Iowa Secretary Of Ag Intrigued By Mahaska Gem

Nelson Pioneer Farm Curator Kelly Halbert (left) takes Iowa Secretary of Ag Bill Northey (right) on a tour of Nelson Pioneer Farm on Friday.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The road to area history goes northeast out of Oskaloosa and arrives at the quiet lane that Nelson Pioneer Farm calls home.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey works his way around all of Iowa’s 99 counties every year, visiting with people or exploring gems in the community that have gotten his attention. All of this, according to Northey, is to gain a better understanding of Iowa’s people and its agriculture… present and past.

After spending some time touring the facility, Northey said, “It’s a great place. It’s a place I’ve heard a lot about and I’ve never been out here.”

“It’s a great reminder of where we’ve all been from,” Northey said of the history on display.

“We’ve always been a place where a lot of innovation happened. A lot of folks were creative and thinking of new things. That’s the way it still is today,” said Northey. “To understand who we are and where we’re going, we need to understand where we came from.”

Northey said after touring some of the facility, “It challenges us. Are we being as creative and innovative and as tough as some of those folks were back in the time.”

Northey said that of the current planting progress, things are looking pretty good overall statewide, with 90% of the corn, and 80% of the soybeans planted. “Most of the state has gotten some good moisture, and now this heat is really seeing stuff pop.”

“We do have some pockets of some dry areas,” Northey said. “My home area is northwest Iowa. We’ve missed a lot of the rains.”