Six Iowa Farm Families Receive 2026 Iowa State Fair Way We Live Award

Six Iowa farm families will be recognized as recipients of the 2026 Way We Live Award at the Iowa State Fair. Nominations included descriptions of how living on the farm and choosing farming as an occupation has shaped the family's life. These families exemplify values derived from hard work and a love of farming.

The Way We Live Award is presented by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield with media sponsors Iowa Farmer Today and the WHO Big Show, and in its 18th year, has recognized 101 outstanding Iowa farm families.

Wellmark supports the Way We Live Award to honor families whose dedication to farming strengthens Iowa communities and reflects values of hard work, resilience and care for others. These values mirror Wellmark's commitment to building healthier communities across Iowa.

Mensen Holsteins, Guttenberg; and Moeckly Farms, Polk City
August 14 at 11:45 a.m. - Anne and Bill Riley Stage
Mensen Holsteins is a diversified dairy farm in Guttenberg. Carl and Lisa Mensen are responsible for daily milking and chores, while their sons and families help with field work and other projects on this family farm. The Mensens milk 70-75 cows and grow the majority of their own feed; they focus on breeding quality cattle and making a positive impact on their community. In 2019, they purchased their first peacocks and sell the eggs to their son who hatches the peachicks and sells them.

Moeckly Farms, Polk City
Moeckly Farms was homesteaded in 1854 and today is an eighth-generational farm that continues to work the ground their past generations farmed. They continue to grow and support future generations, farming corn, soybeans, seed corn, seed beans, hay and custom forage harvesting. Today, the sixth, seventh and eighth generations (Steve and Paula Moeckly; Tyler and Anna Moeckly; and Jonathan, Jacob and Nicholas Moeckly), work together daily on the farm to care for their Angus and White Park cattle herd on top of tillage, planting and harvesting. In between the busy times, they're also keeping to their very own Moeckly ballfield, a professional-sized replica of the Field of Dreams movie diamond. The family has been built on a strong work ethic, deeply rooted knowledge of agriculture and like-minded goals of preserving and growing the farm, with mutual respect and love for one another.

Bawnmore Farm, Chelsea
August 15 at 11:45 a.m. - Anne and Bill Riley Stage
The Bawnmore Family Farm is in its fifth generation of family living on the original farm in the small, rural town of Chelsea. Joe and Francine Behounek, the third generation, raise purebred Yorkshire pigs and purebred Suffolk sheep, alongside their children and grandchildren. Bawnmore Farm raises Yorkshire pigs with an emphasis on strong maternal lines and Suffolk sheep with a focus on frame and structure. The family works together to bale their hay fields each summer and enjoy keeping up with their rich tradition of exhibiting their sheep and pigs at the Iowa State Fair.

Blueberry Bottom Farm/Zihlman Family Farms, Brighton
August 18 at 11:45 a.m. - Anne and Bill Riley Stage
Steve and Kim Andersen manage the Blueberry Bottom Farm, a strawberry and blueberry farm in Brighton. The farms are part of a 455-acre diversified organic farming operation, focusing on sustainability and stewardship. The Zihlmans, made up of Kevin Zihlman, his sister, Kim Andersen and her husband, Steve Andersen, produce organic row crops of oats, wheat, corn, soybeans and alfalfa, plus an orchard of fruit and nut crops. The orchard is marketed directly to consumers through U-Pick, their farm stand and social media, as well as small grocery outlets in Iowa City. The Blueberry Bottom Farm products are marketed at an on-farm stand. The family believes that each generation makes their mark on growing food, creating community and leaving a legacy.

Bob and Patty Henderson Family, Albia
August 20 at 11:45 a.m. - Anne and Bill Riley Stage
Committed to sustainability, the Henderson family of Albia grows 80-90% of their cattle feed on-farm, sourcing the remainder from by-products of renewable energy production. Bob and Patty Henderson are joined by their sons Aaron, Andy and Adam and their families, managing 500 cows, reproductive stock, a 1,200 feedyard and 1,700 acres of row crops. Although the family is busy with the farm, they prioritize family time with family dinners and game nights, taking family trips and attending Iowa State football games. The family represents a pasture-to-plate production system on their farm and includes unique and innovative sustainable production practices, such as vermiculture and vermicomposting.

Jeff and Shannon Hafner, Panora
August 22 at 11:45 a.m. - Anne and Bill Riley Stage
In 1996, Jeff and Shannon Hafner bought back some of the original Hafner farm in Panora, and over time, transitioned the farm to be certified organic. Their brand, Early Morning Harvest, consists of aquaponics, stone milling and a small farm store. The organically certified farm raises corn, soybeans, hard red spring wheat, soft red winter wheat, hard red winter wheat, winter rye, buckwheat and forage for their cattle herd. Vegetables and herbs are grown in year-round aquaponic and seasonal greenhouses. Two organic certified stone mills process the grains into more than ten Early Morning Harvest brand products found in more than 400 grocery stores, restaurants and bakeries across the Midwest and online. The family offers free tours to anyone who visits their store, and hosts groups for a variety of ages, backgrounds and interests. They also promote sustainable farming and healthy food choices in their community. They value the lessons learned on the farm: to never give up, put people first, never stop learning, treat everyone the same, and that everything is connected to the soil and the environment.

Each award-winning family receives a prize package of $250, complimentary admission tickets, free parking, various coupons, recognition on the Anne and Bill Riley Stage, a highlight video, a photo display in the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center during the Fair and a one-night hotel stay at the Best Western Plus Altoona Inn.

For more information on past award winners or the current 2026 Way We Live Award-winning families, visit https://www.iowastatefair.org/participate/the-way-we-live-award.