Northey to visit Fairfield Thursday

DES MOINES ? Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced he will be visiting Van Buren, Jefferson and Washington counties on Thursday.

Northey will tour the Van Buren County?s quarry in Keosauqua, meet with Southeast Iowa soil conservation employees in Fairfield, speak to Rotary in Washington and then address the West Fork Crooked Creek Water Quality and Soil Health Initiative kickoff event in Washington.

The itinerary of Northey?s trip to southeast Iowa Thursday is as follows:

9 a.m. ? Tour the Van Buren County?s quarry, 20554 Highway 1, Keosauqua;

10:30 a.m. Speak to southeast Iowa soil conservation employees, Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 2606 W. Burlington Ave., Fairfield;

Noon ? Speak to Rotary, YMCA, 121 E. Main St., Washington;

2 p.m. Speak to the West Fork Crooked Creek Water Quality and Soil Health Initiative kickoff event, ISU Extension office, 2223 250th St., Washington.

Northey, a corn and soybean farmer from Spirit Lake, is serving his second term as Secretary of Agriculture. He said his priorities as Secretary of Agriculture are promoting the use of science and new technologies to better care for the state?s air, soil and water, and reaching out to tell the story of Iowa agriculture.