At many small-town Iowa summer celebrations, families can expect to see parades, community cookouts and maybe a few carnival rides for the kids.

Greenfield’s July 4 celebration gave kids — and their parents — the fun of holding baby pigs, playing in mini pools of corn and soybeans, and meeting local farmers who grow their food.

The Adair County Farm Bur­eau helped host the first-ever Ag Adventure in Greenfield last month. Event organizers planned on 250 participants. Instead, about 600 people showed up, according to the number of cups of ice cream the volunteers dished out, said Beth Baudler, an Adair County Farm Bureau member and farmer from Fontanelle who helped plan the event.

The Ag Adventure taught participating families how farmers care for...