Two families earned the 2017 Iowa Farm Bureau Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award in recognition of their lifetime of dedication to Iowa agriculture and unparalleled achievement and promotion of farming.  

Bill Merschman of West Point and John and Connie Greig of Estherville were recognized with the prestigious honor during the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) annual meeting in Des Moines Dec. 6.  

Merschman Seed

With the planting of 20 acres of certified oats in 1954, Bill and Bernice Merschman officially start­­ed their seed business, known today as Merschman Seeds. Two years later, the Merschmans planted the first 40-acre field of certified soybean seed in Lee County....