Alva Review-Courier -

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Homestead farm is governed by a set of distinct ecosystems.

Like many other acreages across Iowa, the symbiotic relationships between soil, weather, farmers, seeds and pollinators produce the foods that make up our dinners.

But unlike so many other farms, the most important ecosystem at the Homestead is the one happening above ground, between people. It's the strength and expansion of the estate's emotional ecosystem that will be used to determine whether 2017's yield was up to par. And its smiles and fist bumps, not acres planted or crops harvested, that will dicta...