The 119-page book includes data collected from surveys and questionnaires filled out by farmers across the state. In addition to having the largest U.S. soybean harvest in 2015, Iowa farmers produce the most pork and eggs than any other state. The book also includes crop, livestock and farm economics information.
“The most recent ag statistics highlight just how productive Iowa farms are. Yields across the state were much above average in 2015,” said Dave Miller, Iowa Farm Bureau director of research and commodity services, in a release. “Many counties recorded all-time record yields in both corn and soybeans.”
Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Hill said large harvests aren’t possible if Iowa’s farmers don’t adapt to the changing agricultural landscape and take care of the land.
“This degree of productivity is not possible without innovation and being good stewards of the land,” he said in the release. “The 2016 Ag Stats book quantifies what an agriculture powerhouse Iowa is, where agriculture is the engine driving the state’s economy and providing one in five Iowa jobs.”
For those interested in a copy of the book, it costs $12 and can be ordered from the Iowa Farm Bureau’s marketing and communications division.