khrushchev visits iowa farm

• View by Iowa History Era
• View By Tag
• View By Topical Theme
• View By City
• View by County
• View By Historical Person
• View by CORE Standards
• National History Day
• Online Resources from Across Iowa
• Iowa Stories
• Professional Development Modules
• Bibliography
• All Topical Themes
• Curated Virtual Exhibits
• Online Collections
• How to Teach With Primary Sources
• Project Background
• Iowa Museum Partners
• Partners, Sponsors and Supporters
• IMA Project Page
• Object Listing

Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev Visits Iowa Farm

The world focused on a farm outside Coon Rapids, Iowa, on September 23, 1959.  Nikita Khrushchev, the premier of the Soviet Union and its Community Party, was visiting the farm of hybrid corn salesman Roswell Garst to learn more about American agriculture production.  It was a period of heightened tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union with fears of nuclear war always in the background.  The “Iron Curtain” across Eastern Europe and the Berlin Wall restricted Western access to Soviet-dominated countries.  In 1956, Khrushchev in a speech to ambassadors from Western nation and speaking on behalf of the world communism predicted that “we will bury you.”  The In October of 1957, the Soviets had successfully launched Sputnik, the first successful orbiting satellite, demonstrating not only their capacity for a space program but long-range missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.  In the summer preceding Khrushchev’s visit to Iowa, the Soviet premier had debated Vice President Richard Nixon over the superiority of communism and capitalism, the famous “Kitchen Debate”, when Nixon hosted Khrushchev at an American cultural exhibit in Moscow.  Tensions were high. 

One of Khrushchev’s priorities was the expansion of Soviet agriculture, increasing production and decreasing dependence on the importation of food.  He was particularly focused on increasing Soviet production of corn and sent a delegation to the U.S. to study American corn production.  Garst managed to visit the Soviet representatives and gained permission to visit the Soviet Union to discuss the sale there of his hybrid varieties.  When he met with Khrushchev, the two men hit it off sharing their mutual interest in agriculture.  When Khrushchev announced his plans to visit the U.S., the first Soviet leader ever to set foot in the Western Hemisphere, he included Garst’s farm on his two-week itinerary. 

Flying in to the Des Moines airport on September 23, the Soviet leader was hosted at a dinner by the Iowa governor Hershel Loveless and Des Moines mayor Charles Iles.  A United Press International (UPI) story at the time reported his remarks in his after-dinner speech which was “brief and unmarked by humor.”  Taking issue with the way American press described Soviet efforts to improve their farming output as “a kind of Soviet economic menace,” Khrushchev asked “but the question is what kind of menace and who can our agricultural production hurt….Hardly anyone can content that the consumption of more butter and meat will make our people more aggressive.” 

The next day his motorcade headed west from Des Moines to the Garst Farm near Coon Rapids.  All along the way, crowds lined the roads to catch a glimpse of the leader of the communist world and America’s greatest enemy.  At the farm, flanked by an army of reporters, Garst took Khrushchev on a tour of the extensive hybrid corn fields and the farm machinery the farm used to plant and harvest it.  The two men sparred through a translator in a good natured way about newly developed Soviet hybrids.  

Khrushchev’s son Sergei recalled later that his father had been amazed that Garst’s extensive operation was managed by Roswell and his son and just a few farm employees.  Sergei said that a comparable Soviet farm would have required as many as 60 workers. 

American historian William Taubman described the relationship between the two men. “Not only did Khrushchev learn much from Garst about growing corn, he liked him no end as a person…Both men loved to gab. Khrushchev relished Garst’s cantankerousness, especially when it justified his own, such as when Garst bawled out Soviet farmers for sowing corn without fertilizing the soil.” 

From there, Khrushchev’s entourage traveled to Ames to look over the Swine Research Center of Iowa State University. One of the Soviets’ goals was to develop the corn-hogs combination that the U.S. had achieved in its Corn Belt.  Khrushchev later remarked to journalists that the visit to Iowa was "the most relaxed" of his visit to the U.S. 

Farm diplomacy between the two superpowers continued after the visit and even after Khrushchev’s ouster as the Soviet leader in 1964.  Roswell Garst’s nephew, Iowa banker John Crystal, continued contacts with agriculture counterparts. According to a summary of Crystal’s papers in the Iowa State University Archives, “Chrystal's ties to the Soviet Union began in 1958 when he met Nikita Khrushchev during the Soviet premier's visit to Iowa and the Garst family farm. In 1960 and 1963 Chrystal and Roswell Garst traveled together to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as citizen ambassadors and agricultural advisors. In 1972, Garst and Chrystal hosted another Russian delegation to Iowa, this time to Coon Rapids. Between 1960 and 1989, Chrystal was invited repeatedly to visit the Soviet Union to offer advice about agriculture. He visited approximately sixteen times and led efforts to help modernize farming and agricultural infrastructure systems in Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine and to improve trade relations between those countries and the United States.” 

 For Further Reading: John Chrystal Archives at Iowa State University 

• http://findingaids.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/manuscripts/MS422.html “Khrushchev Visits Iowa Cornfields” 
• https://www.upi.com/Archives/1959/09/23/Khrushchev-visits-Iowa-cornfields/1112442791026/  
• Nikita Khrushchev “Biography”  https://www.biography.com/political-figure/nikita-khrushchev

• Enroll & Pay

Krushchev's Visit to Iowa

In September 1959, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit the United States. There was quite a lot riding on his trip, which followed Vice President Richard Nixon’s visit to Moscow and came mere days after a Soviet rocket had successfully reached the moon. Khrushchev was met with a wide range of reactions in the United States. Some Americans cheered for him, others denounced him, and one hotel spokesman who was present for his appearance at a New York City hotel described the applause he received there as “not enthusiastic but friendly – a little better than polite.” [1] His reception at the height of the Cold War was certainly mixed.

Like many visiting heads of state, Khrushchev’s travel plans in the United States focused on major cities – he arrived in Washington DC and visited New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, where he was famously upset to learn he would not have the chance to see Disneyland. However, Khrushchev also made a point of visiting the heartland to observe American farming firsthand. Agriculture was of enormous importance to the Soviet economy, but they grew different crops and used different techniques, so Khrushchev went to rural Iowa to learn about American farming methods.

Some Iowans raised concerns about his visit. One Iowan, in a newspaper editorial, wrote that while “a first-hand look at this country and its resources might take some of the cockiness out of him,” such a trip could be risky—for the Soviet leader. The writer thought that Khrushchev was likely to receive a “cynical and cool” welcome from Americans, and it would be difficult to protect him from crowd attacks, in the form of “thrown tomatoes” or worse. [2]

Image 1: Upon seeing this Iowa farmer during his 1959 visit, Khrushchev patted his belly, exclaiming, “Now there’s a real American!” Des Moines Register. View Image Full Size

Other Iowans saw the Soviet leader’s visit to Iowa as the most important part of his trip in the United States. “Communist Khrushchev’s visit to Capitalist Iowa,” wrote George Mills in an article for the Des Moines Sunday Register , “will be the most important part of his American tour from his viewpoint.” Mills cited statements made by Khrushchev about the leader’s interest in American farm production, especially dairy products, milk, and corn, suggesting that Khrushchev would be more interested in what he saw in Iowa than in New York or San Francisco. [3] 

Khrushchev arrived in Iowa on September 22, 1959 and was treated to a reception hosted by Governor Herschel Loveless. The following day, he traveled to Coon Rapids, Iowa, to observe a powerhouse of American farming. He compared what he saw to Soviet-style collective farms, which one Iowa newspaper described as “similar to co-operatives whose members share in the returns.” [4]

While touring the expansive farm of Roswell Garst in Coon Rapids, Khrushchev was fascinated by the hybrid corn Garst had developed in 1930, which allowed for greater crop yields. Garst had been trying to sell corn to the Soviet Union for some time, and had even invited a Soviet delegation to visit his farm a few years earlier. Khrushchev was very impressed that so few farmers could feed so many Americans, but in part he credited the rich Iowa soil, telling his American hosts that “you are an intelligent people… but God has helped you.” He maintained, however, that the Soviet Union’s rapid growth suggested that God was on the side of the Soviets as well. [5] Khrushchev was, of course, joking—he was a staunch atheist.

Image 2: The front page of the Des Moines Register on September 23, 1959, the day after Khrushchev arrived in Iowa. The photo shows the Soviet leader trying his first hot dog. View Image Full Size

In the days after Khrushchev’s visit to Iowa, Soviet newspapers wrote glowingly of Iowa’s hospitality for their leader, and Iowa newspapers eagerly consumed accounts of the Soviet coverage relayed back to them through international press agencies. The Des Moines Tribune reported that the Soviet daily Pravda told its readers “that there’s an ‘enormous reserve of friendly feeling among Americans for the Soviet Union.” [6] The Ames Daily Tribune similarly quoted an article in the Soviet newspaper Izvestiia stating that Iowans “have contributed no small measure” to what they hoped would be an end to the Cold War, and optimistically concluding that the possibility of cooperation “in all fields of life between the Soviet Union and the United States, was born in the granary of America (Iowa).” [7]

In part, the visit was an important moment in the Cold War because it was the first of its kind. No leader of the Soviet Union had ever visited the United States before, nor had any American president been to the Soviet Union, though Nixon had gone there as vice president. From a diplomatic perspective, it was a major milestone. It also held economic significance and foreshadowed closer cooperation between American farmers and Soviet consumers in the years ahead. While some people in the United States were prepared to meet Khrushchev with angry denunciations and tomatoes ready to throw, others, like Roswell Garst, saw the visit as an opportunity to gain access to Soviet markets. In fact, Khrushchev had been interested in planting more corn in the Soviet Union for years, though the crop never prospered in Soviet fields. While Khrushchev would be removed from power in 1964, his visit laid the groundwork for more open economic and diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union in the decades ahead.

Image 3: An article published in Davenport, Iowa’s Quad-City Times, September 23, 1959. View Image Full Size

• “80,000 in New York Unenthused at Nikita Arrival,” Des Moines Tribune , September 17, 1959, 14.
• “Khrushchev Visit Would Be Risky,” Cedar Rapids Gazette , August 1, 1959, 6.
• “Iowans Discuss How to Welcome Nikita,” Des Moines Sunday Register , September 6, 1959.
• “Russia, Too, Has ‘Capitalist’ Farmers: Nikita,” Carrol Daily Times Herald , September 24, 1959.
• “Looks at ‘Heart’ of US,” Globe-Gazette , September 23, 1959.
• “Pravda Sees Friendliness for Russia,” Des Moines Tribune , September 23, 1959.
• “Press Heaps Praise on Iowa,” Ames Daily Tribune , September 24, 1959.

History Cooperative

Comrade Khrushchev and Farmer Garst: East-West Encounters Foster Agricultural Exchange

THE PARAGE OF FOREIGN POLICY usually skipped rural Iowa, but on September 23, 1959, the eyes of the nation focused on Coon Rapids. Invited guests, curious onlookers, anxious reporters and photographers surrounded Roswell and Elizabeth Garst’s white, wooden farmhouse. More than 700 National Guardsmen lined the highway between Des Moines and Garst’s farm awaiting the official motorcade. Soviet Premier Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was touring the heart of the Midwest cornbelt to see for himself why “agriculture, America’s biggest success, [was] communism’s biggest failure.” [1]

Khrushchev explored capitalist agricultural practices hoping to adapt them to Russian kolkhozes. [2] His encounters with Iowa farmer Roswell Garst opened dialog between the world’s superpowers. Khrushchev believed that “an exchange of opinions would helpthe U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. come to understand each other better and show greater pliancy in settling controversial matters.” [3] Roswell Garst agreed. “You know,” Garst told Khrushchev, “we two farmers could settle the problems of the world faster than diplomats.” [4]

Khrushchev’s Rise to Power

Westerners knew little about Khrushchev when he emerged as the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union in 1955. Would he offer hope for peace? Or would Khrushchev trigger World War III and nuclear annihilation?

Born in 1894, Khrushchev’s parents were peasants. As a boy, Nikita worked tending sheep. “We children were lucky if we had a decent pair of shoes,” he recalled. “We wiped our noses with our sleeves and kept our trousers up with a piece of string.” [5] Khrushchev learned the blacksmith and locksmith trades, joined the Bolsheviks in 1918, served two years in the Red Army, and then climbed the Communist Party ladder one rung at a time until he reached Josef Stalin’s inner circle. When Stalin died in 1953, Khrushchev’s comrades underestimated him because he lacked formal education. Loyal to Stalin for almost thirty years, the man political experts forgot to notice turned out to be the dark horse in Stalin’s stable. Ten days after Stalin’s death, Khrushchev became first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, “the springboard from which Stalin leaped to absolute power and which Stalin held until the day of his death.” [6] Khrushchev’s first priority was to shift from Stalin’s emphasis on industrialization and military expansion to the condition of Soviet farms.

