eligible farm owners that the deadline to apply for the 2018 Century and Heritage Farm Program is June 1.  The program recognizes families that have owned their farm for 100 years in the case of Century Farms and 150 years for Heritage Farms.

“I want to encourage families that have a farm that would qualify for a Century or Heritage farm award to submit their application by June 1,” says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “We are already looking forward to the state fair in August and the opportunity to celebrate with these families and highlight the deep history and strong heritage of agriculture in our state.”

Farm families with a Century or Heritage farm must submit an application to the Iowa Department of Ag no later than June 1 to qualify for recognition at the Iowa State Fair this year.

Applications are available on the department’s website at iowaagriculture.gov by clicking on the link under “Iowa Century Farms.”

Applications may also be requested from Becky Lorenz, coordinator of the Century and Heritage Farm Program, by calling 515-281-3645, emailing [email protected], or by writing to Century and Heritage Farm Program, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Henry A. Wallace Building, 502 E. Ninth St., Des Moines, IA 50319.

Over 1,000 farms recognized
The program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. The ceremony to recognize the 2018 Century and Heritage Farms is scheduled to be held at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 16 in the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion.

Since the land of Iowa was opened up to settlers in 1833, agriculture has been at the heart of the state. Today, those individuals and families, who followed in the footsteps of their ancestors, continue to produce crops and livestock on that same land.

The Century Farm program was started in 1976 as part of the Nation’s Bicentennial Celebration. To date more than 19,000 farms from across the state have received this recognition. The Heritage Farm program was started in 2006, on the 30th anniversary of the Century Farm program, and more than 1,000 farms have been recognized. A full list of all past Century Farm recipients is at iowacenturyfarms.com.

Last year 354 Century Farms and 119 Heritage Farms were recognized.

Source: Iowa Department of Agriculture