Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Completed Competitive Grant

In good company

Project ID: M2011-15

Abstract

Efforts by a group of southeast Iowa producers to create an aggregated marketing organization yielded mixed results.

Key Question: What would it take to form a group of producers who might act as one?

Findings: It would take a legal structure that every member bought into, an efficient mode of marketing and selling that covered transportation costs in the food mark-up, a group of like-minded individuals who really wanted (or needed) to make the project work and an administrator who was a creative problem-solver and sufficiently dedicated to the project.

Lead investigator: Jan Swinton, Pathfinders Resource Conservation and Development

Co-Investigator(s):

Elisabet Humble, Pathfinders Resource Conservation and Development (former)

Year of grant completion: 2012

This competitive grant project was part of the Leopold Center's Marketing Initiative.

Topics: Community-based food systems