Chickasaw County Family Presented Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig presented a Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award to a Chickasaw County family last Thursday (04.02). 

That’s Joanne Tupper, who along with her husband Larry, operate Poppe Farms about six miles south of Ionia, where the family raises wean-to-finish hogs, and feeds cattle while also growing corn and soybeans. 

Poppe Farms began when Joanne’s parents, Edmund and Alma Poppe, purchased the home farm in 1952. Joanne’s brothers began farming with their father in the early 1970s. Larry and Joanne purchased her dad’s portion of the farm enterprise in 1988 and farmed alongside Joanne’s brothers until they began retiring in 2015. Something Joanne and Larry are also looking forward to.

Naig said the Tuppers epitomize the Wergin Good Neighbor Farm Award.

Naig is also very familiar with the Tupper family, including Joanne and Larry’s son, Michael, a former FFA State president.

Naig also saluted the Tuppers for creating a legacy that can be carried on by the next generations.

The Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award is made possible through a partnership between the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, The Big Show on WHO Radio, and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Now in its 22nd year, the award recognizes Iowa livestock farmers who take pride in caring for the environment and their livestock while also being good neighbors and community leaders.