Hot and humid conditions at a southern Iowa fish hatchery and a chilly processing room at a local meat locker greeted Iowa farmers during the first leg of the two-day Ag Insights Tour, sponsored by Iowa Farm Bureau June 26–27.

Designed as a unique opportunity to explore innovative ag businesses and build connections, the tour brought together 40 young farmers and Farm Bureau staff to visit a meat locker and warm-water fish hatchery in southern Iowa, followed by a specialty coffee-roasting company and a family-owned dairy and milk bottling operation in Missouri.

Participants called the experience one-of-a-kind, offering a rare look into fish stocking across the Midwest, the behind-the-scenes work of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)...