Marketing Resources

Profitability - High Tunnels - Food miles - Supply networks - Farm-to-institution - Climate change - Other links

Farmer profitablity

Leopold Center grants and funds have been used to develop these tools and resources for farmers looking at markets and profitability:

• Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Market Planner shows rates of demand for 80 crops, with settings for regions in/around Iowa, consumers by age group, various time frames and product mixes. Download the User's Guide [PDF].
• Produce Profitability Calculator is an online tool showing crop-by-crop comparisons of profitabiltiy for various food crops. Also read the User's Manual and a related publication, Contracting with Foodservices.
• Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Production Budgets show example costs/returns for 14 different fruit and vegetable crops commonly grown in Iowa. The worksheets have complementary spreadsheets, available from Ag Decision Maker.
• Alternative Enterprise Budgets is a series of worksheets with sample costs/returns and information to consider when adding additional enterprises to a farm operation. The series covers raspberries, dairy goats, Christmas trees, popcorn, bees, sheep, sorghum and sweet corn.

• IowaVegetables - An Iowa State University blog with updates on various aspects of vegetable production

• IowaProduce.org - ISU Extension website with information for commercial fruit and vegetable growers

High tunnels

• Tunnels to Tables is a multi-year project funded by the Leopold Center at Iowa State University Value Added Agriculture Extension. The project looked at growing high-value crops in the tunnels for profitability, and at three market distribution models for feasibility. Reports from this project:
  • Peppers - second year, first year
  • Brambles - second year, first year
  • Pole Beans
  • Greek oregano
  • Tomato
  • Pest Scouting
  • Three business models
  • Photo gallery with narration about the project
• Iowa High Tunnel Fruit and Vegetable Manual is a workbook for growers available in Spanish and English.
• Rainwater Catchment from a High Tunnel for Irrigation Use describes how to install a rainwater catchment system, based on work done with a Leopold Center competitve grant. Watch a video about this project.
• Vegetable Production Budgets for a High Tunnel provides detailed budget information for bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, herbs, lettuce and tomatoes.
• NRCS EQIP High Tunnels was developed by Drake University Ag Law Center to help producers negotiate the requirements of a federal program that offers them assistance to build high tunnels.

Food miles and food pathways

The Leopold Center has conducted a number of in-house research projects going back to 1999 on the concept of "food miles" and the way that our food systems work. The most commonly quoted paper was written in 2003, Checking the Food Odometer (link below), which showed that food items traveled an average of 1,494 miles from farm to point of sale.

• Is Local Food More Expensive? A Consumer Price Perspective on Local and Non-local Foods Purchased in Iowa
• Calculating Food Miles for a Multiple Ingredient Food Product
• Ecolabel Value Assessment Phase II: Consumer Perceptions of Local Foods
• Ecolabel Value Assessment: Consumer and Food Business Perceptions of Local Foods
• Checking the Food Odometer: Comparing Food Miles for Local versus Conventional Produce Sales to Iowa Institutions
• Grape Expectations: A Food System Perceptive on Redeveloping the Iowa Grape Industry
• How Far Do Your Fruit and Vegetables Travel?
• Food, Fuel and Freeways: An Iowa Perspective on How Far Food Travels, Fuel Usage and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Comparing Apples to Apples: An Iowa Perspecitve on Local Food Systems

Supply networks

• Making Value Chains Work: Best Practices for Success provides case histories and lessons learned by four working groups in Iowa.
• Transaction Cost Case Studies for Six Iowa Food Producers was part of a larger project that looked at several very small supply chain networks for local food.
• Analysis and Comparison of the Technical and Business Planning Needs of Iowa Farmers Marketing Directly to Consumers and Iowa Farmers Marketing through Supply Chains was a project of the Regional Food Systems Working Group.
• LTL Trucking Terms and Process Guide
• Supply Chain Options for Biobased Businesses also looked at several structures for new businesses related to the biofuel industry.
• Understanding National Food Supply Chains: Frozen Fruits and Vegetables
• Understanding national Food Supply Chains: Sausage Products
• Understanding National Food Supply Chains: Fresh Cut Pork

Farm-to-institution

• Frequently Asked Questions on Food Regulations for Small Market Food Producers
• What Producers Should Know About Selling to Local Foodservice Markets
• What Retail Foodservices Should Know When Purchasing Local Produce Directly from Farmers
• Buying Local Foods for Retail Foodservices
• On-farm Food Safety: Cleaning and Sanitizing Guide
• On-farm Food Safety: Food Handling Guide
• On-farm Food Safety: Guide to Good Agricultural Practices

Food, health and climate change

• Understanding Common Terms Used in Discussions about Climate Change and Agriculture
• Food, Fuel and the Future: Consumer Perceptions of Local Food, Food Safety and Climate Change in the Context of Rising Prices
• Assessing Fuel Efficiency and CO2 Emissions of Two Local Food Distribution Options in Iowa

Links we like

Regional Food Hub Resource Guide -- This is a 93-page guide to food hubs, businesses or organizations that connect producers with buyers by offering a suite of production, distribution and marketing services. It was developed by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service and a national food hub collaboration. Read about the food hub guide on this USDA blog.

On-Farm Food Safety Project - This is a national website funded by the USDA Risk Management Agency USDA to help growers develop their own food safety plan. Go to the website

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass - This online resource includes stories, pictures and videos about USDA's support for local and regional food systems in all 50 states using an interactive map. Or read the 80-page Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Guide [PDF].

Local Foods: From Farm to Food Service is a website links to presentations and resources for farmers, processors and distributors on food safety and other topics, maintained by ISU Extension and Outreach and the ISU hospitality management program. Go to the website

Farm to ISU is the local foods program at Iowa State University Dining. Find out how to sell to ISU here.

Grow Your Small Market Farm is a course that helps specialty producers develop a business plan. In 2012 it is offered in central Iowa and western Iowa. Go to website

Midwest Season Extension has resources for farmers in the upper Midwest including training videos. Go to the website

Iowa Food Coop facilitates the sale of Iowa-grown products, developed with a Leopold Center marketing grant. Go to the website

Selling to Institutions: An Iowa Farmer's Guide [PDF] is made available by the Drake Agricultural Law Center in Des Moines. Read the report [PDF]