Iowa: The Hawkeye State

Iowa: The Hawkeye State — page 1
4 IOWA INTRODUCTION Located in the north-central area of the United States known as the Midwest Iowa is a major farming state that plays an important role as one of the nation’s main breadbaskets Vast cornfields and massive hog farms have supplied the country with food for decades Iowa is often described as one giant farm with businesses that handle all aspects of the agricultural process from harvesting crops to packaging foods Roughly rectangular in shape the state has rolling prairie farmland that stretches from the Mississippi River on the east to the Missouri River on the west Its rich soils nourish some of the most abundant crops in the world Iowa is one of the most productive agricultural states in the country More than nine tenths of its land is farmable Iowa ranks among the leading states in number of farms In 2002 Iowa had more than 90,000 farms Iowa is a Native American word meaning This Is the Place or The Beautiful Land The state and the Iowa River were named after the Iowa people Iowa entered the Union on Dec 28 1846 as the 29th state The state motto is Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain Iowa’s state bird is the eastern goldfinch