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An Iowa farmer stopped in Knoxville Friday to introduce a berry plant in support of healthy living. Andrew Pittz grows aronia berries in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Pittz is planting these bushes at locations in each of Iowa’s 99 counties.
He says aronia berries are the highest ranked berry in antioxidant levels by the USDA and are an alternative to super fruits. The planting events are being cosponsored by Hy-Vee, the Iowa Farm Bureau, and Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative. These bushes had been an endangered plant until the Pittz family began producing them in Iowa. You can see the bush on the east entrance into town – the intersection of Robinson and Main Streets.