In listening to Ed Kee speak, I realized just how big the world is. In being from Delaware, I have never been able to grasp what a “large state” might look like or what it is capable of. Attempting to grasp the pure size of not only crops but livestock production in the state of Iowa was eye opening. Iowa is huge. The only category in farming that it falls behind California in is cash farm receipts, but in all else it reigns supreme. Delaware has roughly 6,500 farmers according to Ed Kee, while Iowa on the other hand has 87,500 farmers. These farmers have the capability of farming 30.5 million, yes million, acres of farmland while Delaware farmers till roughly 490,000. By no means am I saying that Delaware needs to go bigger or needs to do more, because for anyone to have a job in the farming industry is something to be quite proud of, but Iowa’s capabilities blow my mind. Iowa harvests 13.1 million acres of corn, 9.8 million acres of soybeans, raises roughly 20.9 million hogs, along with producing 12.5 billion eggs in a years time. The pure numbers Iowa is able to put up not only makes heads turn, but feeds our nation and parts of the world. Yes, Delaware makes a difference on our coast, but by the information Ed Kee delivered to me shows that we aren’t the only big dogs running this empire.