In 2014, the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman marks 80 years of serving and informing Farm Bureau members.

It took courage and plenty of foresight to launch a new Farm Bureau publication in 1934, during the depths of the Depression and in the middle of one of the worst droughts in the state’s history. But Farm Bureau leaders in six east-central Iowa counties — Black Hawk, Franklin, Grundy, Hardin, Marshall and Tama — believed that a new publication was needed to keep their members informed on the activities of their county, state and national organizations. Over time, other counties joined the Spokesman group and eventually it...