So much fun with these folks on Thursday. Congratulations to Wayne and Char De Meulenaere from Iowa County, this month's Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award Winners presented by the Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers. The three-generation dairy, stock cow and cash grain farm was established by Wayne and Char De Meulenaere in the 1960’s. Son Kraig and grandson Keegan help operate the farm that milks 90 Holstein cows and feeds 20-30 bottle calves. De Meulenaere Farms also raise a rotation of approximately 500 acres of corn, 500 acres of soybeans, 100 acres of high quality hay and 30 acres of oats. Deputy Secretary of Ag Mike Naig presenting during The Big Show:
A big crowd turning out to help celebrate:
Wayne has been an Iowa County Cattlemen's member for over 40 years, and naturally Deputy Secretary Naig had to inspect the grilling procedures:
To no one's surprise, those folks know what they are doing and the steak sandwiches turned out awesome:
Neighbor Larry Beyer nominated the De Meulenaere family for the award. In his application, Beyer highlighted the family’s involvement in the community and their resilience when faced with adversity. The farm has experienced two fires that required the family to rebuild the main barn each time. The Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award, presented by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa Ag Radio Network in partnership with CSIF, is awarded to Iowa farm families who raise livestock, and are good neighbors and stewards of the land. The award is given in honor of distinguished late Big Show radio farm broadcaster, Gary Wergin.