Even if Iowa is generally not flat, the predominant landform being the rolling hills, much of the state surface is used for agriculture. In nowadays crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands (mostly pasture and hay) cover 30%, and forests cover 7%; urban areas and water cover another 1% each. As a result it is often viewed as a farming state, although in reality agriculture is a small portion of a diversified economy. This is undoubtedly a historical cliché, due to the fact that Iowa was a major agricultural producer after the 1850s and 1860s, when were introduced the railroads.
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