Iowa is a state located within the Midwestern United States, a part normally called the "American Heartland." It derives its name from the Ioway people, amongst the various American Indian tribes that occupied Iowa State at the time of European exploration. Iowa State was a part of the French colony of New France. After the Louisiana Purchase, settlers laid the foundation for an economy based on agriculture in the heart of the Corn Belt. Iowa State is often known as the "Food Capital of the World." Then again, the culture, landscape and economy of Iowa are diverse.
The agriculture economy of Iowa transitioned during the latter half of the 20th century to a more diversified economy of advanced processing, manufacturing, financial services, biotechnology, and green energy production. The state of Iowa has a population of just over 3 million in 2010, and its capital and biggest city is Des Moines. The state of Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states in which to live.
Occasionally Iowa State is viewed as a farming state, although agriculture in reality is a small portion of the economy of the state. Biotechnology, manufacturing, insurance and finance services, and government services contribute substantially to the economy of Iowa. This economic diversity has helped Iowa State weather the late 2000s recession a lot better than nearly all of the states, with unemployment considerably lower as opposed to the rest of the country.
If the economy is measured by gross domestic product, in 2005 Iowa's GDP was around US $124 billion. If measured by gross state product, for the year 2005 it was US $113.5 billion. For the year 2006, its capita income was US $23,340.
Indirectly and directly, agriculture has always been a major factor of Iowa's economy. Nevertheless, the direct production and sale of raw agricultural products contributes only roughly 3.5% of Iowa's gross state product. The indirect part of agriculture within Iowa's economy could be measured in many ways, but its total impact, comprising agriculture-affiliated business, has been measured at 24.3% in terms of total output and 16.4% in terms of value added. This is lower compared to the economic impact within Iowa of non-farm manufacturing, that accounts for 26.5% of total output and 22.4% of total value added. The major agricultural outputs of Iowa State are corn, hogs, soybeans, oats, dairy products, cattle and eggs. The state of Iowa is the country's biggest producer of ethanol and corn and some years is the largest grower of soybeans too. In the year 2008, the 92,600 farms within the state of Iowa produced 19% of the nation's corn, 17% of the soybeans, 14% of the eggs and 30% of the hogs.
The major agricultural producers include Archer Daniels Midland, Ajinomoto, Cargill, Inc., Diamond V Mills, Garst Seed Company, Heartland Pork Enterprises, Monasato Company, Hy-Vee, Quaker Oats and Pioneer Hi-Bred International.