Growing Family Fun

Growing Family Fun was invited to the screening of “Something Blue” on April 18, at the Varsity Theater in Des Moines. Geisler Farms was a location for the film, which was shot in September 2006 by Bondurant native and former neighbor Sean Gannon. Gannon was the film’s writer, director and producer.

Something Blue is a comedic love story of a young couple about to get married. A friend is asked to film their wedding preparations. The couple takes a break from wedding planning and explores “thee corn maze” in Polk County located at Geisler Farms. 

The film contains adult language and is not appropriate for youngsters.

Visit the Des Moines Register article: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100417/ENT01/4170303/1046/ENT/Movie-shot-in-Polk-County-screens-at-Varsity

Something Blue Web site: http://www.somethingbluefilm.com/

In 2009, Iowa led the nation in the production of corn, soybeans, pork and eggs.

Iowa has 92,600 farms. Land in farms covers 30.8 million acres.

Iowa raised more than 2.4 billion bushels of corn in 2009, or 18 percent of the total U.S. corn crop of 13.2 billion bushels. 
 
Iowa raised more than 486 million bushels of soybeans in 2009, or 14 percent of the nation’s 3.36 billion bushels in 2009.

Iowa has 6 hogs for every person in the state. There are more than 19 million hogs being raised in Iowa. Iowa producers marketed more than 37 million hogs in 2008.

A hen lays an average of 269 eggs per year. In 2009, Iowa’s egg producers had 53.8 million layers producing 14.47 billion eggs.

Iowa is ranked second in the nation in red meat production. Iowa ranked fourth in the United States for cattle on feed. As of January 2010, Iowa had 1.36 million cattle on feed.

There was an average of 215,000 milk cows on Iowa farms during 2009. A cow will produce an average of 6.3 gallons of milk each day. That’s more than 2,300 gallons each year.

Iowa ranked 10th in the United States for the number of sheep and lambs on farms. As of January 2010, Iowa had 210,000 sheep and lambs.

Iowa ranked third in the nation for milk goats. As of January 2010, Iowa had 29,500 milk goats.

Iowa ranked seventh in the United States for turkeys marketed with 11.5 million turkeys in 2009.

Iowa’s 39 ethanol plants produce a total of 3.27 billion gallons of ethanol annually, more per year than any other state. Thirty nine percent of Iowa’s corn is used to produce ethanol.

Iowa’s total cash receipts for farm commodities in 2008 totaled more than $24.7 billion – the second highest in the United States.

Iowa’s total agricultural exports for fiscal year 2008 were valued at more than $7.8 billion, ranking Iowa second in the nation in agricultural exports.

Information sources: National Agricultural Statistics Service, Economic Research Service, Dairy Farming Today and the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

Compiled by Malinda Geisler, Growing Family Fun at Geisler Farms, Bondurant, Iowa. www.growingfamilyfun.com

The 2009-2010 Iowa winter was certainly a memorable one. It was the third snowiest winter with 69 inches of snow. The all-time record is 72 inches set in 1911-1912.

Iowa also set a new record for consecutive days with at least four inches of snow on the ground. The old record of 54 days was set in 1961-1962. As of Feb. 11, Iowa had snow cover for 65 consecutive days.

As you can see, the Red Shed at Geisler Farms was surrounded by snow all winter long. A path had to be dug to the front door. It was three to four feet deep on the north side.

The patio on the south side of the Red Shed was also completely covered with snow. You could not see the swings after the third snowstorm.

Darrell Geisler, co-owner of Growing Family Fun, participated in the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association’s 2010 Bus Tour in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Feb. 6-8. Malinda Geisler, who attended on behalf of Iowa State University’s Value Added Agriculture Program, accompanied him.

The NAFDMA bus tour drew more than 225 attendees from across the United States, Canada and England and traveled through Lancaster and surrounding counties to learn more about direct farm marketing and agritourism. The tour was shortened by a half day due to 20 inches of snow that fell Feb. 5.

Lancaster County consistently ranks number one among all counties in the United States on the chart of direct sales from farms to consumers by USDA’s Census of Agriculture. The population in Lancaster County is about 500,000. Of that, the Amish population is about 25,000. Lancaster County welcomes nearly 11 million visitors each year. Peak tourist season is August through October. The county hosts 11,000 motor coaches each year.

From left, Darrell Geisler, Angie Plager and Malinda Geisler.

Growing Family Fun was represented at the 2010 Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers & Marketers Conference held Jan. 29-30 in Des Moines. Staff member Angie Plager gave a presentation on Making Your Farm More Accessible to Visitors. She addressed how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 applies to farm venues. For more information on ADA, visit: www.access-board.gov/adaag/about/.

Darrell Geisler, co-owner of Growing Family Fun, was elected to a three-year term on the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association’s board of directors. Malinda Geisler, representing Iowa State University’s Value Added Agriculture Program, served on the conference planning committee.

More than 200 people, including about 20 vendors, attended the conference. The meeting was held in partnership of the Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, Visit Iowa Farms and the Iowa Department of Agriculture. The USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program provided funding. Additional sponsors included ISU’s Value Added Ag Program, Iowa Farm Bureau and Hy-Vee. The conference program had general sessions plus breakout sessions for beginning farmers, fruits, vegetables and agritourism.