Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Completed Marketing & Food Systems Initiative Grants

Much of the food system development in Iowa over the past decade can be traced to partnerships and projects that have been supported by this initiative or associated working groups. The work addresses many challenges and covers many topics, reflecting the diversity of farmers and people involved in local and regional food systems.

The most recently completed projects are listed first. Click on the title to see the abstract, key findings and links to printable summaries of the project. For more details about a project than what is included in the project summary documents, contact the lead investigator (email address is in the longer project summary).

2006
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Grinnell Area Local Food System Initiative 2003-M01 2006
Web-based interactive decision model for determining economic feasibility of growing grapes and establishing a small winery for wine and grape juice 2004-M16 2006
Supporting direct meat marketing in Iowa 2004-M17 2006
Company environmental and societal positions as sources of competitive advantage 2005-M07 2006
Southwest Iowa Entrepreneurial Center: An achievable product-to-market business model for niche ag producers 2005-M13 2006
Developing an integrated research and outreach program for niche pork 2005-M28 2006
2007
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Life in Iowa Homecoming Institute 2003-M02 2007
Naming and graphing entrepreneurial and community based agriculture linkages 2004-M04 2007
The role of collaborative community supported agriculture: Lessons from Iowa 2005-M01 2007
Taste of Place: Place-based foods in Iowa 2005-M02 2007
Sustainable agriculture, marketing, entrepreneurship, and business planning skills 2005-M03 2007
Small/midsize Iowa farmer marketing, entrepreneurship, business planning training 2005-M06 2007
Development of a rural wine culture in Iowa 2005-M14 2007
Economic viability of local food marketing for Iowa restaurants, growers/producers 2005-M17 2007
Using contracts to expand produce market opportunities 2005-M18 2007
Market Maker for Iowa 2005-M29 2007
Assessing the market potential for goat meat among recent immigrants to Siouxland 2005-M33 2007
A survey of broilers from organic, free-range and conventional systems for cooked meat yields, composition, relative value 2006-M01 2007
Case studies and benchmark transaction costs for select food products 2006-M02 2007
Taste of Place Project, Phase II: Outreach 2006-M13 2007
2005
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Identification of plant residue with commercial potential as natural dyestuffs 2003-M6 2005
Supply chain options for biobased businesses 2004-M13 2005
Planning grant for expansion of Food Alliance ecolabel program in Iowa 2004-M14 2005
Local food capacity in north central Iowa: Nutritional need, economic strategy 2004-M21 2005
Company environmental and societal positions as sources of competitive advantage 2004-M5 2005
Documenting the costs and benefits of whole animal local meat purchases by three northeast Iowa institutions 2004-M6 2005
Assessing the market potential of specialty forest products in local food systems 2004-M8 2005
Market analysis of alternative crop production in Iowa 2004-M9 2005
2009
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Leveraging student expertise to solve food production marketing problems M2003-04 2009
Southwest Iowa institutional foods survey and producer training program M2005-12 2009
A study of the factors that influence consumer attitudes towards beef products using the conjoint market analysis tool M2005-27 2009
Functional quality management systems for livestock producers M2006-03 2009
Plan demonstration farm to include farm business incubator and educational use M2006-24 2009
Planning a facility for value-added farm business incubation and educational use M2006-25 2009
Organic agriculture program viability study M2007-03 2009
Effects of ambient temperature and transportation distances on the resulting pork quality M2007-13 2009
Strengthening the regional and local food systems in the Iowa Valley: Enhancing the sustainability of the University of Iowa food system, a Factor-10 approach M2007-22 2009
Researching and evaluating an effective web-based local food sales template M2007-31 2009
Investigating the feasibility of establishing food processing and distribution centers for western Iowa M2007-33 2009
Safe food handling practices on the farm: Meeting the needs of foodservice operations M2007-36 2009
Mapping biomass markets in Iowa M2008-04 2009
Community economic impact assessment for a multi-county local food system in northeast Iowa M2008-05 2009
Grinnell Area Petroleum Replacement Initiative, Phase 2 M2008-12 2009
Strengthening the local and regional food system in the Iowa Valley: Iowa Valley Regional Food Initiative M2008-17 2009
2008
