Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Local Food and Farm Program

Projects  -  Activities  -  Team  -  Council  -  Plan  -  Resources  -  Contact

The Local Food and Farm Program is part of the Local Food and Farm Initiative (LFFI), established by the Iowa Legislature in 2011. The LFFI outlines broad goals of increasing the production, processing, distribution, marketing and consumption of local food.  Additionally, the Initiative outlines the need to increase the profitability and the number of jobs all along the local food chain. The Initiative created the Local Food and Farm Program to be delivered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

2012 RFP

The Local Food and Farm Program has issued a Request for Proposals for projects that will help the program meet its goals and lead to focus area outcomes. Any Iowa nonoprofit organizations, agency and/or educational institution is invited to submit a two- to three-page concept paper no later than 5 p.m., November 29, 2012. Activities and budgets are for one year beginning January 2013, with a maximum request of $10,000.

Details on what should be included, how to submit and other information are outlined in the 2012 RFP document [PDF].

Current projects and research

In FY2011, the Local Food and Farm Program funded these special projects:

kids in a cafeteria

  • Scaling Up Case Study, $5,000, Sally Worley, Practical Farmers of Iowa: This case study will include interviews of farmers and wholesale buyers in Iowa who are selling fruit and vegetables in wholesale markets. The project will include a report outlining some of the barriers and opportunities of these markets, and offer strategies to increase farmer success. Read the report [October 2012]
  • Working Together to Grow More: A Community-based Approach to Food Hub Development, $1,700, Prairie Winds Resource Conservation and Development, Inc., Garner, Iowa; and Jan Libbey, Healthy Harvest of North Iowa: Funds will be used to host an April 2012 workshop, Working Together to Grow More, in Mason City.
  • Harvest Our Potential On-farm Mentorship Program, $2,000, Leigh Adcock, Women, Food and Agriculture Network: Funds will be used to conduct WFAN's 2012 mentoring program that pairs new/beginning women farmers with established producers.
  • School Gardens at Kate Mitchell and One Unidentified Ames Elementary School, $9,470, Prairie Rivers of Iowa Resource Conservation and Development, Inc., Ames: Funds will be used to expand a pilot school garden program within the Ames Community School District. Read about this project [Summer 2012 Leopold Center newsletter]

Activities and workshops

  • Here's a final report from the first year of the Local Food and Farm Program. The report outlines areas of emphasis for the second year of the program.
  • The Local Food and Farm Program hosted the Iowa Local Food Summit on April 3, 2012. Read about the keynote speaker, David Dahlquist in the Leopold Center's summer 2012 newsletter. Event website [ISU conference services]
  • This preliminary report to the Iowa legislature describes the activities of the Local Food and Farm Program from September 2011 to mid-January 2012.

    fresh apples in bag

Program team

  • State coordinator, Craig Chase
    In addition to being the state coordinator, Craig is interim program leader for the Marketing and Food Systems Initiative at the Leopold Center, and a farm management specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach focusing on local food system development and alternative enterprise analysis. Craig has been devoting more time and energy to food systems and fruit and vegetable profitability from a producer viewpoint since 2004.
  • Business development/financial assistance, Andy Larson
    Andy is a program specialist in Small Farm Sustainability for ISU Extension and Outreach, where he works with small farmers and acreage owners in their pursuit of a sustainable living and a sustainable lifestyle. He also coordinates the SARE Professional Development Program in Iowa, which supports continuing education and advancement opportunities for key sustainable agriculture educators.
  • Food processing, Nick McCann
    Nick is a Region 4 Food Value Chains Coordinator for ISU Extension. He also was a graduate research assistant for the Leopold Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative while he earned his MBA in Operations Management and an MS in Sustainable Agriculture from ISU. His research and practical interest is working with small and midsize agricultural businesses to improve profitability, return on investment and cash flow. He currently works as the Region 4 Food Value Chain Coordinator for ISU Extension.
  • Food safety, Teresa Wiemerslage
    Teresa is the Program and Communications Coordinator for ISU Extension and Outreach in northeast Iowa. She coordinates the work of the Northeast Iowa Food & Farm Coalition (NIFF), including its Farm to School Chapter. She holds degrees in biology from South Dakota State University and plant pathology from Iowa State University, and lives on a fourth generation cowcalf operation along the Minnesota border where they finish 180 head of natural beef annually.
  • Beginning, transitioning and minority farmers, Jason Grimm
    Jason is the Food System Planner for Iowa Valley RC&D. Jason has degrees in landscape architecture and environmental studies from ISU, with an emphasis in regional and urban food system design and planning. Jason and his wife live in Coralville where they practice urban agriculture in their yard and work on their family’s small diversified farm south of Williamsburg, raising corn, alfalfa, small grains, black beans, produce, beef and poultry.
  • Assessing programs, Andrea Geary
    Andrea is the Local Food Program Manager at the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education. She currently serves as Iowa’s state coordinator for Buy Fresh Buy Local, co‐leads the Midwest Region of the National Farm to School Network, and coordinates the Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership.
  • Local food incentives, Lynn Heuss
    Lynn is the Local Food and Farm Program assistant coordinator, and a program coordinator at the Women, Food and Agriculture Network. At the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition she worked for the passage of the Farm to School legislation within the Child Nutrition Act. She also has worked with Buy Fresh Buy Local, the Farm to School National Network, and the Iowa Farmers Union, and recently was elected to serve on the board of the Tallgrass Cooperative Grocery.