Under Stalin, the Soviets produced little milk, meat, or eggs and suffered mass starvation. “My father thought that the Soviet political system could give people a better life,” explained Sergei Khrushchev, Nikita’s son. War breeds destruction; increased agricultural production, Sergei’s father insisted, promised Russia a prosperous future. “Persons are much more important than missiles,” Sergei continued. “If you are producing missiles, you are wasting your resources. If you increase food production, you make life better for your people.” [7] The U.S. and U.S.S.R., temporary allies during World War II, engaged in an intense ideological rivalry after the war. The resulting competitionthe Cold Warwas conducted through means short of direct military conflict. However, the threat of nuclear war remained. “The Americans thought that the Soviets wanted to build Communism on American soil,” Sergei Khrushchev said, “and we were scared that Americans would start war to forcefully implement their way of thinking on us.” [8]

Roots of East-West Agricultural Exchange

In a February 1955 speech before the Communist Central Committee, Khrushchev demanded an eightfold increase in corn production by 1960. [9] Offering a rareand well-publicizedexpression of praise for the United States, Khrushchev called for an Iowa-style corn belt in Russia, advocating the development of feed-livestock agriculture to boost food production.

“That’s just what the Russian economy needsmore and better livestock so the Russian people can eat better,” stated Lauren Soth, an editorial writer for the Des Moines Register. [10] Soth continued: We have no diplomatic authoritybut we hereby extend an invitation to any delegation Khrushchev wants to select to come to Iowa to get the lowdown on raising high quality cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens. We promise to hide none of our “secrets.” Let the Russians see how we do it. [11]

Soth also suggested sending a delegation of Iowa farmers, agronomists, and livestock specialists to the Soviet Union. At a time of increased polarization between Eastern Europe and the West, Soth’s editorial expressed a minority opinion in the U.S. He never thought the Soviets would see his proposal, much less accept it. “Soviet spies read the Des Moines Register, translated this editorial, and put it on Khrushchev’s desk within a few days of publication,” Liz Garst explained. [12] It was a surprise to everyoneincluding the U.S. State Departmentwhen Khrushchev accepted Soth’s bold invitation. That summer, twelve Americans traveled to the U.S.S.R and Khrushchev sent a delegation to Iowa. [13]

Roswell Garst recognized both superpowers’ problems in agriculture: for the U.S. it was surpluses; for the Soviets, it was scarcity. He believed U.S. surpluses could be a “weapon for peace.” [14] Garst intercepted the Soviet delegation and persuaded its leader, Vladimir Matskevitch, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, to visit his hybrid seed corn operation. Matskevitch spent a day with Garst, taking detailed notes he later delivered to Khrushchev. [15]

Farmer Garst: Corn Ambassador to the U.S.S.R

Roswell Garst began sowing the seeds of his agricultural empire in 1916. He explored cutting edge technologies: hybrid seed corn, intensive use of nitrogen fertilizers, and cellulose-enriched cattle feed. Garst and Thomas Seed Corn Company became the largest operation of its kind in the United States. When Matskevitch visited Garst in Coon Rapids, Roswell managed more than 5000 acres. Impressed with Garst’s operation and how his technology could be adapted for Soviet collective farms, Matskevitch invited Garst to come to the U.S.S.R. later that year. Garst believed a visit could ease Cold War tensions and hoped to sellwith the permission of a reluctant U.S. State Departmenthybrid seed to the Soviets. State Department officials remained suspicious after the initial agricultural exchange, but Garst argued that he should be free to discuss all he knew about agriculture and to sell equipment and seed if they wanted to buy. “It would be ridiculous to tell them about how rapidly we could plant corn and then say ‘we won’t sell you a corn planter.'” [16] After much deliberation, the State Department granted Garst an export license and permission to travel to Moscowalthough U.S. officials were sure Garst could not sell the Soviets anything.

The State Department learned not to underestimate Roswell Garst, a master salesman with evangelical enthusiasm for hybrid corn. “If it’s sound, it will sell,” Garst often said. [17] Garst ventured to Moscow in September 1955. Interrupting a speech about how American technology could improve Soviet agriculture, Khrushchev summoned Garst to a private meeting. Khrushchev and Garst talked about corn production, livestock, and possibilities of East­West trade. After the meeting Garst asked Khrushchev how the U.S.S.R. could know so little about American agriculture when they had easy access to U.S. farm journals, yet they had been able to steal the atomic bomb in three weeks. Khrushchev laughed and raised two fingers: “It only took us two weeks. You locked up the atomic bomb, so we had to steal it. When you offered us information about agriculture for nothing, we thought that might be what it was worth.” [18] The next day the Soviets ordered 5000 tons of hybrid seed. Accounts of Roswell’s meeting with Khrushchev appeared in Moscow’s newspapers, and C.B.S. telephoned Garst for news of the exchange. [19]

Upon his return, Garst expressed excitement to Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Benson: “We thought of ourselves as Marco Polos when we were in Russia; they think of themselves as descendants of Columbusdiscovering the United States for the second time.” [20]

Garst often hosted agricultural delegations from the Soviet Union, Rumania, and Hungary. “There were always Russians at the farm,” Liz Garst remembers. [21] Eastern Europeans were impressed that Roswell, Elizabeth, and their children all worked on their farms. [22] “The image of the absentee capitalist landlord, living in luxury on the proceeds of his wage slaves, was a preconception they all freely admitted having brought with them. They were completely unprepared for the Midwestern lifestyle.” [23]

Roswell’s FBI dossier grew with his successes as a citizen diplomat. Sometimes he cooperated with the FBI; other times he was confrontational. Reviewing Garst’s file in 1959, the bureau saw “no indication of any subversive activities, membership in communist front groups or the Communist Party. [I]t is quite apparent that his main interest in Russia and the satellites is in the sale of his product.” [24]

In 1956, Garst returned to Eastern Europe accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth. Earlier that year at the Twentieth Party Congress, Khrushchev had condemned Stalin’s crimes in a “secret speech” which triggered an uprising in Hungary. [25] The Garsts were in Budapest when Soviet tanks rolled into the city, stranding them for ten days while Khrushchev’s army obliterated the rebels. Roswell and Elizabeth escaped up the Danube River to Czechoslovakia on a Polish coal ship. Disgusted with military actions that contradicted Khrushchev’s commitment to peaceful agricultural exchange, Garst called a personal moratorium on East-West relations: “I am afraid to sell even as innocent a product as seed corn to the Russians for fear the material would not be loaded on ships withoutbad publicity.” [26]

Khrushchev in America

Garst’s determination to end relations with the Soviet government faded in 1957. Monitoring progress in the Soviet Union, Garst became angry because they had not complied with his recommendations for fertilizing and planting corn. Predicting a colossal failure if the technology was incorrectly applied, Garst wanted to see Khrushchev again to set things straight. He also wanted to discuss “getting this armaments race stopped,” something he considered “the most important single thing” facing the world at that time. Garst’s message to Khrushchev was blunt: improving relations between the United States and U.S.S.R. was necessary so that the world could quit wasting its industrial capacity “preparing for a war that nobody wantsnobody expectsa war no one could survive.” [27] Roswell and Elizabeth visited Nikita and Nina early in 1959. The men discussed agriculture and prospects for world peace during conversations salted with anecdotes, proverbs, and humor. Their exchanges were sometimes aggressive and argumentative, but they both wanted comprehensive change most of all. [28] Their relationship became international news when, on August 6,1959, Roswell was informed that Khrushchev had asked to visit Coon Rapids. [29] Iowa Governor Herschel Loveless initially opposed Khrushchev’s planned visit, fearing the encounter would fuel Soviet propaganda. The hostility of Eastern European immigrants toward Khrushchev, Loveless declared, might make the visit a “precarious venture.” [30]

On September 23, 1959, the Khrushchev family stopped at the Garst Farm during their 12-day trip to the U.S., which also included stops in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Camp David for discussions with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. According to the Chicago Tribune, Garst was the only individualexcept for President Eisenhowerthat Khrushchev specifically asked to see while in the U.S. [31]

Before arriving here I had a picture of Mr. Garst’s good farm from accounts and films. I have known Mr. Garst for years; however it is always better to see than to hear. Let us exchange experience. This will be useful to our countries. [32]

Hundreds of reporters greeted Khrushchev’s entourage. Photographers roosted in trees, barn lofts, and upstairs windows. [33] Garst showed the visitors his large-scale planting, harvesting, and livestock feeding operations. Over lunch they discussed trade, armaments inspection, and the ability of their countries to shift to peacetime economies. [34] “Father often reminisced about the American farmer,” Sergei Khrushchev wrote. “Garst and his sons produced more than any of our collective farms.” [35]

Garst’s pursuit of peace through agriculture paved the way to Khrushchev’s negotiations with President Eisenhower. “It was Roswell Garst, pioneering seed corn genius of Coon Rapids, who grubbed most of the underbrush out of the tangled pathway leading to Camp David,” wrote journalist Fagan D. Adler. [36] In a television interview conducted in Garst’s backyard, Khrushchev stated, “Every conversation I have had with Mr. Garst since 1955 has been important in the build-up for the meeting at Camp David.” [37]

Critics denounced Garst as a communist sympathizer. To the contrary, Garst was a capitalist eager to open new markets and make a profit. [38] Roswell also insisted that “Hungry people are dangerous people.[T]he peace of the world is dependent upon solving the world’s food problems.” [39]

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities disagreed, warning that the “great expectations aroused by the exchange [of visits between U.S. and Soviet representatives] reveal the tragic failure of Western statesmen to recognize the character and the magnitude of the Communist challenge.” [40] Citing the Soviet response to the Hungarian uprising and Khrushchev’s unprovoked threat on Berlin, Henry Kissinger stated that ending the Cold War depended on political issuesnot the Soviet’s ability to produce enough food. “The exchange of visits will assist the cause of peace only if itreverses the course which has repeatedly brought the world to the brink of war.” [41]

Khrushchev changed the view of himself and his country for the better among U.S. citizens. “While fearful that this changeable man might someday ‘push the button,’ many agreed that there is a practical element of sincerity in his attempt to ease tensions,” observed Richard Wilson, the Des Moines Register’s Washington correspondent. [42] Although many of Khrushchev’s explorations into American agriculture translated into successful Soviet reforms, ultimately these exchanges contributed to his political downfall. Khrushchev’s 1957 pledge to overtake America in agricultural production turned into an embarrassing disaster when he tried to push through too many reforms with too few resources and inadequate infrastructure. Despite his awkward efforts to ease Cold War tensions, Khrushchev’s foreign policy blunders triggered the period’s most dangerous international crises when he ordered construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and placed missiles in Cuba in 1962 (see Timeline, Appendix I).

“I am old and tired,” Khrushchev said following the 1964 Presidium meeting that ousted him from power. Could anyone have dreamed of telling Stalin that he didn’t suit us anymore and suggesting he retire? Not even a wet spot would have remained where we had been standing. Now everything is different. The fear is gone, and we can talk as equals. That is my contribution. [43]

Condemned for his failures as a leader and his earlier complicity in Stalin’s brutal crimes, Khrushchev became a “non-person” in the U.S.S.R. His name was suppressed by his Kremlin successors, ignored by Soviet citizens, and erased from the country’s history books. “After I die,” Khrushchev said, “they will place my actions on a scale on one side evil, on the other side good. I hope the good will outweigh the bad.” 44 Khrushchev’s attempts to reform communism prepared the ground for its eventual collapse, planting seeds of perestroika 45 and glasnost 46 that would germinate under Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin in decades to come. In the late 1980s, Washington realized (or finally admitted) that the “evil empire” had been rotting from withinsomething Roswell Garst, an unorthodox diplomat, knew all along. Comrade Khrushchev and Farmer Garst recognized that agricultural exchanges provided a legitimate path toward international peace.

Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources

“25,000 greet khrushchev: he challenges u.s. to contest in corn and meat.” the des moines register, 23 september 1959: 1, 8, 10, 16. the front page of the register heralded khrushchev’s arrival in iowa, and described his first encounter with an american hot dog, which cautious security agents had checked with a geiger counter before the soviet premier ate it. news coverage portrayed khrushchev’s sense of humor and described iowa’s friendly if not enthusiastic welcome. an estimated 25,000 curious spectators crowded around khrushchev’s des moines hotel. i was able to use this to find out how vulnerable khrushchev was in america and how difficult it was to maintain security. this problem was compounded when he visited rural coon rapids., adler, fagan d. “seed corn genius garst helped to pave way for historic session at camp david.” undated newspaper clipping. garst papers. iowa state university archives: alumni affairs/alumni and former students. iowa state university, ames, iowa. box 84, file 4., adler stated that garst “grubbed most of the underbrush out of the tangled pathway leading to camp david where president eisenhower and nikita khrushchev met last week to brighten the chain of peace.” i liked adler’s metaphor because it mirrors agricultural experience. in taubman’s biography of khrushchev, one reason given for agricultural failure in the soviet union was that farmers would plant corn, then not have the machinery required to cultivate the soil or the herbicides to destroy weeds. adler’s comment illustrates how political weeds impeded the process of cultivating peace and credited garst with clearing the way., “astray in hawkeyeland: a day in the country.” iowan 8 (oct.-nov. 1959): 49. few events in american history have been as well covered as the visit of nikita khrushchev to the farm of roswell garst, claimed this editorial. i classified this as a primary source because the writer witnessed what he described as the “carnival mob scene,” and the “comic opera” it became. despite the more than 1,500 highway patrolmen, national guardsmen, reporters, caterers, and television technicians at the farm, “the original simple purpose of the visit did shine through.” i also learned from this article that soviets wanted to see garst’s farm because it was closer to the scale of soviet farms that could be 70,000 acres in size., atwood, mary miller. “disagrees with views of garst.” the des moines register, 11 september 1959: 8. atwood’s letter to the editor illustrates opposition to garst’s opinions. many who disagreed with garst, as this letter showed me, thought it was wrong to lend aid to tyrannical russian regime., childs, marquis. “nikita visit called dialogue of the deaf.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 10. writing from san francisco, columnist marquis childs described this east-west encounter as a dialogue of the deaf, because neither side wanted to hear what the other side was saying. “it is a deafness conditioned by decades of fear, suspicion, and naked hostility.” for me this editorial emphasized the importance of garst’s contributions as a citizen diplomat because he looked ahead to a peaceful futureand had plans for how to achieve itinstead of being held back by fears., clabby, william. “mr. k & corn: he’ll learn in iowa how u.s. lifts output through acreage drops.” the wall street journal, 1 september 1959. the upcoming visit with “farmer garst” would demonstrate farming methods including the use of heavy doses of chemicals to boost yields and grain dryers to permit picking corn before it dries in the field. clabby pointed out how far russia lagged behind american agriculture, but admitted that garst, a leading corn grower, was probably “many years ahead of most of his contemporaries in the science of corn productions.”, cooley, harold d. “facts about u.s. agriculture for khrushchev.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 10. cooley’s editorial compares the efficiency of u.s. farms to communist farms in their abilities to feed their respective populations. this helped me understand the reason for the disparity: in russia half the population worked on farms to feed their people a subsistence diet; in america 10% of the population provides more than enough food for the entire country, freeing up the other 90% for other work. food costs were lower in the united states than anywhere else in the world., crankshaw, edward. “mr. k. needs u.s. trip for prestige at home.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 10. crankshaw disputed khrushchev’s stated motive for his excursion to the united states. the soviet premier did not come to ease cold war tensions or learn about american agriculture, crankshaw claimed. “the most important aspect of this remarkable excursion is that he is making it,” wrote crankshaw, who specialized in soviet affairs for the london observer. this showed me how complicated and tangled opinions about khrushchev’s visit to america were around the world., “details of nikita’s itinerary for first nine days.” the des moines register, 11 september 1959: 6. newspapers kept people of iowaand the nationupdated on details of khrushchev’s itinerary for his planned visit to the united states. roswell garst was the only individual besides president eisenhower that khrushchev specifically asked to see while in this country. this helped me understand the significance of the relationship between garst and khrushchev., encounter with garst: challenger of tradition. scrapbook. coon rapids public library, coon rapids, iowa. after my day touring and conducting research at the garst farm i stopped at the coon rapids public library to read the local newspaper’s coverage of khrushchev’s visit. the librarian set me up with the september/october 1959 roll of microfilm, and then, after asking questions about the nature of my research, returned with a crumbling scrapbook stuffed with photographs and clippings that chronicled roswell garst’s work as a citizen diplomat. the librarian did not know who had compiled and titled the scrapbookshe only knew that it had been in a library cupboard for years. the scrapbook was an extremely valuable source of information about roswell garst., faltermayer, edmund k. “farmer khrushchev: he has better luck in space race than with milk and meat.” the wall street journal, 10 august 1959. faltermayer’s article helped me understand the difficulties faced by russian agriculture. improving techniques and equipment, largely through the help of roswell garst, had helped increase harvests. however, the soviet union lacked the storage capacity needed to preserve harvests and the roads necessary to transport agricultural goods. the article also provided me with information to compare agriculture in the u.s. and in the soviet union. in the u.s. at the time, 8.1 million farmers grew enough food to feed 175 million people. by contrast, 45 million russian farmers worked to feed a total population of 209 million. u.s. farmers grew about twice as much as their russian counterparts, and u.s. per capita meat consumption in 1959 was nearly double the 85-pound russian average., film memories: roswell garst. videotape. garst farm, coon rapids, iowa., following my tour of the garst farmhouse and interview with liz garst, she allowed me to watch a videotape compiled of newsreel footage from khrushchev’s visit. newscasts showed the crowd of reporters, photographers, and curious onlookers as they crushed in around garst and khrushchev throughout their inspection of garst’s farming operations. i had read so many accounts of the crowded scene, but as khrushchev often said in quoting a russian proverb: “it is a hundred times better to see than to hear.” i enjoyed watching the chaotic scene for myself while sitting in the farmhouse at the center of the event. looking out the dining room windows, i could almost imagine the excitement of the day. a sense of place helps bring history to life., frankel, max. “soviets told heckling of khurshchev.” the des moines register, 21 september 1959: 1., frankel’s article illustrates the exchange of information about khrushchev’s visit between the u.s. and the u.s.s.r. in newspapers. soviet papers told of instances where khrushchev was heckled but did not describe exchanges where u.s. representatives disagreed or presented counter arguments to khrushchev’s statements. russian reports described khrushchev as being in control of discussions while american participants were silent or unresponsive. this article showed me how the public was given the wrong impression about the other country, and also how misconceptions of each other were allowed to grow., gallup, george. “public likens khrushchev to shrewd businessman.” the des moines register, 11 september 1959: 7., mr. gallup’s poll illustrated the preconceptions held by normal, every-day people before the soviet premier came to iowa. ironically, many people described the world’s top communist as a “shrewd businessman and wonderful salesman”terms more often used to describe khrushchev’s capitalist opponents, or his friend, iowa farmer roswell garst. some expressed kind thoughts toward khrushchev; others described him as “ruthless, cruel, domineering and deceitful,” opposing his trip to america. this poll helped me understand just how polarized the views of the citizens of the united states were about our soviet rivals., garst, elizabeth “liz.” interview by author, 11 february 2004. garst farm resorts, coon rapids, iowa. tape recorded., while at the farm of roswell and elizabeth garst i interviewed their granddaughter, elizabeth “liz” garst. while interviewing her i was able to learn things that were not disclosed in published accounts such as: none of the 700 national guardsmen activated to protect premier khrushchev in iowa were given bullets for their guns because our state department was afraid of an assassination attempt from the inside. liz was eight years old when the visit took place and the memories she shared with me of her childhood encounters with the soviets (during the 1959 visit and others before and after) added another dimension to my research. while many american children were conditioned to believe that the soviets would start a nuclear war, liz followed russians around her grandfather’s farm, collecting medals from the soviet visitors and spying on khrushchev’s food-tasters hoping to find out what would happen if “one them dropped dead.”, garst farm resort. historic site tour. 1390 hwy. 141, coon rapids, iowa. 11 february 2004., after studying roswell garst’s papers at iowa state university, this tour made the history of my project come to life before my eyes. being in the place where this historic east-west encounter occurredeven though it was quiet and there were no reporters nesting in the treesgave me a sense of its significance. the farmhouse has been restored, maintaining its early 1900s flavor, and is filled with photographs of khrushchev’s visit and the garst family; memorabilia from the garst and thomas seed corn company; gifts from russian visitors; and hundreds of stories of the garst family and their guests. with liz garst as my tour guide, it was as if the walls could talk., garst, roswell. papers. iowa state university archives: alumni affairs/alumni and former students. iowa state university, ames, iowa., roswell garst’s papers were an invaluable source for my research. garst wrote countless letters explaining his opinions about the importance of developing agriculture around the world in order to secure lasting peace. i accessed boxes 34, 81-89, and 90. these boxes contained extensive correspondence, newspaper clippings from all over the country, russian newspapers garst gathered on his many trips (he often made news in the soviet union), and transcribed interviews that roswell granted following khrushchev’s visit. these files also contained a 1959 publication of the u.s. house of representatives’ committee on un-american activities that detailed the crimes of khrushchev and warned that the “great expectations aroused by the exchange [of visits between u.s. and soviet representatives] reveal the tragic failure of western statesmen to recognize the character and the magnitude of the communist challenge.” this diplomatic opinion illustrates the contrast between the government and roswell garst, who believed political systems could be set aside and peace could be achieved by standing on the common ground of agriculture., “global crossroads: war and ‘peace’as we stand.” newsweek 54, no. 11 (14 september 1959): 31-36., newsweek published this article prior to khrushchev’s arrival to the united states. it described political hot spots around the world where “the red and free worlds touch” and where every crackle of gunfire heightened cold war tensions and precipitated “anguished cries” for a summit to negotiate possibilities for peace. this helped me understand the enormity of the issues facing diplomats. could garst’s simple policy of feeding people really generate lasting peace, “great encounter: the ‘moon man’ cometh.” newsweek 54, nos. 12,13,14. (21 and 28 september; 5 october 1959)., throughout this three-part installment there was an in-depth analysis of khrushchev’s encounters and exchanges in the united states. the series highlighted the recent soviet triumphs in science and industry including the successful unmanned trip to the moonkhrushchev was very proud of this exploration. leading the u.s. in the space race allowed him to “save face” when coming here for agricultural assistance. this helped me find out why khrushchev’s desire was to compete peacefully with the united states and avoid world war iii., hahn, grover h. “garst and his farm techniques.” letter to the editor. the des moines register, 10 september 1959: 10., this letter to the editor referred to an article previously appearing in the register that described garst’s “revolution” in farming. written by an iowa state university county extension director, this letter argues that garst’s techniquessuch as application of fertilizer and the use of chemical pesticides and herbicideswere not new. what set garst apart, thought hahn, was garst’s wealth; his ability to afford resources that the average farmer could not. this letter illustrated the rift between garst and his iowa state university counterparts. like khrushchev, garst did not always get along with the “intelligentsia,” and perhaps he was not the “ordinary american farmer” he portrayed himself to be., harnack, curtis. “farm messiah from coon rapids.” iowan 4 (june-july 1956): 17-44., harnack describes how controversial iowa farmer roswell garst sold his revolutionary farming ideas at home and a new agricultural era abroad. with gospel fervor, garst’s most spectacular sale was to the soviet and rumanian communist leaders. for me, this article underscored garst’s belief that aiding agriculture in any country is “an aid to peace.”, “iowa governor opposes visit by khrushchev.” minneapolis tribune, 23 august 1959., when it was formally announced that khrushchev would visit iowa during his 12-day trip to the u.s., iowa governor herschel c. loveless announced that he opposed the soviet premier’s visit. loveless’ opinion helped me understand how polarized opinions were in this country about khrushchev’s visit. loveless feared the tour would be used for propaganda purposes. he also feared that the hostility of eastern european immigrants might make the visit a “precarious venture.” understanding this helped me put into perspective the impact of events such as khrushchev’s suppression of the hungarian uprising on opinions held in the united states., “jovial nikita leaves iowa: let’s be good neighbors, he says at garst farm.” the des moines register, 24 september 1959: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13., khrushchev spent two days in iowa during his 12-day trip to the u.s. from roswell garst’s living room in coon rapids, khrushchev told reporters, “i have seen the way the slaves of capitalism live and i see they live pretty well. but the slaves of communism live pretty well, too. so let each one of us remain with his own way of life and be friends, living as good neighbors in the world.” as i look back on my research of these exchanges, i see the wisdom behind khrushchev’s comment. one government trying to destroy the other would lead to war, but history revealed that communism would collapse on its own., kaiser, robert g. “roswell garst’s links with soviet union being renewed.” the des moines tribune, 15 july 1971., garst’s relations with the russians cooled after khrushchev’s fall from power in 1964. in 1971, vladimir matskevitch, the first important soviet to visit garst’s farm in 1955, was back in power as minister of agriculture and re-established contact with garst, giving the iowa corn farmer a voice in foreign policy once again. garst hoped the united states would “get away from the arms race and get down to business.”, khrushchev, nikita s. for victory in peaceful competition with capitalism. new york, ny: e.p. dutton & co., inc., 1960., in his introduction to this volume of speeches, khrushchev stated that “mankind has approached a time when the peoples are faced with a choiceeither peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems, or a disastrous nuclear war.” khrushchev published these speeches in english so that americans could learn “what we soviet people were preoccupied withand how we evaluated the most important international events.” his remarks emphasized for me how committed khrushchev was to the peaceful exchange of information related to agriculture, science, and culture., khrushchev, nikita s. khrushchev in america. new york: crosscurrents press, 1960., all of the speeches khrushchev delivered during his tour of the united states were compiled and published in the soviet union as live in peace and friendship the english translation of that volume, khrushchev in america, provided me with the soviet point of view on various aspects of the khrushchev trip, including his stop in iowa., khrushchev, sergei n. interview by author, 4 december 2003. digital recording of telephone conversation., while searching the web for khrushchev information i came across a cnn interview with sergei khrushchev, son of soviet premier nikita khrushchev. i learned from this interview that sergei had moved to the united states and became professor at brown university. on the brown university web site i located sergei’s address and phone number, and then wrote him a letter telling him about my project and requesting an interview. we corresponded by e-mail several times before setting a date for an interview. sergei khrushchev accompanied his father to iowa and it was interesting to discuss his memories of the visit. he corrected one rumor that has persisted in iowa since 1959: legend has it that khrushchev thought all of the farm silos were missile silos. “my father knew that there were no missile silos in the united states at that timethe u.s. started building missile silos in 1962,” sergei said. “he knew that mr. garst’s silos stored food for pigs and cows. my father was interested in pigs more than missiles.”, khrushchev, sergei n. nikita khrushchev and the creation of a superpower. university park, pa: the pennsylvania state university press, 2000., in one of my earliest correspondences with sergei khrushchev, he told me i should read this, his book, before interviewing him. the book records sergei’s conversations with his father and documents events he witnessed throughout his father’s time as premier of the soviet union. the part describing the visit to the garst farm helped me see just how important the exchange was from nikita khrushchev’s perspective. sergei accompanied his family to the united states., “khrushchev story: how ‘dark horse’ took over.” the des moines register, 9 february 1955: 1, 8., this article appeared under the banner headline, “more soviet shakeups seen.” people in the united states knew little about nikita khrushchev when he took over the job of first secretary of the communist party, the platform from which stalin vaulted into complete control. the article helped me understand just how turbulent the relationship was between the u.s. and the u.s.s.r. at the time and how complicated the leadership transition was after stalin’s death., “khrushchev urges peaceful competition.” the des moines register, 23 september 1959: 12., the text of nikita khrushchev’s speech in des moines and news analysis of his remarks helped me understand the local reaction to khrushchev’s visit. pages of photographs in this edition of the register allowed me to see the crowds around khrushchev’s hotel. some members of the crowd, described as former political prisoners from hungary, held up signs of protest., kihsa, peter. “groups plan protests on khrushchev.” the des moines register, 11 september 1959: 5., this article describes efforts of various anti-communist groups to protest during khrushchev’s visit to the united states. a group of senators and representatives called for national mourning “for the victims of communist terror” throughout khrushchev’s stay. kihsa, a new york times writer, reported that national review, a conservative weekly, claimed to have sold 30,000 “khrushchev not welcome here” bumper stickers and planned to print 10,000 more., kissinger, henry a. “the khrushchev visitdangers and hopes.” the new york times magazine, 6 september 1959: 5, 44., kissinger did not agree with garst’s position that soviets with full stomachs would pose less of a threat. kissinger’s insistence that political avenues were the only road toward peace helped me present both sides of the argument in my paper., lamberto, nick. “hungarians urge: don’t stir trouble.