ANF should be more than selling T-shirts

When Hayden Fry came to Iowa, he started many enduring traditions: the aggressive Tiger hawk logo, the swarm, locker rooms designed to neutralize the aggressiveness of visiting teams, and of course, the ANF sticker on Hawkeye helmets. Hayden recognized the impact of the farm crisis on Iowans, and with one simple gesture, united everyone in Iowa agriculture, if not the nation behind the Hawkeye team.

This was a tremendous coup for a liberal arts college that does not hand out Agriculture degrees. Let us be realistic - Iowa State University should be the team with the ANF logo on their helmet, or even Penn State which has a very strong dairy program. But Hayden, ever the master of psychology, recognized that the state was hurting, and he could unify it behind his team. Agriculture is Iowa’s identity, both nationally and world-wide. But in the town where ANF was created, our public schools still refuse to provide agricultural education and FFA opportunities for our youth.

In fact, the small Johnson County town of Lone Tree is not fielding a football team this fall for lack of student interest, but it still provides Ag Education and FFA in their school. In fact, it is one of the largest student groups on campus. This proves there are worse things in life than not having a football team. A far worse fate is not having Ag Education or FFA.

Agriculture today faces many challenges, like it did in the 80s, with soaring input costs, low commodity prices, market uncertainties, and political interference in free markets. Hayden was right then, and he is right now. The future of agriculture depends on the next generation to pick up the yoke and continue the vocation and hard work that our State and nation are known for. The chant is often heard on the radio that “America needs farmers” with the tagline “food, fuel, and fiber.” This is true but we also must be concerned with the future. Yes, Hayden started many enduring traditions and ANF is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. Thank you, Hayden.

Phil Hemingway is a Johnson County resident who lives in West Liberty.