Pictured: Sec. Naig speaks to a group of roundtable participants at Kathy’s Flower Habit on Feb. 26, 2026
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig made several stops in the listening area today (Thursday), including tours of a local beef production operation and a roundtable discussion with greenhouse businesses. Each year, Naig visits each of Iowa’s 99 counties, and his tour today (Thursday) began with a stop in Lakeside in Buena Vista County, where he addressed attendees at the Citizens First National Bank Annual Insurance Meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Naig highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by the ag sector, efforts in D.C. to promote year-round E15, and more. He then traveled to Wall Lake and hosted a roundtable with local greenhouse, nursery, and cut flower businesses at Cathy’s Flower Habit. Sec. Naig used the more intimate environment to speak directly with these small business owners about promoting their products and services, and how the Choose Iowa program has helped them expand. Choose Iowa is a state initiative that promotes Iowa-grown and produced products to previously untapped markets. Naig’s final stop today (Thursday) was at the Vintage Beef Farm in Charter Oak. Vintage Beef was awarded a $20,000 Choose Iowa Grant in 2024 to convert a historic railroad depot into a community farm store, and Naig was there to see firsthand how those funds were put to use.
