Iowa Black Farmers Conference seeks to unite small community

Iowa has a small network of Black farmers — just 72 were reported in the 2017 Census of Agriculture — but Todd Western III wants to invite them all to the first Iowa Black Farmers conference next month in Des Moines.

Western, 57, of Maple Grove, Minn., and his family grow corn and soybeans near Waterloo and also are likely the only Black family in Iowa to own a farm for more than 150 years.

Since attending the Harvest Ball, an annual event for Black farmers in North Carolina, Western has been determined to gather Iowa’s Black farmers — from row crop producers to vegetable farmers. He worked with Shaffer Ridgeway, the Black Hawk County-based district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to plan the conference. Ridgeway, who is Black, also grows vegetables near Waterloo.

Q: How did the Harvest Ball influence your desire to hold a similar event in Iowa?

A: “It was spiritual for me and my son,” Western said. “To see 200 Black farmers assembled in one room for a three-day event was beyond my imagination. I met farmers that farmed 100 acres up to 10,000 acres. Up until November 2022, you felt isolated and you were the only Black farmer, especially living in Iowa where there are only nine (Black farmers who grow row crops) in the whole state. The farmers at the Harvest Ball looked like me. I was no longer intimidated or shy to ask questions. My son and I bonded for sure. The ultimate father-and-son experience.”

Western’s son, Todd Western IV, 34, works in advertising in the Twin Cities, where he’s trying his hand at urban farming by growing green beans and microgreens in the summer.

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Q: The conference features Dewayne Goldmon, senior adviser for racial equity to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and Darrell Tennie, who developed Harvest Ball. How did you recruit a top USDA official to participate in the conference?

A: “I met Dr. Goldmon last year at the Harvest Ball with my son. He took the time for the next 12 months to introduce me to key people in Washington, D.C., and the National Black Growers Association.”

Q: What are some key topics at the conference?

A: “I have organized this conference to address the Farm Bill, creative finance options, cost share programs, regenerative farm practices, the future of farming in general and as it relates to minority farmers, both vegetable farmers and traditional row crop farmers.”

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Q: As you pointed out, there aren't many Black farmers in Iowa. How are you attempting to connect with them?

A: “I literally have called every farm association in the states surrounding Iowa. I have reached out to the U.S. Census Bureau, state senators, state representatives. You name it, I have tried it. My dream is after this conference we will have a detailed Rolodex of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) farmers that we will stay in communication with. My other dream is to have this be an annual conference.”

One person Western knows will attend is Mike Cook, a third-generation Black farmer in Black Hawk County who won a state environmental award earlier this year.

Q: Besides Black farmers, who else do you hope will attend?

A: “Friends of the farmers, people concerned with good land stewardship, political officials to understand the depth and contributions of BIPOC farmers.”

Q: The event is free for participants. Do you have sponsors?

A: “Practical Farmers of Iowa is the major sponsor, followed by Syngenta and the Tennie Group.”

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com