In the next decade or so, Iowa could be facing some big changes in land ownership. Nearly 60 percent of farmland in Iowa is owned by people aged 65 and older. As landowners age there will likely be lots turnover. Some are worried that much of the land will get bought up by big businesses. One program called FarmOn is working to keep family farms in family hands, though not necessarily the same family.
Kathleen Masterson was Harvest Public Media’s reporter based at Iowa Public Radio in Ames, Iowa. At Bowdoin College in Maine, Kathleen studied English and Environmental Studies and was torn as to which one she’d have to “choose” when finding a job. She taught high school English for a few years, and then swung back to science when she traveled to rural Argentina to work on a bird research project. She returned home to study science journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduate school she went on to work as digital producer for NPR’s science desk before joining Harvest.