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 3., a bold headline topped the page: “nikita’s peaceful exchange.” this article illustrated for me how the hungarians felt after khrushchev squashed their attempt to remove themselves from the eastern bloc in the 1956 uprising. members of an exiled hungarian political organization visited places ahead of khrushchev to caution against disorderly demonstrations. “we do not want to cause any trouble,” a hungarian representative said. the russians, he continued, could learn much about american agriculture that would contribute to a lasting peace., lippmann, walter. “why both sides need slowdown in armaments race.” the des moines register, 26 september 1959: 4., acclaimed new york herald tribune columnist walter lippmann offered his analysis of u.s. and soviet positions concerning the armaments race prior to the camp david summit that followed khrushchev’s visit to iowa and exploration of the garst farm. khrushchev had said that his friendship with garst paved the way to a profitable summit. lippmann did not think there would be enough time to thoroughly negotiate any of the “great issues,” but that any agreement would represent a significant gain. lippmann’s analysis helped me understand how the arms race hurt both sides., miller, frank. “khrushchev’s idea of american people.” political cartoon. the des moines register, 10 september 1959: 10., in a cloud above the soviet premier’s head, miller drew khrushchev’s preconception of the american people, depicting the average american as one weighed down by the shackles of capitalism. under miller’s cartoon read the caption, “a good handshake might get rid of some handcuffs.” the drawing depicted a portly nikita khrushchev extending his hand to shake the hand of an “average” american. as their hands come together, the image in nikita’s mind begins to disintegrate. this cartoon, i think, illustrates the kind of diplomacy garst practiced: personal encounters and exchange of mutually helpful information instead of political debate., mills, george. “a ‘friendly’ welcome is seen herebut without any fawning.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 1, 16., simply stated, said mills, “today is a big day in iowa history.” never before had this agricultural state hosted so powerful an individual from a foreign land. mills predicted that iowans would be generous with their farming knowledge, even though khrushchev and communism were not popular in this state. the state department warned iowans not to make “needling” remarks. i found this slightly amusing since khrushchev and garst often addressed needling remarks to one another, underscoring for me garst’s ability to speak bluntly to khrushchev in ways the diplomats and politicians could not., mills, george. “kind words from garst for nikita.” the des moines register, 9 september 1959: 1, 9., two weeks before khrushchev’s visit, garst granted an interview to the register, explaining that he admired the communist administration but he wasn’t a communist. garst also reported that even though khrushchev had a difficult and dark history, his family would still welcome them and teach them what they knew about agriculture. this article showed me that the encounters and exchanges between these two men were not politically motivated, but were in the interest of helping the soviet agricultural crisis., mills, george. “nikita, adlai may meet at coon rapids.” the des moines register, 11 september 1959: 1., mills’ article demonstrated the significance of khrushchev’s visit. garst had arranged for adlai stevenson to be one of the dignitaries at the farm during the visit. stevenson’s 1958 trip to the soviet union left him pessimistic as to the chances of real peace, but he looked forward to another encounter with khrushchev., mitchell, don. “mrs. k. gardener.” newark, n.j. news. 2 september 1959., mitchell described garst’s earlier visits to the soviet union and mrs. khrushchev’s interest in gardening. the interesting part of this article to me was that it confirmed that khrushchev’s son, sergei, and two daughters would also travel to the united states. i knew then that i would want to interview sergei about his experiences in iowa., “mr. garst’s mail.” sunday world-herald (omaha), 6 september 1959., roswell garst was flooded with mail after the announcement that khrushchev would visit his farm. in every delivery, garst was informed “that he is a savior of humanity and also that he is a rat, with countless variations on each theme.” this supported what liz garst told me in my interview with her: “[roswell] got lots of hate mail, but nobody knows what they said because he put those letters in the trash can.”, “mr. k. can be charming.” the des moines register, 26 september 1959: 4., in this editorial the author straightened out the crooked beliefs that khrushchev was an ill-mannered, tough man who had no respect for others. it also explained that the group visiting iowa was a kind group that wanted to learn as much as they could about agriculture in the short time they had in the united states. reading this editorial prompted me to ask sergei khrushchev what kinds of preconceptions they encountered in the united states, and what kinds of preconceptions they brought with them., “national affairs.” time 74, no. 13 (28 september 1959): 9-17., the peasant face of nikita khrushchev appeared on the cover of the 28 september time magazine. the author called krushchev’s visit to the united states “one of the grand confrontations of the cold war and of all time,” quoting president eisenhower’s tribute to the freedom he said is instinctive in all men. “we do not have a system,” eisenhower told khrushchev. “we have a way of life. we think that the systematized order observed in russia is a step backward, not forward.” for me, this illustrated the differences between eisenhower and khrushchev and explained why eisenhower distanced himself from khrushchev during most of the 12 days the soviet premier was in the country. instead, eisenhower selected u.s. ambassador to the united nations henry cabot lodge jr. to be khrushchev’s official host., “nikita down to earth at iowa farm.” mountain news (denver, colorado), 24 september 1959., what caught my eye in with this article was the 3-column photograph that accompanied it. the close-up picture showed nikita khrushchev bending over to kiss one of roswell and elizabeth garst’s granddaughters goodbye. the girl in the photo was elizabeth “liz” garst, who i was scheduled to interview the next day. the article described the chaos at garst’s farm during khrushchev’s visit and how difficult it was to move among hundreds of reporters and photographers. this information helped me set the scene in my opening paragraph and provided garst’s quote about farmers being able to settle problems faster than diplomats., “nikita states the communist case in tv speech.” the des moines register, 28 september 1959: 1, 4, 6, 7, 13., khrushchev was a good communist; he believed whole heartedly that the communist government and economy would win out in the end. in this transcript of his speech, nikita said that he was glad about these dealings and hoped for more of the same type of talks later on. i learned from this article that even though our countries’ governments were different both hoped to coexist on earth together., orr, richard. “iowa farmer bob garst has much to show nikita.” chicago sunday tribune, 13 september 1959., orr’s feature in the chicago tribune introduced readers to coon rapids, iowa, bob garst and his wife, elizabeth, and the farm nikita khrushchev would visit during his trip to the united states. this article provided me with the information that garst was the only individual except for president eisenhower that khrushchev specifically asked to see while in the u.s. the novelty of a foreign dignitary’s visit to rural iowa caused stories like this to appear in newspapers throughout the united states., perkes, dan. “khrush no more blunt than freethinker garst.” cincinnati enquirer, 13 september 1959., perkes describes garst’s promise to show khrushchev “a thorough demonstration of how americans overthrew agricultural tradition and multiplied nature’s blessingsa type of revolution he willingly would share with the soviet union.” the article reinforced similarities between khrushchev and garst that i have noticed in other sources: both were candid and blunt, not inhibited by conventional diplomatic restraints., “questioning stirs soviet boss to fury.” the des moines register, 21 september 1959: 1, 5., this article demonstrates khrushchev’s conviction that communism would be the social system that triumphed over capitalism. he was meeting with american union leaders who expressed their contempt for communism. the union leaders’ questioning caused khrushchev to become quite agitated. i compared this confrontation to similar confrontations between garst and khrushchev. garst, a true capitalist, often disagreed with khrushchev, sometimes in loud arguments, but their friendship compensated for this kind of an exchange., raskin, a.h. “nikita worse than stalin, say unions.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 1, 11., agriculturalists, it seemed, got along better with khrushchev than did labor leaders attending an a.f.l.-c.i.o. convention. raskin reported that labor leaders’ differences with khrushchev were “irreconcilable.” i thought this was ironic because khrushchev envisioned communism as a worker’s paradise. this was one of the first articles i encountered that deemed khrushchev to be worse than stalin., reston, james. “halt armed forays, ike to tell red.” the des moines register, 15 september 1959: 1, 8., reston describes president eisenhower’s plans to postpone talks about sensitive issues including arms control and berlin until after khrushchev has completed his american tour. this article demonstrated how delicately diplomats must proceed, in contrast to roswell garst’s blunt statements to khrushchev. for garst, no issue was “too sensitive” to discuss., “roswell garst helped to spur big changes in agriculture.” pioneer horizons pamphlet. winter 1978., printed after roswell garst’s death in 1977, this newsletter of the garst and thomas hybrid corn company paid tribute to garst’s agricultural accomplishments and contained a transcript of his obituary. i learned that garst considered his greatest accomplishment to be his role in “talk and trade” with communist governments, actions which helped ease world tensions., salisbury, harrison. the des moines register, 8-15 september 1959: “finds khrushchev’s russia freer, happier.” 8 september 1959; “only khrushchev can make the decisions.” 9 september 1959; “labor camps gone, people talk freely.” 10 september 1959; “fear of china spurs russia’s peace quest.” 11 september 1959; “why khrushchev trip may soften his stand.” 15 september 1959., salisbury, a new york times reporter who served as soviet correspondent from 1949 to 1954, wrote a series of eight articles describing changes that had taken place in the u.s.s.r. since the death of stalin. this series, especially the articles noted above, was a valuable resource i encountered early in my research. his synopsis of the pre-stalinist and stalinist periods compared with changes emerging during the khrushchev era gave me a good foundation in russian history from which i could understand the context of the agricultural exchanges., salisbury, harrison. “sees americans at work, eats cafeteria apple pie.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 1, 6., khruschev refuted a long-standing position of soviet propaganda by announcing that he drew no line of distinction between the american people and the american government. soviet propaganda had claimed that there was a vast difference between the views of ordinary americans and the views of the american government. khrushchev’s desire for friendship with the american people, i believe, was an outgrowth of his friendship with roswell garst whose brand of citizen diplomacy blurred the lines between public representative and private citizen., soth, lauren k. “if the russians want more meat” the des moines register, 10 february 1955., soth’s pulitzer prize winning editorial is often quoted in published material dealing with the beginnings of east-west agricultural exchange. i located this editorial as it originally appeared in the des moines register while looking through the iowa state university library’s microfilm files. soth wrote in a very casual voice, as if the russians were sitting across the kitchen table from him while talking about farming. this helped me understand the roots of the agricultural exchange involving roswell garst., stanford, neal. “eisenhower, khrushchev to swap visits.” the christian science monitor, 4 august 1959., “a new chapter in east-west diplomacy is opening,” stated stanford, who described the informal talks planned between eisenhower and khrushchev. this article underscored for me how important the encounters between garst and khrushchev had been in setting the stage for khrushchev’s historic visit to the united states and meetings with president eisenhower., “state department gets a lesson.” the cedar rapids gazette. 24 september 1959, editorial page., this unsigned editorial pointed out the different opinions regarding khrushchev’s visit to iowa. the writer quoted ambassador lodge as saying, “i never knew it would be like this. i’m learning an awful lot about this country myself on this tour.” government officials, i believe, often represent people they do not know. i share the editorial’s opinion that “one of the best things that could happen to some of our state department officials would be for them to share ambassador lodge’s discoveries by touring our country on their own sometime.”, comrade khrushchev and farmer garst: east-west encounters, state historical society of iowa special collections, iowa city, iowa. 25 march 2004., when i visited the state historical society special collections i viewed pictures taken while the first delegation of soviets was visiting iowa in response to lauren soth’s editorial in the des moines register. the photographs helped me see the importance that khrushchev placed on agriculture: he sent soviets to study american farming techniques, admitting american superiority in this area, and he allowed an exchange so that iowa farmers could visit the soviet union., strohm, john, nea special correspondent. “why is u.s. far ahead of russia in farming mr. k. seeks the answer.” kingsport times, 21 september 1959., strohm describes garst as the “one man who told khrushchev the truth about what’s wrong with soviet agriculture.” this article made me wonder if the soviets would have been so far behind in agriculture if their leaders had been able to tell the truth to the soviet premier. telling stalin unpopular news signed one’s death warrant. taubman’s biography of khrushchev described him as being surrounded by sycophants who were conditioned to tell the top soviet exactly what he wanted to heareven if it did not represent reality. this led khrushchev to make unwise decisions and implement ineffective reforms based on incorrect information. khrushchev’s agricultural failures contributed to his ouster., “war and ‘peace’as we stand.” newsweek. 14 september 1959: 31-37., in this article the author discusses nikita’s visit to the u.n and the effects of the laos situation on the world at the time. it also described the opposition to khrushchev and how that affected his power during this crisis. this article helped me to understand the immense pressure khrushchev was under at the time of his visit., wilson, richard. “‘highlight of trip,’ lodge tells garst.” the des moines register, 24 september 1959: 6., khrushchev’s visit made garst’s farm the most famous establishment of its kind in the world, wilson stated. “it was the place where soviet premier nikita s. khrushchev preached peace in the barnyard and living room and enjoyed himself immensely.” henry cabot lodge jr., khrushchev’s official host in america, told roswell garst that the day spent at his farm had been the highlight of the whole trip. lodge, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, admitted that he learned almost as much about midwestern life as did khrushchev. this gave credence to the garst quote i used on the first page of my paper: “we two farmers could settle the problems of the world faster than politicians.”, wilson, richard. “hope to keep red premier in good mood.” the des moines register, 22 september 1959: 1, 4., wilson’s article was a big help for me to see the misunderstandings and assumptions that our government had about khrushchev. the u.s. thought that nikita would not cooperate while he was in the united states, but those thoughts were totally wrong. escorts of the khrushchev party found out in a hurry that the delegation from the soviet union was here to work with us to learn about agriculture., wilson, richard. “ike asks courtesy to nikita: hopes visit will result in progress.” the des moines register, 11 september 1959: 1, 6., president eisenhower called upon the american people to receive khrushchev “with traditional american courtesy and dignity.” this article illustrates the complexity of working between two countries for peace. eisenhower had to go over many details with khrushchev before peace talks could even be arranged. having studied the reasons garst and khrushchev’s relationship worked so well, i could contrast the stiff, formal, “official” talks that would later take place., wilson, richard. “ike to meet plane, ride in 15-mile parade.” the des moines register, 15 september 1959: 1, 5., news of khrushchev’s arrival in the united states dominated the front page. his first stop would be in washington, d.c. for the first direct two-way discussion ever held between the president of the united states and the premier of the soviet union. after the talks, khrushchev would tour the united states before returning to camp david for continued talks with eisenhower. this helped me appreciate the significance of khrushchev’s historic trip., wilson, richard. “khrushchev rise causes u.s. concern.” the des moines register, 9 february 1955: 5., wilson stated that nikita s. khrushchev’s emergence as the “strong man of russia” caused great concern here over the future of soviet-american relations. this article helped me understand khrushchev’s mercurial ways; on one hand he was ominous and threatening, on the other he was peaceful and offered words of