Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Fruit and Vegetable Working Group seeks proposals for 2009

Back to News Release Archive

February 4, 2009

NOTE: The deadline for applications has been extended to March 9, 2009

AMES, Iowa -- A new group that is working across the supply chain to make Iowa-grown fruit and vegetables more readily available is looking for innovative ideas for research and development projects in 2009.

The Fruit and Vegetable Working Group (FVWG) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for research ideas. The group, coordinated by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Iowa State University Extension, has set aside $12,000 for projects that address issues in one or more of the following areas:

  • Marketing/selling to institution/advertising and promotion
  • Post-harvest handling and quality control
  • Infrastructure development, aggregation, and distribution for wholesale marketing
  • Labor supply and management on fruit and vegetable farms
  • Risk management tools and strategies for produce growers
  • Educational, financial and other resources available for growers

Applications are due by March 2. Projects will be conducted in spring, summer and fall, with final reports due December 2009. The group will select one to three proposals for funding.

Questions can be directed to the group's co-leaders, Margaret Smith, mrgsmith@iastate.edu, or Malcolm Robertson, malcolmr@iastate.edu. The group's next meeting will be March 18 and is open to Iowa growers, buyers, processors and distributors.
 

For more info contact:

Malcolm Robertson, Leopold Center, (515) 294-1166, malcolmr@iastate.edu

Margaret Smith, ISU Value Added Agriculture Extension, (515) 294-0887, mrgsmith@iastate.edu

Laura Miller, Leopold Center Communications, (515) 294-5272, lwmiller@iastate.edu

Back to News Release Archive