Local Food and Farm Program Council

A local food and farm program council was established by the Initiative legislation to “advise the local food and farm program coordinator carrying out the purpose and goals of the {Initiative}”. The council consists of six members representing different aspects of Iowa’s local food systems. The Council includes:

  • Maury Wills, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship,
  • Rick Hartmann, Iowa Farmers Union,
  • Warren Johnson, Iowa League of RC&Ds of the Natural Resources Conservation Service,
  • Teresa Wiemerslage, local food industry (Northeast Iowa Food and Farm Coalition),
  • Andrea Geary, Regional Food Systems Working Group, and
  • Barb Ristau, Iowa Farmers Market Association.

Iowa Local Food and Farm Plancover of Iowa Local Food and Farm Plan

The Iowa legislature asked the Leopold Center to develop and submit a Food and Farm Plan with recommendations to create a more robust local and regional food and farm economy in the state.

More than 1,000 people from 95 of Iowa’s 99 counties contributed to the Iowa Local Food and Farm Plan. Information was gathered at workshops, 15 listening sessions throughout the state and two surveys. The draft recommendations were discussed with leaders of 21 state agencies, institutions and organizations.

More than 150 people attended an initial work session to discuss short- and long-term strategies that could be used to reduce obstacles in 10 agricultural sectors, including crop and livestock production; processing, distribution and aggregation; financial assistance; marketing and market venues; food safety and other regulations; beginning and underserved farmers; planning; and consumers. Discussion is summarized in this document  [PDF].

Recommendations address 12 issues that emerged from these discussions:

  1. Farmers, processors, and food entrepreneurs need access to affordable loans to start and grow businesses.
  2. Farmers, processors, and food entrepreneurs need incentives (such as tax credits, tax rebates, grants, and equipment cost-share programs) to supply markets.
  3. Existing and beginning farmers need access to land and water to initiate or expand operations.
  4. Farmers, processors, and food entrepreneurs need affordable and comprehensive insurance products to minimize risks in crop production, liability, and health.
  5. Existing and beginning farmers, processors, and food entrepreneurs need education and technical assistance to develop profitable enterprises.
  6. Small and mid-sized farmers need customized environmental and food safety regulations to be profitable, protect natural resources, and ensure food safety.
  7. Farmers and processors need access to a skilled, affordable, and reliable workforce.
  8. Iowa needs investment in aggregation, distribution, storage, and processing facilities (such as cold storage, packinghouses, and distribution warehouses) to reach existing and new markets with high-quality local food products.
  9. Iowa needs marketing networks for local food processors, food entrepreneurs, and farmers.
  10. Consumers need better access to local foods and more information about local foods.
  11. More coordination and data collection on the state of local foods is needed within and across organizations and agencies supplying technical assistance, financial assistance, and regulatory oversight to local food producers, processors, and entrepreneurs.
  12. Iowa needs innovative and creative ways beyond tax instruments and funding reallocation to pay for programs and assistance to build a strong local food business sector.

Resourcesgrowing lettuce in high tunnel

Who to contact

Coordinator: Craig Chase, cchase@iastate.edu  (515) 294-1854

Assistant Coordinator: Lynn Heuss, leheuss@iastate.edu  (515) 294-3711