reassurance. americans, who were already drilling their children for nuclear attacks, were all the more alarmed at the news of khrushchev’s rise to power., wilson, richard. “nikita says he won’t go, crisis ends.” the des moines register, 21 september 1959: 1, 13., two days before coming to iowa, soviet premier nikita s. khrushchev was offended by his frosty reception in los angeles. khrushchev threatened to break off his visit and return immediately to moscow because he didn’t feel welcome in the hostile, anti-communist los angeles atmosphere. khrushchev declared, “if the u.s. wants war, russia is ready to meet the challenge.” this article helped me understand the volatile nature of the diplomatic relations between the u.s.s.r. and the united states, illustrating just how quickly khrushchev vacillated between positions of war and peace. it also helped me appreciate his friendship with roswell garstthey could argue and discuss matters in ways that diplomats could not., wilson, richard. “sees crumbling of cold war ice.” the des moines register, 17 september 1959: 1, 4, 11., under the banner headline, “russia hints policy shifts,” wilson described khrushchev’s statements about disarmament and the berlin issue that might indicate a shift in his position. to president eisenhower khrushchev said, “the ice of the cold war has not only shown a crack but has begun to crumble.” this article helped me comprehend why khrushchev came to the united states and what he hoped to gain from the venture., wilson, richard. “think nikita has altered u.s. opinion.” the des moines register, 27 september 1959: 3., wilson covered khrushchev’s entire 12 day visit to the united states. this article offers his analysis of khrushchev’s impact on the american public. before he came, americans saw khrushchev as oafish and rude. wilson described the “shocking impact” of the visit on american preconceptions of the soviet leader. the encounter allowed americans to see khrushchev’s intellectual sophistication in international politics, the quickness of his mind, and the ruthlessness of his wit. wilson’s viewpoint helped me develop my own analysis for this paper., wolfe, thomas. “official nerves to jangle in salute to khrushchev.” washington, d.c. post, 21 august 1959., a month before khrushchev’s trip to the u.s., nearly 300 cities, towns, organizations, clubs and individuals had submitted invitations requesting the soviet premier to visit. invitations arrived at the u.s. state department and soviet embassy every day. wolfe credited america’s unofficial corn belt ambassador to moscow, roswell garst, with starting it all when he invited khrushchev to see his coon rapids farm. this, for me, emphasized the significance of garst’s encounters with khrushchev., secondary sources, conquest, robert. “loudmouth.” the new yorker, 31 march 2003: 99, 100., this new yorker book review first introduced me to william taubman’s book, khrushchev: the man and his era. conquest offers a synopsis of the book and describes taubman’s work as the first comprehensive and scholarly biography of stalin’s successor, pointing out that such a book would not have been possible until recently since the research relies in part on countless pages of archival material that has emerged since the collapse of the soviet union., elbert, david. “historical farm will become resort site.” the des moines register, 3 may 1997: 1, 5., the garst farm that opened doors to soviet-u.s. relations rolled out its welcome mat to tourists in the summer of 1997. this article brought the garst farm to my attention as an historical site that i must visit in order to complete my research., graham, loren r. science in russia and the soviet union. cambridge: university of cambridge press, 1993., graham’s assessment of science in the soviet union contained a section on agriculture that explained why the soviets lagged behind the united states in agriculture, supporting the statement i make in the opening of my paper. the soviets collectivized agriculture based on the principle of socialist ownership and on the conviction that “the full potential of modern agricultural machinery could not be fulfilled as long as the land was divided into small private plots.” they sought a technological fix for an economic and social problem., grathwol, robert p. and donita m. moorhus. berlin and the american military: a cold war chronicle. new york: new york university press, 1999., the text of this book was very helpful to me when i was putting the events of the 1950s and 1960s in context. it helped me find out how khrushchev’s foreign policy blunders contributed to his eventual demise. this book also helped me prepare my timeline., “jfk: a presidency revealed.” history channel documentary produced by david taylor. a&e television networks: 2003., i saw this documentary on the history channel and then purchased the dvd set because it included never-before released source material including kennedy’s white house audiotapes and soviet footage from his sole superpower summit with premier nikita khrushchev. it helped me understand khrushchev’s preferred negotiation style: long unhurried conversations, as he had demonstrated with garst. this documentary illustrated how khrushchev was irritated by kennedy’s brusque and efficient manner., lee, harold. roswell garst: a biography. ames: iowa state university press, 1984., lee described roswell garst as an independent, strong-willed, free-spirited original thinker who had a major impact on east-west cooperation in agriculture. this first comprehensive biography of garst demonstrated his unique roll on the international stage. this book first introduced me to roswell garst and lee’s notes led me to garst’s papers at iowa state university in ames, iowa., lucas, marlene. “garst farm resorts in coon rapids opens doors to visitors.” the cedar rapids gazette, 4 october 1998: 1d, 12d., the gazette featured the garst farm in a series profiling iowa’s agriculture entrepreneurs who developed non-traditional ways to increase their incomes. proprietor liz garst makes sure that guests staying in her grandparents’ farmhouse know that it is more than a typical bed and breakfast; it is a piece of international history. this article provided me with the farm’s phone number, website, and email address., malcolm, andrew h. “coon rapids: unchanged since khrushchev.” the new york times. 23 may 1972., malcolm recalled that khrushchev’s visit to the garst farm was “12 summers, 13 falls, 13 winters, and 13 springs ago.” the article described the impact of the soviet premier’s 1959 visit, the one time coon rapids was plucked from obscurity. it demonstrated for me how garst, as a self-appointed agricultural missionary to the soviet union and eastern europe, also had a major impact on his hometown., muhm, don and virginia wadsley. “roswell garst.” iowans who made a difference: 150 years of agricultural progress. west des moines, iowa: iowa farm bureau federation, 1996: 80-82., the chapter describing roswell garst provided a brief, but very helpful, overview of his life and achievements. it helped me understand how garst’s role on the international stage was unique for his time. his selection for this volume underlines how important he was to iowa agricultural history., pins, kenneth. “fbi saw garst as ‘difficult,’ say secret files.” des moines register. 27 august 1989., pins described garst as a blunt-talking, globe-trotting, seed corn merchant who was an exasperating pain in the neck for the u.s. state department and the fbi during the cold war. garst berated agents that shadowed him, and accused the fbi of intercepting cables sent by his eastern bloc friends. this article led me to garst’s fbi file, released to the des moines register under the freedom of information act. the redacted file yielded more black ink than information., sloan, william david and laird b. anderson, eds. pulitzer prize editorials: america’s best writing 1917-2003. third edition. ames, iowa: iowa state university press, 2003., this volume included lauren soth’s editorial, “if the russians want more meat” which won the 1956 pulitzer prize. the editorial itself is a primary source, but i used this book for the commentary that it offered about the editorial. it also described the selection criteria for pulitzer prize editorials and explained how rare it is for an editorial to have a direct effect on a major public event, as soth’s did., taubman, william. khrushchev: the man and his era. new york: w.w. norton & company, 2003., this khrushchev biography, written by amherst college political science professor william taubman, describes the contradiction of khrushchev’s legacy. taubman’s book is a page turner that really got me caught up in the drama of soviet history. the author’s analysis helped me understand how khrushchev, who worked closely with stalin and approved many arrests and executions, eventually introduced reforms that led to the downfall of soviet communism., taubman, william, sergei khrushchev, and abbott gleason, eds. nikita khrushchev. new haven: yale university press, 2000., contributors to this volume of essays included russian, ukrainian, american, and british scholars; a former foreign policy aide to khrushchev; the executive secretary of a russian commission investigating soviet-era repressions, and khrushchev’s own son sergei. the collection describes how the spotlight once again fell on khrushchev in the late 1980s when gorbachev finally lifted the taboo on khrushchev’s name. comparing analysis in these essays helped balance older sources about khrushchev written before soviet-era archives were opened for study. especially helpful was anatolii strelianyi’s essay describing khrushchev’s role in agricultural reform and why many of these reforms failed., thomas, evan. “cold war: bluster before the fall.” newsweek, 15 september 2003: 10., thomas wrote this article a week before the russian government was to release documents related to the deliberations of the politburo from 1954 to 1964. these documents were expected to show prime minister nikita khrushchev and his comrades worrying about “planes that won’t fly and bread lines that won’t go away,” while at the same time taking risks that brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war they were not strong enough to fight. until the soviet union collapsed in the late 1980s, washington did not realize that the “evil empire” had long been rotting from within. roswell garst did, and i believe his efforts to strengthen their nation by helping the soviets develop better agriculture was truly a superior path to peace., weinberg, steve. “iowa state press collects best, history-changing writing.” the des moines register, undated clipping., this clipping led me to the book, pulitzer prize editorials: america’s best writing, 1917-2003. featured in this is lauren soth’s editorial, “if the russians want more meat.” the article also reproduced a des moines register file photo of khrushchev inspecting corn that i used in my paper., whitman, alden. “khrushchev’s human dimensions brought him to power and to his downfall.” obituary. new york times, 12 september 1971., i classified this as a secondary source because, in addition to notification of khrushchev’s death, the article offered a detailed history of the former soviet premier’s rise to power and causes for his downfall. the obituary was extremely helpful in putting events in khrushchev’s life in context and in developing my timeline (appendix i)., 1. john strohm, “why is u.s. far ahead of russia in farming mr. k seeks the answer.” kingsport times, 21 september 1959: 2., 2. kolkhozes, or collective farms, in theory were agricultural cooperativesa voluntary union of free peasants. in reality, collective farms were regimented, state-controlled operations into which peasants were forcibly herded and from which they were forbidden to leave., 3. nikita khrushchev, khrushchev in america (new york: crosscurrents press, 1960), 25., 4. “nikita down to earth at iowa farm.” mountain news (denver, co), 24 september 1959: 1., 5. william taubman, khrushchev: the man and his era (new york: w.w. norton & co.): 21., 6. “khrushchev story: how ‘dark horse’ took over,” des moines register, 9 february 1955: 1., 7. sergei khrushchev, interview by author, 4 december 2003. sergei accompanied his father to the united states in 1959. sergei explained that leonid brezhnev, khrushchev’s successor, halted his father’s agricultural reforms and that agricultural science in russia today is declining. “in russia today they import most of the food that they consume. they are selling oil and buying food.”, 8. sergei khrushchev, interview by author, 4 december 2003., 9. part of the reason the soviet economy lagged behind the united states was the communist system’s reliance on a command economy where the government told farmers and other workers how much to produce without regards to production capacity or how much was really needed., 10. lauren soth, “if the russians want more meat” the des moines register, 10 february 1955., 11. ibid. soth won the 1956 pulitzer prize for this editorial because of the impact it had on a major public eventencouraging exchanges between the u.s. and u.s.s.r. that helped thaw the chill that had developed between the two nations. after a soviet delegation visited iowa farms, soth toured the soviet union with an american delegation., 12. elizabeth “liz” garst (granddaughter of roswell and elizabeth garst), interview by author, coon rapids, iowa, 11 february 2004. sergei khrushchev confirmed this in my interview with him., 13. after extensive negotiations, the u.s. state department required that only scientists and agronomistsno politiciansbe included in the soviet delegation. their plane flew directly to des moines, never going near washington, d.c. the u.s. federal government wanted nothing to do with the initial agricultural exchange., 14. elizabeth “liz” garst, interview by author, coon rapids, iowa, 11 february 2004., 15. according to liz garst, the iowa farm bureau selected only small family farms with no hired labor for the soviets to tour in an effort to prove to them that 80-160 acre family farms were superior to soviet collective farms. “the smallest farms in the soviet union were at least 20,000 acres,” she explained. garst farms, totaling about 5,000 acres, were omitted from the tour even though they employed the latest technology in grain and livestock productionexactly what the soviets had come to see. roswell garst arranged to meet matskevitch at a reception and described his techniques to the soviet official. determined to see garst’s farm, matskevitch refused to accompany his delegation to the next day’s scheduled stop. instead, matskevitch accepted the ride garst provided to coon rapids., 16. harold lee, roswell garst: a biography (ames: iowa state university press, 1984), 183., 17. ibid, 186., 18. taubman, khrushchev: the man and his era, 372; lee, 189., 19. garst provided western correspondents the first news of khrushchev’s family. up until this point people in the west knew very little about nikita or his family. early newspaper coverage of khrushchev’s rise to power said the new leader was known to have been married, but it was not known if his wife was still living. khrushchev’s first wife died of hunger and exhaustion during the famine following the russian civil war. he divorced his second wife, and nina, his third wife, would later host agricultural delegations from the u.s. and accompany her husband to coon rapids. this represented a shift from stalin’s era when leaders’ wives and children were kept away from official events. family, under stalin, was a sign of weakness., 20. roswell garst letter to e. bensen, 12 december 1955, garst papers, iowa state university., 21. liz garst interview by author., 22. the garsts owned their home farm and managed many others., 23. lee, 200., 24. copies of garst’s fbi file are archived in the garst papers, iowa state university parks library, special collections. of the 205 pages in the file, 180 have been released under the freedom of information act. information on virtually all of those pages has been redacted. few words remain visible between thick lines of black ink., 25. the speech was a devastating attack on stalin and the former ruler’s abuse of power. moscow ordered soviet satellite governments to read khrushchev’s secret speech at their own party assemblies. a transcript of the speech was leaked to the west in 1956, but not published in the u.s.s.r. until 1989. in light of stalin’s crimes, many hungarians wanted to overthrow their government which in 1956 was still ruled by a stalinist hard-liner., 26. roswell garst, quoted in lee, 215., 27. roswell garst letter to nikita khrushchev, 8 february 1959, garst papers, iowa state university., 28. liz garst described both men as “quite gregarious and quite cantankerous. they were both showmen, and they were both very much peasants, neither of them were refined men. to tell you the truth, they were both kind of crude.” angry outbursts over their personal opinions of the arms race often interrupted agricultural discussions. garst could speak bluntly to khrushchev in a way that official diplomats could not., 29. khrushchev’s request to visit garst was the product of garst’s wife, elizabeth’s, invitation. she invited nikita and nina khrushchev to visit their home to reciprocate the khrushchev’s hospitality., 30. “iowa governor opposes visit by khrushchev,” minneapolis tribune, 23 august 1959., 31. richard orr, “iowa farmer bob garst has much to show nikita.” chicago sunday tribune, 13 september 1959., 32. khrushchev in america, 161., 33. liz garst recalled that they anticipated that 300 reporters might show up for the khrushchev visit, but estimates ranged from 1,500 to 3,000 were actually on site. “as my grandmother said, ‘the reporters were really much worse than the flies,'” liz described. reporters asked all the wrong questions, roswell garst had complained. “they were more interested in what mrs. garst was going to serve for lunch than what the exchange could do for world peace.” see “notes on the khrushchev visit” file. garst papers, iowa state university., 34. photographs of the luncheon displayed at the garst farm show that khrushchev shared a table with garst, henry cabot lodge (u.s. ambassador to the united nations who served as khrushchev’s official host in the united states), and adlai stevenson (illinois governor, u.s. senator, and 1952 democratic presidential nominee)., 35. sergei khrushchev, nikita khrushchev and the creation of a superpower (university park: pennsylvania state university press, 2000), 338., 36. fagan d. alder. “seed corn genius garst helped to pave way for historic session at camp david.” undated clipping. garst papers, iowa state university archives. box 84, file 4., 37. morgan beatty interview with nikita khrushchev. 23 september 1959. garst papers, isu., 38. liz garst reported that any profit roswell’s company made on selling seed to the soviet union was offset by cancellation of orders by u.s. farmers who refused to do business with a “commie sympathizer.”, 39. roswell garst responded this way to everyone who wrote to him prior to the khrushchev visit to his farm. eighty percent of the mail he received, garst estimated, expressed hope and confidence that tensions between the usa and u.s.s.r. would decrease as a result of this exchange. the rest contained bitter condemnations. garst papers, iowa state university., 40. committee on un-american activities, house of representatives, 86th congress. “the crimes of khrushchev: part i.” 4 september 1959., 41. henry a. kissinger, “the khrushchev visitdangers and hopes,” the new york times magazine, 6 september 1959: 5. kissinger, who later became secretary of state in the nixon administration, was associate director of the center for international studies at harvard university when he wrote this article., 42. richard wilson, “think nikita has altered u.s. opinion,” the des moines register, 27 september 1959: 3., 43. taubman, khrushchev: the man and his era, 13., 44. taubman, introduction xx., 45. economic restructuring., 46. openness..

