Hi, I’m Dave Petersen. This is my first blogging experience and I had planned to start by telling you about my family and our farm. However, due to the recent flooding, it seems that is all anyone wants to discuss. Of course we were affected by the floods, as was everyone in Eastern Iowa, but dealing with the weather, good or bad, is all part of being a farmer. While many of the roads surrounding our farm were closed due to flooding, our home sits up on a hill and we didn’t sustain any damage.

I am also grateful that I was able to get the crop in the ground in the spring. We plant a lot of corn and it helps that I am committed to keeping up with technology. I recently added a GPS to the main tractor and by entering the appropriate information, the tractor practically drives itself. Using GPS technology, I was able to plant over 3000 acres of land before the major flood hit.

In addition to farming over 3000 acres of land, my family and I own Bloomsbury Farm an agritainment business. It’s our goal to provide an entertaining and educational experience to everyone who visits our farm. We are located about 10 minutes outside of Cedar Rapids, which also makes it close to Iowa City. Many families come out for the day to play in the corn box (which is like a sandbox but without the sand), feed the goats, look at the huge machines, watch pig races and generally enjoy a beautiful day.  We are also a great destination for school field trips and for local companies to have company outings.

While some people may think everyone in Iowa is either a farmer or has lived on a farm, this is just not true. Many people from Iowa have never been on a working farm because they are born and raised in one of the major cities. Bloomsbury Farm provides a wonderful opportunity for people to learn about how farms work and their importance to the economy of Iowa, the nation and internationally.

As a matter of fact, we recently had a visitor who was originally from a large city but has lived in Iowa for over 30 years. While she had seen farmland as she traveled around the state over the last 30 years, she told me she had never been on a working farm—where farming was the major source of income for the family. It’s always amusing to see someone’s reaction to the large farming equipment. When she climbed into the cab of the tractor, she was shocked to learn it was air conditioned and to see all the technical equipment. As we planted pumpkin seeds, she asked many questions. One area of confusion to her was trying to relate to 3000 acres. I explained that an acre was about the size of a football field and you could see how surprised she was.

Watch for future posting discussing life on the farm!

Dave