North Iowans are proud of our role in feeding the world. The global food and agricultural sector faces a tremendous challenge. Authorities project that food production must increase 70 percent by 2050 in order to keep pace with global population growth and changing diets.
Modern agriculture is not restricted to large-scale, capital intensive agricultural production. Science and technology contribute to the transformation of operations of all sizes. In Iowa, agriculture employs one out of every six workers. In addition, ag-related industries are responsible for 27 percent of the state’s economic output, and $1 of every $10 in personal income.
Our region, which encompasses some of the world’s richest farmland, is also home to agribusinesses and value chains such as food processing and biofuel production. These businesses work side-by-side with organic growers and local foods producers.
North Iowa is at the forefront of finding ways to combine new scientific knowledge and traditional sources of knowledge and tradition to address concerns for the environment, harmony of land use, and the amenities of rural life that is our heritage.