Only Four Places on Earth Have Better Soil Than Iowa

Time for some honesty: Iowa's neighbors like to talk a big game. In fact, many residents of these states have a favorite acronym "Idiots Out Walking Around." But sorry, Nebraska, you can’t farm a desert. And nice try, Illinois and Minnesota, but you’re playing for second place. The Midwest is full of neighborly pride, but when it comes to the ground beneath our feet, Iowa holds the ultimate trump card. The Hawkeye State doesn’t just beat its neighbors. We beat almost the entire planet.

Get our free mobile app

Iowa Has the Best Soil in the Entire United States

Credit: Canva

What makes Iowa’s dirt the best of the best in the US? It all comes down to the fact that the Hawkeye State basically won the lottery thousands of years ago. During the last Ice Age, colossal, slow moving glaciers ground down rocks into a nutrient-rich mineral dust called loess, which winds spread across much of the state. Loess Hills, anyone? Then came the next stage, which eventually gave Iowa the edge over the rest of the North American continent. The tallgrass prairie. The Iowa prairie grass would grow tall every year, die, and replenish that Loess soil with vital nutrients, making it even more impressive. By the time people arrived to farm the land, this new soil was second to none, at least on this hemisphere.

This dark and rich dirt is known as Tama loam, a type of soil so high in organic nutrients, and locking in moisture that farmers call it "black gold." While most places on Earth have topsoil measured in mere inches, parts of the Hawkeye state have soil that goes so deep, it's measured in feet. Because of all of this, crops in Iowa are allowed to grow to their maximum potential, needing far less artificial help to do so, unlike its less-fortunate neighbors, like, say, Nebraska?

Even though Iowa's topsoil is second-to-none in the USA, there are three other spots on planet earth that give the Hawkeye State a run for its money.

Credit: Canva

The Ukrainian Steppe: Often called the "Breadbasket of Europe," more than half of Ukraine is blanketed by a huge layer of Chernozem (literally translating to "black earth"). This legendary soil is so rich in organic matter and retains moisture so well that during World War II, invading forces actually loaded the soil onto trains to steal it by the ton.

Credit: Canva

The Pampas of Argentina: Stretching across the flat, fertile lowlands of Argentina, the Pampas region mirrors Iowa’s geological history with a thick, uninterrupted expanse of dark, nutrient-dense sediment. Its deep prairie structure and mild climate create an absolute powerhouse for grain production and world-class cattle grazing without requiring heavy intervention.

Credit: Canva

The Manchurian Plain of Northeast China: The final piece of land that's on-par with Iowa is a huge area, sprawling 135,000 square miles in Northeast China. This region has the same loess soil as the Hawkeye State, only a lot more of it. Created by centuries of decaying forest and grassland vegetation, its rich topsoil is so thick and dark that it accounts for a giant slice of China's entire agricultural output.