During the 1980s Farm Crisis, Iowa farmers did everything in their power to keep their farms from going under. Some succeeded, but thousands were not so lucky. The Farm Crisis hit hard across the entire U.S., but in states like Iowa where agriculture is king, the impact was even greater. Times were tough, but farmers could not give up. Simply put, somebody needed to produce food. This was true in the 1980s and still is today: America needs farmers. 

Let me be clear, I am the daughter of two Iowa State alums, I was born and raised on a farm in northwest Iowa and I bleed cardinal and gold. I am a student in agronomy at Iowa State, and there are few things in life I enjoy more than watching the Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes. However, in order for myself and any student in the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to be employed, America needs farmers.

There are these t-shirts I come across with increasing frequency at Iowa State. They are cardinal and gold with a big circle boasting the letters “AHF,” which stands for “Actually Helping Farmers.” The slogan “Actually Helping Farmers” is a way of saying that Iowa State directly helps farmers through research, extension and teaching the next generation of agriculturists.

This all sounds nice, but it was created by a group (not affiliated with Iowa State) to mock the University of Iowa’s “ANF” (America Needs Farmers) campaign. Iowa State has a more direct impact on agriculture than the University of Iowa, and I doubt there is anyone who would disagree with this statement. I also doubt that there is anyone that would disagree with the fact that America needs farmers.

The “Actually Helping Farmers” t-shirts have been bothering me for a while now. To me, they are a symbol of great ignorance inconsistent with the character of Iowa State. I am willing to bet that many of the “Actually Helping Farmers” t-shirt owners are not aware of the story behind “America Needs Farmers”, so here it is:

The year was 1985, and Iowa’s farm economy was in the dumps. Hayden Fry, an Iowa farm boy and the Hawkeye’s head football coach, saw that farmers were in trouble. He realized that Iowa’s economy largely depended on the success of its farmers and chose to use his very public role as a Division I football coach to help them. He had each of his players (many of them Iowa farm boys themselves) proudly wear an “ANF” sticker on their helmet. Hayden Fry and the Hawkeye football team created a nationally recognized campaign to show everyone that America needs farmers.

You see, “America Needs Farmers” was actually helping farmers in a time when they needed it most. So, from a die-hard Cyclone fan, I would like to say thank you. Thank you, Hayden Fry, for recognizing that it doesn’t matter if our gold shirts are emblazoned in cardinal or black, we all need farmers. Thank you to the University of Iowa for keeping this phenomenal campaign alive for over thirty years and thank you to every Iowa Hawkeye fan that proudly wears an “ANF” t-shirt. Any friend of agriculture is a friend of mine, because no matter what happens in the Cy-Hawk series, America needs farmers.