The Iowa Cow Wars

 No, that's not a joke. 

Before I tell the story, I want to thank the author of the Instagram account, notesoniowa and website https://www.notesoniowa.com/  for his daily history lessons on Iowa. While I spent the first 25 years of my life in Iowa and thought I knew most of what makes Iowa great, I have learned a great deal from his daily posts. Please follow him on either account to enjoy learning more about Iowa.

So, the Iowa Cow Wars was posted on notesoniowa on September 21 and, of course, piqued my interest. In 1929, just as our nation was approaching the Great Depression, Iowa passed a law requiring all farmers to have their cattle tested for tuberculosis. Veterinarians were sent to test all cows and eradicate those that tested positive for tuberculosis. You can imagine the economic hit that would take to some farmers. It was estimated that for every cow lost, the farmer lost $130, not a small amount at the time. During the fall of 1931, and, with the aid of inaccurate information being disbursed to foment farmers, many became unwilling to cooperate and staged protests.

In late September 1931, these protests reached a head in Cedar County. When protests and pleading with the State Legislature didn't work, the angry farmers headed to Tipton, Iowa, where testing was taking place. Pitchforks, rocks, and other crude weapons were used by the farmers to face off with the veterinarians and their security.

Governor Turner sent about 1,000 National Guardsmen with machine guns to calm the situation. The last of the Guardsmen left in late November and testing continued. 

When I look at the newpapers where our ancestors lived (Dayton Review, Fort Dodge Messenger, etc.), I see nothing about the Cow Wars. A few short articles appeared in Hamilton County newspapers which included the Stratford area. But this lack of news attention leads me to believe that the farmers in Webster and Hamilton counties probably cooperated with the TB testing of their cows. Still, it's an interesting look at an important issue in Iowa when our ancestors were farming. At the very least, they would have been aware of the law, the disagreements, and the impact on their livelihoods.