Three Cool Things

Did you know you could vote for Iowa's coolest things?

Our beef—grown here at Whippoorwill Creek Farm—was nominated for “The Coolest Thing Made in Iowa“ contest! How cool is that?!

A customer nominated us (thanks Mike Henning!). Which of course is just about the nicest thing anyone could do.

Yep, that’s our beef!

Yet, being nominated in this contest has also made me ponder why it matters we are on this list of “cool things made in Iowa.” Iowa is known for agriculture, but very little of it is done the way the mythology of farming paints—with cattle roaming on pasture (their entire lives), with rich soil and clean flowing waters.

I don’t have to go into the multitude of ways our agricultural system is not working (I do that in so many other articles!). But animal confinement may top the list of the most dysfunctional ways. And so to have our farm highlighted as an example of one of the best things to come out of Iowa shows how important it is to think about how cattle is raised. Ours are raised regeneratively, on pasture their entire lives. And to note that, to celebrate that, feels like a wonderful leap forward for humankind (or at least a short crawl toward something better).

Will you vote for us?? The first round of the contest is open to the public--every person can vote once a day on each device.

So what’s the second cool thing?

We are teaching an Italian Country Cooking Class next week on the farm (and we have only a few spots left!!). It is a new class for us and will feature gnocchi (potato pasta puffs!), sausage-making, and a kick-ass panna cotta (a sort of sweet-cream custard) with berry sauce.

Yeah, it’s going to be delicious.

But it is also sort of the Part II of what I see is important—or “cool”— that our farm offers Iowans. Our classes allow people to learn, to network (the assortment of jobs people had in the last class was amazing!), and to gather with other people who care about what they eat and how it is made.

Learning how to make food allows you to NOT go the pre-processed route, where we pick items off supermarket shelves and reheat them. It teaches us to enjoy flavors, to go outside of what we “normally” eat and try something different for a change (like panna cotta?!).

High school students visit from Albia and Murray, Iowa

Which brings me to the last cool thing going on at the farm—school groups.

We had two different school groups visit the farm in the last two weeks—which for me is the “coolest” thing we are doing. Teaching KIDS about sustainability, about food and cooking…it’s just a dream come true for me.

Alas, we are definitely NOT the only cool thing in Iowa (as shown by the range of items to vote for!). But if I were to nominate two other places and things in Iowa that are “cool”—defined as delicious, unique, thought-provoking, interesting or just plain fun, here’s two others off the top of my head:

1. Savor the Rise—probably the best bread in the state, and the sandwiches are solid

2. Practical Farmers of Iowa—where we meet other like minded farmers, learn how to better farm, and share food, conversation, learning…it is one of our favorite things in the state. Plus, it is a unique group in the nation—I think Iowa has one of the only groups of its kind.

So what’s your two “coolest things in Iowa””??

Please share in the comments. Let’s celebrate and “award” the best small scale, hard-working, businesses in our state—even if it is just on this silly blog.

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