By Stephen J. Frese

Could North Korea’s Kim visit Iowa, as Khrushchev did?

Trump administration should try farm diplomacy.

In 1955, this newspaper invited Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to send a delegation to Iowa “to get the lowdown on raising high quality cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens. We promise to hide none of our ‘secrets.’"

The Register’s Lauren Soth won a Pulitzer Prize in 1956 for that editorial, because the Kremlin took note. Exchanges of farmers followed, and hybrid seed-corn entrepreneur Roswell Garst met with Khrushchev in Moscow. And in 1959, Khrushchev shocked the world by accepting Garst’s invitation and visiting his Coon Rapids farm.

Ambassador Kenneth Quinn evoked the Khrushchev visit in a Register op-ed last month . Quinn, president of the World Food Prize, wrote: “With so few good options to defuse the current situation over North Korea's enhanced strategic capabilities, including possible nuclear-weaponized long-range missiles, using agriculture as a vehicle to reduce tensions would seem worth a try.”  

Quinn proposed that an international team of World Food Prize laureates visit North Korea to see how its agricultural production could be improved. “Based on an assessment this group might make, interested countries could contribute to a long-term program to bring new technology and enhanced agricultural productivity to the North Korean people over the next decade,” Quinn wrote. “And, perhaps, we might imagine North Korean scientists being invited to Des Moines to attend the annual World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue symposium and visiting Iowa farms.”

The positive response to the piece encouraged Quinn “to want to find a way to make it happen,” he said. He’s sent the op-ed to the U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, as well as the Chinese consul general. He hopes it will get attention in the State Department and Congress, and President Donald Trump could raise the issue when he visits China in November.

Would Trump take farm diplomacy seriously? Last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. was in direct communication with the government of North Korea. But Trump undercut him by tweeting he was “wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man.”

Other than our president’s bellicose stance, Quinn’s idea is not that far-fetched. After all, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s fiery rhetoric isn’t that different than Khrushchev’s “We will bury you” threat to the West.

And such exchanges are not without precedent. In February 2001, a delegation of five North Koreans, led by the deputy director of the nation’s agriculture ministry, visited Iowa.

The delegation spent seven weeks in the U.S., visiting Iowa State University and other universities and Heifer International in Arkansas, according to an article published in the American Friends Service Committee newsletter in spring 2001 . In Iowa, they visited the farm of Ellis and Winifred Standing of Earlham and, in typical Iowa fashion, enjoyed a potluck dinner at a small Quaker meeting house.

Winifred Standing has kept business cards from four of the North Koreans, but she hasn't corresponded with them. She recalls gathering around the Bear Creek meeting house's woodburning stove and visiting, with the help of an interpreter. She was impressed that the North Koreans turned to her father, Arnold Hoge, the oldest man in the group. "It was so obvious that they were respectful toward elderly people. They looked to him for answers," she said.

Ellis Standing's cousin, Herb, addressed the group: “We must tell people that it is not through missiles and bombs that we find security and peace, but rather through the one-on-one sharing with persons of different countries, cultures and experiences.” 

The trip occurred just after President George W. Bush took office and began taking a harder line toward North Korea. In 2002 he would portray the nation as part of the “axis of evil.” Relations never recovered.

Kim is trying to reform agriculture in his country, to some success . The country famously faced famine in the 1990s, but when Kim came to power in 2011, he vowed to end hunger. Ag production is rising, outside reports indicate . But food shortages remain, and experts believe the nation  must seek help from the outside world to improve productivity.

We have no diplomatic authority, just as the Register had none in 1955. Yet we extend an invitation to Kim to send a delegation to Iowa.

Or, Chairman Kim, visit Iowa yourself. We have a long history of welcoming people whom our national leaders declare as enemies, including Russians, Chinese, Cubans and yes, North Koreans.

We won’t exchange insults and we won’t discuss missiles. We’ll focus on corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, poultry, seed and soil. We might compare sauerkraut vs. kimchi recipes.

What Soth wrote 62 years ago about the Soviets applies again. Such a visit, he said, might shake Communist leaders’ “conviction that the United States wants war; it might even persuade them that there is a happier future in developing a high level of living than in this paralyzing race for more and more armaments.”

Of course, neither side's leaders “would dare to permit an adventure in human understanding of this sort,” Soth thought.

It seems just as unlikely today. And just as sensible.

The 1955 invitation

This is a reprint of Lauren Soth's Feb. 10, 1955, editorial in The Register inviting the Soviets to learn about U.S. agriculture. It was headlined, "If The Russians Want More Meat . . . "

Nikita Khrushchev, who seems to be the real boss of the Soviet Union now, signaled his emergence to power by a well-publicized speech before the central committee last month lambasting the performance of the Soviet economic managers. In this speech, Khrushchev especially attacked the management of agriculture. And in doing so, he took the rare line of praising the United States.

