Gregg and Liddy Hora were presented the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award Wednesday at the Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines.

“We’re pretty humbled,” Gregg Hora said Thursday evening.

“There are a lot of farm families that do what we do and that’s why this is so humbling,” he added.

He thanked the part-time workers on the family farm and the members of the Webster County Pork Producer whose support, he said, is essential

Gregg Hora said he and his wife did not know they had been nominated for the award. He said they were told in early December that they were going to receive it.

“It was a big surprise to Liddy and I,” he said.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig was on hand to honor the Horas.

“Gregg and Liddy take pride in helping people better understand that agriculture is about real people doing real work,” Naig said in a written statement. “By engaging with their neighbors, local businesses and their community, they help build trust and strengthen connections. Their commitment to advocacy, along with their focus on animal care, stewardship and community involvement, reflects the spirit of the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award. I am pleased to recognize Gregg and Liddy with this well-deserved honor.”

The Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award is made possible by a partnership of the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, The Big Show on WHO radio and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

The Hora farm includes up to 10,000 pigs on three sites, plus 1,800 acres where corn and soybeans are grown.

Gregg Hora said the livestock portion of the farm is a contract grower operation in which pigs weighing about 50 pounds are brought in and raised until they reach the market weight of about 280 pounds.

Liddy Hora balanced decades of both fulltime and parttime work off the farm while managing the farm’s books and tax preparations.

The three Hora children, Lindsay, Dan and Joe, have all worked on the farm. Joe Hora, who works for Channel Seeds, still regularly helps. The Horas have four grandsons ranging in age from 2 to 5 who have already visited the pig barns.

Gregg and Liddy Hora are longtime leaders and volunteers within the pork industry and their community. He has served as past president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association and continues to serve in leadership roles and committees, while also serving on the Iowa Farm Business Association board.

The family has been 40-year members of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. They are active members of the Webster County Pork Producers, helping with community grilling events and meat donations, and have been members of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Dodge for more than 40 years.

“The rewarding part is that we know that we are growing food to provide good wholesome food for people,” Gregg Hora said.