(Radio Iowa) – You can now visit the official Iowa 250 tree on the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig was one of the people in the group that planted the bur oak. “Which is our state tree. And the bur oak is actually native to all 99 counties in our great state. So it’s very fitting that we planted the Bur Oak,” he says. Naig was joined by Fair C-E-O Jeremy Parsons and 4-H and F-F-A representatives to plant the tree.
“We are working with 4-H clubs and F-F-A chapters all across the state to ultimately plant 250 such trees. But the first one went in the ground at the great Iowa State Fairgrounds, and so we were able to kick off this tree planting initiative for the year,” Naig says. You can see the 250 tree between the Riley stage and the Iowa State Fair administration building.
“It’s a place where there’s some other markers, if you will, or, you know, time capsules and some other plaques that are out there. So it’s actually a great place on the fairgrounds to join some of those other historical markers,” he says. “But the America 250 tree will sit right there where folks can enjoy it for years to come.” Naig says it’s fitting that the tree is at the Fair where agriculture is celebrated.
“If you think back of course of what is allow us allowed us to be the country that we are. How have we been as successful as we’ve been? What has it taken? And you think about the values of freedom and responsibility and hard work and ownership, those types of things,” Naig says. “But I’m also arguing that, look, our agriculture, U-S agriculture has been absolutely essential to the American experience. And if you don’t have food and ag security, how can you have economic security? How can you have national security? ”
Naig says it is essential that we have a healthy, thriving agriculture in this country if we’re gonna be successful for the next 250 years as well. “And by the way, that’s not something that’s theoretical. It doesn’t happen that way everywhere around the world. Some countries aren’t food secure and therefore don’t have national security. And that’s something that we maybe take for granted in this country, but Iowa has played an outsized role and that food and agriculture and that experience for Americans,” he says.
They planted the tree in a ceremony Friday.
