Did you make it to Farm Bureau Park during the Iowa State Fair? Thousands of folks did and they had a great time learning about today’s agriculture and meeting with real farmers. But perhaps the most popular attraction at the park was the high-striker game…and maybe it was a little too popular for its own good.

Visitors to Farm Bureau Park lined up to answer a quick quiz about just how Farm Strong they were. Those who passed the test got a chance to take a whack at the high-striker game and win prizes. Nearly every visitor to the park—young and old, big and small—got into the swing of the game, testing their actual muscles with the mallet after showing their Farm Strong chops in the quiz.

In fact, the high-striker game took so many whacks during its stint at Farm Bureau Park that it started to come apart. Springs snapped, bolts broke, and welds withered under the happy pounding.

Luckily for us, we had real farmers around. You know, folks who can fix nearly anything as well as answering consumers’ questions about agriculture.  Farmers today are adept at repairing everything from a busted fence post to high-tech machines that pull down GPS coordinates. A wobbly high-striker game was a piece of cake to these guys and gals. Thanks to them, the game held together all 10 days of the Iowa State Fair and visitors to Farm Bureau Park got to see just how farm strong they actually were.

Sadly the 2012 Iowa State Fair is history. But Farm Bureau Park will be open again next year with more fun and games and more farmers to answer consumers’ questions. And of anything needs to be fixed, they’ll be able to handle that, too.

Written by Dirck Steimel
Dirck is the news services manager for Iowa Farm Bureau