Khrushchev advocated the development of feed-livestock agriculture as in the United States. "Americans have succeeded in achieving a high level of animal husbandry," he said. He urged Soviet collective and state farms to plant hybrid corn to provide more feed for livestock. And he demanded an eightfold increase in corn production by 1960.

Speaking as an Iowan, living in the heart of the greatest feed-livestock area of the world, we wish to say that, for once, the Soviet leadership is talking sense. That's just what the Russian economy needs - more and better livestock so the Russian people can eat better.

We have no diplomatic authority of any kind, but we hereby extend an invitation to any delegation Khrushchev wants to select to come to Iowa to get the lowdown on raising high quality cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens. We promise to hide none of our "secrets." We will take the visiting delegation to Iowa's great agricultural experiment station at Ames, to some of the leading farmers of Iowa, to our livestock breeders, soil conservation experts and seed companies. Let the Russians see how we do it.

Furthermore, we would be glad to go to Russia with a delegation of Iowa farmers, agronomists, livestock specialists and other technical authorities. Everything we Iowans know about corn, other feed grains, forage crops, meat animals, and the dairy and poultry industries will be available to the Russians for the asking.

We ask nothing in return. We figure that more knowledge about the means to a good life in Russia can only benefit the world and us. It might even shake the Soviet leaders in their conviction that the United States wants war; it might even persuade them that there is a happier future in developing a high level of living than in this paralyzing race for more and more armaments.

Of course the Russians wouldn't do it. And we doubt that even our own government would dare to permit an adventure in human understanding of this sort. But it would make sense.

• Divisions and Offices
• Grants Search
• Manage Your Award
• NEH's Application Review Process
• Professional Development
• Grantee Communications Toolkit
• NEH Virtual Grant Workshops
• Awards & Honors
• American Tapestry
• Humanities Magazine
• NEH Resources for Native Communities
• Search Our Work
• Office of Communications
• Office of Congressional Affairs
• Office of Data and Evaluation
• Budget / Performance
• Contact NEH
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Human Resources
• Information Quality
• National Council on the Humanities
• Office of the Inspector General
• Privacy Program
• State and Jurisdictional Humanities Councils
• Office of the Chair
• NEH-DOI Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Partnership
• NEH Equity Action Plan
• GovDelivery

K60 celebration to mark Khrushchev’s 1959 visit to Garst farm

September 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the historic visit of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to the Coon Rapids farm of Roswell and Elizabeth Garst in rural Guthrie County.

To mark the occasion, the Whiterock Conservancy will host a daylong “K60” celebration Saturday, Sept. 28, with a series of public events taking place on the lawn of the Roswell and Elizabeth Garst Historic Farmhouse.

The anniversary event is produced in partnership with Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities .

• Latest Latest
• The West The West
• Sports Sports
• Opinion Opinion
• Magazine Magazine

IOWA FAMILY REFLECTS ON VISIT OF NIKITA AND `EVIL COMMIES'

By deseret news.

Mikhail Gorbachev's upcoming visit to the U.S. heartland has rekindled an Iowa family's memories of the day Nikita Khrushchev stopped by their farm and showed them Russians weren't necessarily "evil nasty commies."

It was Sept. 23, 1959, when the Soviet premier made the corn fields of Iowa a world stage for a show of warmth that marked the beginning of a thaw in superpower relations.Gorbachev has scheduled a visit to Minnesota on June 3 after his Washington summit with President Bush.

Arms reductions will be on the agenda for those talks, but U.S.-Soviet tensions today are small compared with the period of Khrushchev's visit to Roswell and Elizabeth Garst's farm. In those days, Americans were digging bomb shelters and schoolchildren practiced taking cover in the classroom.

Liz Garst was 8 when Khrushchev visited her grandfather's 2,500-acre farm. She remembers discussions among the town's 1,500 residents about how long it would take for radioactivity to drift to Coon Rapids if a bomb fell on the Strategic Air Command base at Omaha, Neb.

But she found the Soviet leader "kind of jolly. He smiled a lot. He wasn't scary." Khrushchev's wife, Nina, was "a very motherly woman" who was fluent in English, Garst said.

"These people were not evil nasty commies. They laughed and smiled. They let you sit on their lap," Garst said. "I'm glad it's happening again."

Garst, now chairwoman of a local bank, vividly recalls the excitement of the visit.

It was hardly a cozy gathering, however, with armed guards, an unruly press corps of 300 and a Soviet entourage of 80.

But it was a visit filled with symbolism.

At one point Khrushchev patted the bulging belly of 240-pound Donald Watkins and said, "That's what America is like," then roared with laughter.

The visit was "a signal that relations were warming," said Steven Hoch, a Russian historian at the University of Iowa. It launched Soviet efforts to improve farm productivity, which is still a problem: A dozen Soviet experts are living with Iowa farm families in a monthlong exchange to learn U.S. agricultural techniques.

Khrushchev Visit to Iowa (1959)

Description: Khrushchev’s 1959 tour of America was a whirlwind of improvisation, with the impetuous Soviet leader arguing with his hosts on the relative merits of the Soviet and American ways of life. His spontaneity often led them to the brink of diplomatic disaster, yet it also charmed his hosts and presented an entirely different version of their ideological opposite. Here he gives an impromptu press conference/lecture at the farm of his Iowa host, Roswell Garst. Source:

Comments are closed.

• Anti-Parasite Law
• Bulat Okudzhava
• Corn Campaign
• Fight Against Superstition
• First Cosmonaut
• Khrushchev on the Arts
• The Khrushchev Slums
• Moral Code of the Builder of Communism
• Novocherkassk Massacre

Garst Historic Farmhouse

Relax and take a step back in time (with all the modern conveniences) in the Roswell and Elizabeth Garst Historic Farmhouse site of the 1959 Cold War visit by Soviet Premiere Khrushchev. Spend the night in one of the six rooms of this historic house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or rent the whole house for a family getaway. Check-in is at 3pm and check-out is at 11am.

Subject to occupancy, guests may visit each of the individual rooms which are full of antiques and historical photographs .

ADDRESS: 1390 Hwy 141, Coon Rapids, IA 50058

Picnic table, lawn chairs, bonfire ring nearby

Fully-equipped kitchen with stove, refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot, charcoal grill, dishes and utensils

Air conditioning, linens & towels

WiFi available

No pets allowed

Coon Rapids to celebrate 60th anniversary of Nikita Krushchev’s visit

by Matt Kelley | Sep 26, 2019

Krushchev and Garst.

Sixty years ago this week, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev made his historic visit to the western Iowa farm of Roswell and Elizabeth Garst.

To mark the occasion, the Whiterock Conservanc y is hosting a daylong celebration Saturday on the lawn of the restored Garst farmhouse in Coon Rapids.

Daniel Gudahl, executive director of the conservancy, says Khrushchev’s visit was unprecedented and signaled a huge turning point in relations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. “That was a big deal because that was the height of the Cold War and people didn’t like Communists at that time, especially,” Gudahl says. “We’re celebrating that visit and all of the work that Roswell Garst did to promote what we call peace through corn.”

Recent renovations to the Garst farmhouse earned it the “Best Rural Preservation Project” from Preservation Iowa. Saturday morning, there will be tours of the house and grounds and a luncheon that includes local produce. “In the afternoon, we have a statue that’s going to be unveiled,” Gudahl says. “It’s called ‘Let Us Beat Our Swords Into Plowshares’ and it’s a copy of a statue that’s at the United Nations that was done by a famous Russian sculptor.”

The afternoon’s events will also include a talk by a presidential historian and tours of the farm, as well as what’s billed as a sustainable agricultural tour. Gudahl says it’s vital that people learn about and remember such a significant event as Khrushchev’s 1959 visit to an Iowa farm.

“We had a class come out from Iowa State last year. We were at the home farm and I asked how many knew who Nikita Khrushchev was. There were about 25 in the group and nobody raised their hand. Certainly, it is important that people understand the history of the Cold War and the relations we had with the Soviet Union.”

Garst, a seed corn pioneer, forged an unlikely friendship with Khrushchev, based on their mutual interest in agricultural technology and in growing food for hungry people.

Share this:

Search this site, recent news.

• Iowa legislature OKs merger for mental health, substance abuse treatment
• Expansion at Clear Lake’s Surf Ballroom to include music enrichment center
• Iowa judges’ pay among remaining state budget decisions
• March unemployment rate is down
• GOP lawmakers propose estimated $1 billion reduction in Iowa income taxes

Iowa State Daily

Fashion Week kicks off with Plant Potting Party and Trivia Tuesday

Smash room, free food, Central Campus movie headline new finals prep event

An end to homelessness is this lifetime: Professor talks causes of homelessness

• Haliburton to join the USA National Team at Paris Olympics
• Cyclones push to continue successful season at John McDonnell Invitational
• Sports Weekly Episode 81: Looking forward to the Spring Game

Practicing parody: The Onion head writer headlines First Amendment awareness effort

Riley Gaines shares pro-single-sex spaces message at university lecture series

StuGov passes appointments, confirmations including former President Jennifer Holliday as UROC senator

• Iowa State starts Utah trip with three-game series against BYU

Soviet leader’s visit to Iowa celebrated

David Livingston

August 25, 2009. Sushi by Panda Express.

Rashah Mcchesney August 26, 2009

On Sept. 23, 1959, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev visited Iowa State University. Fifty years later, Iowa is hosting a Khrushchev in Iowa conference. 

His visit, marked by protests and questions about his intentions, ran from Sept. 15–27 and took him on a tour including Hollywood, Iowa and Washington, D.C.

“I was very young, probably 12,” recalled John Davis, library assistant in the media department.

“My Dad took me out to the Des Moines airport to see him. I saw him through a chain link fence.”

Before coming to Iowa State, the Soviet Premier visited Des Moines and stayed in the Hotel Fort Des Moines on Sept. 22.

Associate Professor of Journalism and Communication Barbara Mack  said she very clearly remembered his visit in Des Moines.

Mack said her parents also took her to see Khrushchev but instead of taking her to the airport, they took her to stand in front of the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

“My mom and dad took me downtown to wait for what seemed like hours to see his motorcade come through downtown Des Moines,” Mack said. “They had shown me what he looked like in newspaper photographs and pointed him out to me to wave and he waved to the crowd and I waved back to him.”

Khrushchev’s visit served a multitude of purposes, said Tom Klobucar, lecturer in the political science department. However, the Iowa portion of his trip was specifically targeted to developing the Soviet Union agriculturally.

“He came here and he was so impressed by Iowa’s corn production that he decided that the Soviet Union should turn itself into a leading corn producer; and he actually earned a nickname of ‘KuKuruznik,’ which means corn man,” Klobucar said.

Although the Cold War had not yet fully taken hold of the world, Khrushchev’s visit was not an entirely peaceful one.

A group called the “Committee for Freedom of All Peoples” formed in early September of 1959 in response to the visit. The committee requested permission from Ames police for protection while staging a demonstration against Khrushchev when he arrived, according to an issue of the Iowa State Daily published on Sept. 12, 1959.

Klobucar said Khrushchev’s visit was part of a peaceful coexistence that the U.S.S.R. and U.S. was attempting during the ’60s.

“There’s that old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer,” Klobucar said. “I think these attempts at diplomatic contact between the Kennedy administration and Khrushchev’s were attempts to diffuse the nuclear situation.”

There was a growing fear of nuclear proliferation and eventual war, Klobucar said, and this visit served to reassure the American people by putting a personal face on a potential enemy.

Khrushchev’s interest in Iowa’s agriculture was one of several progressive ideologies that eventually got him kicked out of office, Klobucar said.

“Two things were happening at the time; the Western Countries were getting better and the Soviet Union was getting incrementally worse at producing Ag products,” he said. “This was because Stalin, in the ’ 30s, forcefully collectivized all of the farms in the Soviet Union and one of the things we learned by watching, and they learned by doing, was that collective farms simply do not produce as much as private ones.”

This attempt at reform for Russia’s agriculture system took a turn for the worse when droughts caused crop-shortage disasters. Khrushchev was eventually held responsible for these disasters.

“He wanted to develop the lands which they called the virgin lands, or the central plains, but the problem was that they were hit with a series of disasters. He was trying to grow corn in places that he couldn’t grow corn,” Klobucar said. “The visit to the United States, it did some positive things because it actually decreased some of the tension that was building between the two countries, but long term for him inside the Soviet Union it really contributed to his downfall.”

Mack said Khrushchev’s visit left an impression on her that was marred by the Cuban missile crisis of 1963.

“I clearly remember seeing this rotund, balding man get out of his car, smiling and waving to the crowd and being very affable. And it certainly came back to haunt me in October in 1963 and you thought, ‘My gosh how could that nice man who came to Iowa be thinking about launching a nuclear weapon,’” Mack recalled.

