SIOUX CITY | Derrill Townley, 92, retired from farming this year -- the same year his family's farm located one mile east of the Leeds neighborhood hit the century mark.
Townley never dreamed the 140-acre farm his grandfather, Joseph, bought in March 1914 would stand the test of time.
"I'm very surprised," Townley says of his farm's longevity. "I'm surprised that I've been going for 90 years."
The original outbuildings and farmhouse are gone, as are the livestock that were once raised there. A tenant now plants and harvests the corn and soybeans. Townley's grandson, Edward, owns two acres.
Besides the land itself, the only thing remaining from the Townley farm's early days are "can't sag gates."
"This is the only thing left on the farm," Townley laments as he grasps the top of a white wooden gate that separates his gravel driveway from his quaint peaked roof farmhouse that is flanked by green fields.
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"Outside of you," Townley's wife, Dolores quips. The two share a smile in the bright summer sun as a train's whistle sounds in the distance.
The Century Farms Program will recognize the Townley farm at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey will issue certificates and markers to 366 new century farms.
The Century Farms Program, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation with the endorsement of the Iowa American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, honors farmers who have owned land for 100 years or more.
The program began in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial Celebration, when more than 5,000 certificates and farm markers were distributed across Iowa at local ceremonies.
Becky Lorenz, Century Farms Program coordinator, says reaching the century mark is a major achievement for a family farm.
"Between mother nature and the economy and interest down the line in your family to keep it 100 years is exceptional," she says.
A VERY GOOD LIFE
Derrill Townley started milking cows when he was 8.
He was driving tractor by 12.
He loved the independence that came along with farming -- being outside and being his own boss. He enjoyed planting crops in the spring, watching them grow throughout the summer and then harvesting his crop yield in the fall. Eighty of the farm's acres lie inside Woodbury County limits, while 60 acres are in Sioux City city limits.
Weather, Townley says, poses the greatest challenge to Iowa farmers. After a particularly bad drought in 1956, he recalls having to mow down his corn crop in order to receive aid from the government.
"It had some ears on it but it was very little," he says.
Hail and flooding, over the years, have also caused widespread damage to Townley's farm.
"We used to have land by the Floyd River before the Floyd River project went through. That used to get flooded just about every year," he says. "Flooding, hail and drought were the biggest problems we've had."
There are now nearly 18,700 century farms in the state, according to Lorenz. When the program began, she says there were just those 5,000 century farms. More than 160 of them are located in Woodbury County.
To be named a century farm, Lorenz says, the farm has to be run by a relative of the initial owner for 100 consecutive years and consist of at least 40 acres. All farmers have to do is fill out an application to be considered for the designation.
"It doesn't have to have a building on it anymore," Lorenz says. "It doesn't have to have somebody living there."
Townley says hard work is the key to successfully maintaining a farm.
"Be prepared to put up with a lot of troubles," he says. "But overall, it's a very good life."
