Nick Wallace, of Wallace Farms near Keystone, Iowa, moves his cattle in the early morning of Sept. 16.

Nick is a farmer, entrepreneur and lifetime member of Practical Farmers of Iowa with 15 years of experience in various forms of pasture-raised and grass-fed meat marketing. He sells his own meat, as well as meat raised by other farmers, and value-added products over the internet.

Think back to your interactions with PFI members over the years. Who made you laugh? Who made you think? Who do you always want to hear more from? Who has a powerful experience to share?

During the concluding evening of our 2021 annual conference, we will hear live personal stories from a selection of PFI members. Some might be funny and others possibly sad, but all of them will be real. To curate this special experience, we need your help: For a night of PFI-member storytelling, who should be on stage? 

Sharing experiences and knowledge is what we’re all about at Practical Farmers of Iowa. We hope this new session will stir feelings of connection through personal stories that run parallel to the farm. 

Before coming to PFI, Emma Liddle graduated from Grinnell College with a Bachelor of Arts in biology and a concentration in environmental studies.

Emma will be working with communications, membership and Cooperators' Program staff during her service year. She’s thrilled to learn more about farm resilience!

Megan Sweeney graduated from Ohio University in the spring of 2020 with a degree in environmental biology with departmental honors and certificates in environmental studies and geographic information science.

Her duties with PFI will include working with the communications, Cooperators’ Program and membership teams.

In 2018, Meredith Nunnikhoven launched Barnswallow Flowers & Produce to provide locally grown flowers and produce to consumers in Mahaska County and surrounding counties.

"Launching any entrepreneurial endeavor is hard, especially for beginning farmers, single farmers, LGBTQ farmers, female farmers, farmers of color and new crop farmers.

"The Savings Incentive Program has helped me get started, and I see this program as helpful in creating opportunities for the next generation of farmers and their families. SIP is important beyond the scope of the actual program. The idea of providing structured opportunities can change Iowa for the better." - Meredith Nunnikhoven

Meredith's vision for her farm is to be an emblem of successful, sustainable planning and positive farm practices that allows us to operate into the next 100 years. 

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Check out our full slate of 2020 field days. Details and registration are now available.

Missed a virtual field day that you wanted to attend? There are a few ways to watch recordings:

Fred Kirschenmann of Ames was featured on Food Crunch's podcast: Episode 14 - Fred Kirschenmann

Kate Gilbert of Ames was featured in a press release from Iowa State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Five Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty recognized for innovative teaching amid COVID-19

Dale Nimrod of Decorah; Mark and Melanie Peterson of Stanton; and Sally Worley of Grimes were featured in Country Folks: Farm succession requires planning

Practical Farmers of Iowa was mentioned in a news release on ADM's website: Growing Sustainably: The Mendota Field to Market Wheat Program

Have you been featured in the media? Tell us when and where to find a link to the article, and we'll feature you in a future issue of Practical News.

Contact: tamsyn@practicalfarmers.org