She said his visit wasn’t entirely friendly but people were excited to see him.

“There was this kind of caution if you will, this was a very cautionary approach. He was not welcomed here with open arms,” she said.

“There was suspicion, curiosity and fascination all woven together into a tapestry of public excitement.”

Schedule of Krushchev in Iowa

Khrushchev author presentation

7–8:30 p.m.

Sheslow Auditorium, Drake University, 2507 University Ave., Des Moines

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Khrushchev: The Man and His Era,” William Taubman, will give a presentation on the premier with commentary from Drake University President and Russianologist David Maxwell and Sergei Khrushchev, who was present on the 1959 visit.

The event is free.

Krushchev in Iowa Conference

1:30–5 p.m.

Hotel Fort Des Moines, 1000 Walnut St., Des Moines

Two simultaneous panels — Feeding a Hungry World and Citizen Diplomacy in U.S.-Russia Relations

$25 registration fee

Khrushchev in Iowa reception with cash bar

5:15–6:15 p.m.

Garst farm dedication at Whiterock Conservancy

9:45–11:00 a.m.

1390 Highway 141, Coon Rapids

Celebration of the entry of the Garst Farm into the National Register of Historic Places. Events will take place throughout the day, including live music, the play “Peace Through Corn” and a silage throw.

Your donation will support the student journalists of the Iowa State Daily. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment, send our student journalists to conferences and off-set their cost of living so they can continue to do best-in-the-nation work at the Iowa State Daily.

“Conversations with the Earth”: Monday Monologues for Earth Day

CODAC Spring Sale offers platform for student artists

Ames City Council presented final draft of Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan

Experience the magic of Reiman Gardens’ Spring Enchantment

The independent student newspaper of Iowa State and Ames since 1890

• Advertise with Us!

Comments (0)

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Agriculture in a Global World

How has agriculture in the american midwest evolved over time.

For thousands of years, Iowa’s rich soil has supported many different people who have called "the land between two rivers" home. Native American women planted corn, beans and squash in carefully cultivated gardens along Iowa’s rivers. When the sweet corn ripened in early August, the tribe celebrated. For the Meskwaki in Tama County, it was called the “the Green Corn Dance” and later became the starting point for the tribe’s famous pow wow.

Iowa's First Settlers Profit from Farmland

The eastern United States is mostly covered in forests. Pioneers moving westward knew how to carve out farms among the trees but did not have experience on the treeless Iowa prairies which covered 85 percent of central and western Iowa. They needed to learn how to plow up for the first time the tough roots that held the soil in place. The first settlers often planted wheat as their primary cash crop but discovered that corn was more profitable. While it was hard to market bulky wagon loads of grain, corn could be fed to hogs which could be driven to markets or butchered in the winter and transported frozen on sleds. Meat brought a better price than the grain itself.

In the second half of the 19th century, 1850 to 1900, Iowa farmers experience the rural side of the Industrial Revolution. John Deere, an Illinois blacksmith, invented a steel plow that would clean off the sticky prairie soil, unlike earlier iron plows that clogged and had to be scraped frequently. Horses replaced oxen as a source of power with the invention of new machinery. Hay rakes, mowers, corn planters and multi-row plows allowed one farmer to cultivate more acres than ever before. Production skyrocketed. When barbed wire allowed farmers to keep their animals contained, they began to import purebred livestock from Europe. They held fairs to compare their efforts in quality seed and animals. Refrigerated railroad cars permitted beef and pork to be slaughtered in Iowa and shipped to the growing cities of the east.

Science Propels Agricultural Practices Forward

After WWI (1917-1918), the gasoline engine began to make its way onto the farm to replace horses as the primary source of power. Tractors did not need to be fed when they were not working nor did farms have to devote fields to the cultivation of oats. Tractors came in larger and larger sizes and could plow and harvest fields much faster than horses could. At the same time, scientists began to promote the advantages of hybrid seed to produce bigger and better crops. Iowa-born Henry Wallace, later to become secretary of agriculture and vice president, was a co-founder of Pioneer Hybrid Seed that helped boost corn production across the Midwest. Iowa State University was a leader in the development of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers and teaching farmers how to use them that also contributed to a major boost in Iowa farm production. The ISU Extension Service placed a farm specialist and home economist in every Iowa county to make the entire state a classroom and to improve farm life.

Beginning in the 1960s, science jumped to a new level with new discoveries in genetics. Until then, farming had always been about improving the surroundings in which a plant grew — insuring adequate sunlight and water, eliminating weeds and improving the quality of the soil. Genetic engineering was something new. It went into the plant itself and gave it new directions on how to grow and to resist disease. Iowa’s Norman Borlaug took the new agriculture improvements to impoverished nations around the world. He was a leader of what has been called “the Green Revolution” to increase the world’s food supply. His work is estimated to have saved the lives of one billion people from starvation. In 1970, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Farm Families Decline in the Late 20th, Early 21st Century

Agriculture has faced many problems with these new developments. In the 20th century, 1900 to 1999, farmers could often produce more than the market could sell at a satisfactory price, and surpluses developed. When prices plunged as a result, farmers planted even more to maintain their incomes, creating even bigger surpluses. The federal government in the 1930s instituted programs to try to keep up prices for those farmers that would agree to reduce their production. In both WWI and WWII, farmers were encouraged to produce as much as they could to support the U.S. and its allies. Adjusting to peacetime created problems both times in the post-war world. Demand for farm products was strong in the 1970s, and once again, farmers geared up for top production. They borrowed money to buy larger equipment and paid more money to buy more land. In 1980, farm and farmland prices collapsed suddenly and many farmers could not meet their financial obligations. Many of them lost their farms. The small-town banks around the state that had lent them money also felt hard times. Many of them filed for bankruptcy. Merchants in small towns saw their sales drop, and many were forced to close their doors. The early years of the 1980s were called the "Farm Crisis," the worst times Iowa had experienced since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Since the first wave of new machinery in the late 1800s, farms have grown in size and the number of farms has decreased. Many rural Iowa counties had their highest population figures in the early 20th century, and have witnessed a gradual decline ever since. Losing students, rural schools were forced to consolidate into larger districts. Farm representation in the Iowa Legislature, once dominating everything else, was forced to yield seats to the growing urban cities.

On the other hand, the growth in numbers of families living in the country who are not farmers has grown. With good roads, cities now attract daily commuters from surrounding counties and beyond, blurring the lines between urban and rural. By any measure, however, Iowa agriculture is a power force in the economy and in the source of food for a hungry world.

Supporting Questions

How has farming in the american midwest changed over time.

• Letter from Giles S. Thomas to his Family, July 23, 1876 (Document)
• "The Crop Outlook" Newspaper Article, June 30, 1906 (Document)
• "1913 Farm Crops and their Value" Newspaper Article, May 14, 1914 (Document)
• Farm Family in the United States, between 1915 and 1923 (Image)
• Stacks of Sugarcane in Emmet County, Iowa, December 1936 (Image)
• USDA Crop Production 2015 Summary, January 2016 (Document)
• Lush Soybean Field on Dean and Julie Folkmann's Hog Farm in Newhall, Iowa, August 8, 2016 (Image)
• Rolling Country Road and Crops in Benton County, Iowa, August 8, 2016 (Image)

In what ways has Iowa played a leading role in agriculture on a global scale?

• Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev Visits Farms, Research Center in Iowa, 1959 (Video)
• Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev Visits Iowa, September 23, 1959 (Image)
• Iowa Hog Lift to Japan, 1960 (Image)
• "Food for Freedom" Church Women United Letter, 1966 (Document)
• "An Essay on the 80’s Des Moines: A World Food Center for the Nation," November 26, 1982 (Document)
• S.2250: Congressional Tribute to Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Act of 2006, December 14, 2006 (Document)
• "Vilsack Commemorates 50th Anniversary of the Iowa 'Hog Lift' in Yamanashi" Article, April 8, 2010 (Document)
• "Diplomatic Farmers: Iowans and the 1955 Agricultural Delegation to the Soviet Union," 2013 (Document)

Letter from Giles S. Thomas to His Family, July 23, 1876

Download Resource

Description

The letter is from Giles S. Thomas to the Thomas family on July 23, 1876. Giles Thomas describes the condition of a large number of different crops he is growing on his farm in Nebraska. He also discusses the condition of several different types of livestock.

"The Crop Outlook" Newspaper Article, June 30, 1906

"1913 Farm Crops and their Value" Newspaper Article, May 14, 1914

This 1914 newspaper article is from the Evening Times-Republican in Marshalltown, Iowa. The article has a table that shows many varieties of crops that are grown in Iowa, and it also discusses the yield and values of each of these common farm commodities.

Farm Family in the United States, between 1915 and 1923

The image shows a farm family that is tending to their crops on their farm sometime around 1915. There are several different crops being grown that can be seen in the photograph.

Stacks of Sugarcane in Emmet County, Iowa, December 1936

USDA Crop Production 2015 Summary, January 2016

Description 

Lush soybean field on dean and julie folkmann's hog farm in newhall, iowa, august 8, 2016.

Rolling Country Road and Crops in Benton County, Iowa, August 8, 2016

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev Visits Farms, Research Center in Iowa, 1959

This film shows the news footage of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's visit to Iowa in 1959. Film five focuses on Khrushchev at the Iowa State University Swine Nutrition Farm. It shows him seeing how hogs were raised from birth to market.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev Visits Iowa, September 23, 1959

Iowa Hog Lift to Japan, 1960

"Food for Freedom" Church Women United Letter, 1966

"An Essay on the 80’s Des Moines: A World Food Center for the Nation," November 26, 1982

S.2250: Congressional Tribute to Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Act of 2006, December 14, 2006

"Vilsack Commemorates 50th Anniversary of the Iowa 'Hog Lift' in Yamanashi" Article, April 8, 2010

"Diplomatic Farmers: Iowans and the 1955 Agricultural Delegation to the Soviet Union," 2013

Additional Resource:

• Living History Farms Learning Fields This web exhibit offers lesson plans about Iowa agriculture and additional resources to use in the classroom about the harvesting of crops and livestock in the state. 

Iowa Core Social Studies Standards (7th Grade)

Listed below are the Iowa Core Social Studies content anchor standards   that are best reflected in this source set. The content standards applied to this set are middle school-age level and encompass the key disciplines that make up social studies for seventh grade students.

• State Historical Society
• Iowa Humanities Council
• Mission & Strategic Plan
• Boards & Commissions
• Sponsorship Levels
• Gala Logistics & Accessibility
• Weddings & Receptions
• Facility Rental Details
• Employment & Internships
• Renovations
• Iowa's 175 Anniversary
• Iowa National Statuary Hall
• Other Funding Opportunities
• Field Assistance
• History Education
• Lifelong Learning
• Emergency Resources
• Local History Network
• Travel Iowa

About District 4

In 1937, the District 4 office was located at Fifth Avenue South and 16th Street in Denison and was originally known as District 3. It consisted of Carroll, Crawford, Ida, Monona, Sac, and Woodbury counties.  The first commanding officer for this District was Sergeant Everett Martin.  

When new districts were established in 1946, the present District 4 was formed.  It currently consists of Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie, Harrison, Monona and Shelby counties, with the District Headquarters residing in Denison. 

In 1990, the 74th Iowa General Assembly provided funding for the purchase of a pre-existing facility as the new headquarters for District 4.  This building is located on the east edge of Denison on Highway 30.  The building also has offices for the Department of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE) and State Fire Marshal (SFM) Divisions.

Over the years District 4, in addition to District 3, has responded to some of Iowa’s most devastating events, including the Floods of 2008 and The Little Sioux Boy Scout Ranch Tornado which killed four and injured 48.  District 4 personnel were also dispatched to eastern Iowa to assist with the historical flooding in Cedar Rapids.  District 4 personnel assisted with the response of the United Airlines Flight 232 crash in Sioux City in July 1989.  Security was provided during Russian Party Chairman Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to the Garst Seed Farms in Coon Rapids in September of 1959.  The troopers of District 4 assist at regularly scheduled events such as R.A.G.B.R.A.I., Iowa State University football games, Farm Progress Show and various small town summer celebrations and parades.

To date, only one trooper was killed while serving in District 4. On July 2, 1955, Trooper Ralph Garthwaite was killed in the line of duty by an intoxicated driver in a near-head on collision south of Dunlap. Two other officers from the district have had harrowing experiences while performing their duties.

In 1945, John Mahnke was kidnapped while patrolling in Crawford County. Mahnke was left chained to a furnace in a country school house in northern Iowa.

In January 1967, Donald Jenkins was wounded while trying to apprehend a suspect to investigate the passing of bad checks. He chased the suspects until their car spun out. As the patrolman stepped from his patrol car, they opened fire, hitting Jenkins in the leg twice.  One bullet shattered his leg. The three men were later apprehended by Lieutenant Austin Keller about seven miles from the scene of the shooting.

Iowa State Patrol District #4 3710 Hwy 30 E Denison IA 51442 712.263.4621