Seed Savers Exchange invites visitors inside its historic barn during statewide tour
Heritage Farm stop featured on Iowa Barn Foundation’s free All-State Barn Tour, September 19–20
DECORAH, Iowa — Seed Savers Exchange will open the hayloft of its iconic barn at Heritage Farm to visitors during the Iowa Barn Foundation’s 26th Annual All-State Barn Tour, Saturday and Sunday, September 19–20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The free, self-guided tour offers visitors a rare opportunity to step inside historic barns across Iowa and experience the craftsmanship, agricultural heritage, and stories preserved within them. The Seed Savers Exchange barn is one of more than 100 featured statewide and one of several in Winneshiek County.
At Heritage Farm, visitors may explore the barn’s hayloft and learn more about Seed Savers Exchange, the Decorah-based nonprofit founded in 1975 to conserve and promote America’s culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations. Iowa Barn Foundation and Seed Savers Exchange information will be available in the hayloft.
“There’s something special about a well cared for Iowa barn,” said Mike Bollinger, executive director of Seed Savers Exchange. “Ours is still a working barn where we process seeds, host classes and even hold the occasional barn dance. Like the seeds we preserve, it reminds us that the things we value endure when people continue to care for them. We are delighted to open it up and welcome visitors during this special statewide celebration”
Constructed by Ralph and Maggie Halse between 1929 and 1930, the historic Gothic-arch barn was originally used as a dairy barn. Today, it remains an active part of Heritage Farm, serving as a central hub for processing seeds from tomatoes, peppers, melons, and other fleshy crops. Staff use the space to extract and ferment seeds and begin the drying process using screens and fans. The barn also hosts community events, continuing its long-standing role as a place for both doing agricultural work and gathering.
The Iowa Barn Foundation tour is the largest barn tour in the world. The 2026 tour features a record 107 stops, including historic round, octagonal, gambrel-roofed, and other distinctive barns. Iowa Barn Foundation member-donors make the tour possible.
Visitors should follow posted tour signage upon arrival at Heritage Farm.
Event details:
Saturday and Sunday, September 19–20
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Seed Savers Exchange Barn
3074 North Winn Road
Decorah, Iowa
Admission is free, and no registration is required.
Visitors can view the complete interactive tour guide and plan their route at iowabarnfoundation.org/barn-tours. For information about Seed Savers Exchange, visit seedsavers.mom.
We also encourage visitors to explore the Lillian Goldman Visitors Center. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from March through October, the visitors center offers hundreds of varieties of open-pollinated and heirloom seeds, gardening tools, books, and locally made gifts. Heritage Farm’s grounds are open from sunrise to sunset and include over nine miles of trails, display gardens, orchards, and a spring-fed trout stream.