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Pilot project to identify and measure the relevant costs of production for sustainable agriculture products M2004-05 2008
Business organization and coordination in niche hog marketing M2004-22 2008
Growing Your Small Market Farm Business Planning Program M2005-19 2008
Organic, natural and grass-fed beef: Profitability and constraints to production in the Midwestern United States M2005-30 2008
Bridging the gap: What does it take to bring small- and medium-sized producers and retail and foodservice distributors together? M2006-05 2008
Assessing needs and fostering agricultural entrepreneurship among immigrants in several Iowa communities M2006-07 2008
Investigation of the economic feasibility of pasture-based dairy operations in northwest Iowa M2006-09 2008
Determining the methods for measuring the economic and fiscal impacts associated with organic crop conversion in Iowa M2006-12 2008
New food entrepreneurs: Value added enterprises for farm profitability, facilitating understanding between producers, processors and policymakers M2006-23 2008
Development of a niche agriculture small business money map and process to disseminate information M2007-06 2008
Potential to operate greenhouses and aquaculture in conjunction with Iowa's ethanol plants M2007-08 2008
Cash flow and product profitability analysis and improvement for small meat processors M2007-16 2008
Strengthening the local and regional food system in the Iowa Valley M2007-17 2008
2010
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Strategies to stabilize locally grown produce for year-round sales: A feasibility study M2006-21 2010
Tunnels to tables: High tunnel production and distribution model for produce M2007-05 2010
Building a direct-to-consumer distribution system in Iowa M2007-19 2010
Is the meat goat enterprise profitable and sustainable? M2007-28 2010
Pottawattamie County Farm to Fork M2008-08 2010
New Farmer Jump Start Project M2008-14 2010
Adding a new generation to Iowa's sustainable farms M2008-15 2010
Strategies to effectively promote and market on-farm retail enterprises M2008-16 2010
Latino farmers and local multicultural food and marketing systems M2008-27 2010
Establishing an Iowa Microenterprise Foundation M2008-28 2010
2011
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Producer machinery and labor sharing arrangements workshops M2008-02 2011
Local food producer website workshops M2008-19 2011
Update of the Iowa Produce Market Potential Calculator website M2009-01 2011
Pottawattamie County Farm to Fork (Phase III) M2009-02 2011
Research and assistance in support of the Foodsheds in the Upper Midwest Initiative to measure the economic impacts of increased local food production and consumption M2009-07 2011
Routing foods into southeast Iowa M2009-10 2011
Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions from three dairy production systems in Iowa--conventional, grazing and combination conventional/grazing M2009-12 2011
Building student awareness and involvement in the Farm to ISU program M2009-14 2011
The actual cost of food systems on roadway infrastructure M2009-15 2011
High-tunnel resource manual and producer resource kit providing the tools for profitability M2009-16 2011
Experiential educational engagement with working groups and communities of practice M2009-18 2011
A food distribution network for the Northern Iowa Food and Farm Partnership M2009-19 2011
A feasibility study for the creation of a meat processing training program in Iowa M2009-28 2011
From farm to market in northwest Iowa M2010-01 2011
Building the Iowa wine culture through improved quality M2010-03 2011
Improving veterinary care for organic livestock producers M2010-05 2011
Assessing the business development strengths and needs of women and Latino farmers in Iowa M2010-07 2011
Transitioning the Pork Niche Market Working Group to self-sufficiency M2010-16 2011
Engaging community planners and local elected officials with local food systems producers to integrate local food systems into community plans and policies M2010-21 2011
Experiential educational engagement with working groups and communities of practice M2010-25 2011
2012
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Developing production, processing and marketing of aronia berries on small family farms in southeast Iowa M2009-05 2012
Building a food system framework to advance the health of Iowans - A blueprint for action M2010-02 2012
Mapping potential foodsheds in Iowa: A system optimization modeling approach M2010-04 2012
Impacts of GAPs and post-harvest handling practices certificate training on producers' on-farm food safety behaviors and perceptions of customer assurance M2010-14 2012
South Central Iowa Area Partnership, local foods network M2010-20 2012
Regional Flavors M2010-23 2012
Connecting family, community and health from a food system perspective M2010-30 2012
Iowa immigrant and refugee incubator farm program M2011-13 2012
In good company M2011-15 2012

See full list of completed Leopold Center competitive grants in all initiative areas.