Q&A: Iowa State Fair

Q&A: Iowa State Fair

With U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Q: What are your favorite traditions at the Iowa State Fair?

A: There's something for everyone at the historic Iowa State Fair that runs through August 18, from food and entertainment to livestock exhibits and family friendly contests. I've enjoyed attending the state fair every year since 1974. (That excludes 2020 when it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic for the first time since World War II.) In recent years, attendance has topped more than a million people over the 11 days of the event. This year on August 10, the single-day attendance record was broken with 128,732 fairgoers. While beautiful summer weather attracts visitors from across the state, nothing compares to the food, friendly smiles, family traditions and fun atmosphere that you can find every August at the Iowa State Fair.

My favorite part of the fair is seeing familiar faces and visiting with people who come year after year to celebrate the best of Iowa agriculture and industry. I appreciate seeing the hard work of Iowans from all 99 counties who are proud to showcase their animals, projects and talents in venues and contests scheduled throughout the fair. For example, the Iowa State Fair has the largest state fair food department with more than 800 classes and two hundred divisions, featuring freshly baked goods and homemade culinary talents. I always look forward to visiting the Butter Cow located in the coolers inside the Agriculture Building. The remarkably lifelike bovine sculpture is crafted from 600 pounds of low-moisture, pure cream Iowa butter. It's always a crowd pleaser and testimony to Iowa's dairy industry. That brings to me another fair favorite, the delicious ice cream found in about 25 locations across the fair grounds. As a lifelong family farmer, I'm proud to pay tribute to the hardworking producers who work year-round to grow wholesome eggs, dairy, poultry, pork and beef that's instrumental to the U.S. food supply and strengthens U.S. food security. In particular, I enjoy walking the livestock barns. This year I saw the Big Boar, "Finnegan" from Monticello set a new State Fair record, weighing in at 1,420 pounds; the Super Bull, "Teddy Bear" from Saylorville tipped the scales at 3,064 pounds; and the sheep barn featured the Big Ram, "Whip" from Lucas weighed 498 pounds. Younger generations can get hands-on experience at Little Hands on the Farm and visit special exhibits in the livestock barns to learn more about farm animals.

It sure doesn't take long to work up an appetite considering the fairgrounds span 450 acres, located on the east side of Des Moines. With more than 200 food stands, fairgoers have plenty of choices, including more than 60 items served on a stick. My favorite fair food - pork chop on a stick - is served by the Iowa Pork Producers who serve thousands of pork chops fresh-off-the grill each day of the fair. From the Grand Concourse to the Grandstand, fairgoers of all ages soak in the iconic sights, from the Sky Glider to the 133-foot wind turbine atop Expo Hill that serves as a reminder of Iowa's status as a leader in clean energy. The Iowa State Fair is an American treasure. In fact, the fairgrounds and adjacent campgrounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Q: What's top of mind with Iowans you crossed paths with at the state fair?

A: My conversations at the fair closely mirrored what I'm hearing from Iowans at my annual 99 county meetings. That includes concerns about Congress passing a five-year farm bill, the high cost of living and a slowdown in the farm economy. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I'm pushing for Congress to sew up holes in the farm safety net. Only two percent of Americans are farmers who produce food for the other 98 percent of our nation's population. And yet, 85 percent of farm bill funding supports food stamps and nutrition programs. That leaves just 15 percent for the farm safety net. I'm proud to loudly champion the concerns of family farmers at the policymaking tables in Washington. With rising input costs, high interest rates and low commodity prices, the profit margins are thinning for producers. And when farmers stand to lose $50-$60/acre, they don't have money to spend on new machinery. That creates a domino effect in the farm economy. That's a situation Congress needs to stay in tune with and why I've pushed to provide certainty with renewal of a five-year farm bill. Specifically, I support updating reference prices to keep pace with inflated input costs, rein in abuses of the farm payment system, strengthening the crop insurance program and putting more farm in the farm bill.

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