Val Plagge, a Latimer farmer, received the 2014 Bob Joslin Excellence in Agriculture Award from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation last month, reports the Mason City Globe Gazette. The award honors a young farmer who demonstrates outstanding leadership qualities in Farm Bureau, agriculture and his or her community. Val and her husband, Ian, grow corn and soybeans and raise hogs. She also writes a popular blog, “Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids,” to educate others and share information about agriculture.