Des Moines weather provided a sunny backdrop for the Welcome to Iowa Ag Tour on Thursday, January 27. The event kicked off with a breakfast and tour of Meredith Corporation, in downtown Des Moines.  The recipes and photos created in their photo studio, 10 galley kitchens, and outdoor grilling area appear in media of all types under the names of a variety of Meredith brands.

Following the tour of Meredith, attendees boarded a bus for the drive to John Deere Works, in nearby Ankeny, where sprayers and other equipment are manufactured.  There, they donned safety glasses and boarded trams for a tour of the facility, which included viewing the different phases of equipment being manufactured, from how the parts are inventoried, to the welding, assembling, painting, that a new piece of equipment undergoes.

The next stop was Pioneer Hi-Bred International, in Johnston, Iowa, which included lunch.  Following lunch and a short video, everyone toured the facility and greenhouses.  All left with a much higher understanding of the process of using genetics to develop seeds and the length of time it takes to develop a disease-resistant product.

The last stop was at the Firestone Ag Tires Plant, back in Des Moines.  There, attendees were able to tour the plant to wrap up their day in time to attend the Region III Best of NAMA Awards Banquet that evening.