Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Center marketing workshop attracts large crowd

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Nearly 200 people attended the Leopold Center’s Marketing and Food Systems Workshop March 11 in Ames. They learned about research on financing and managing niche enterprises, local food distribution networks and other emerging business opportunities for farmers.

The day’s events included presentations on more than 30 projects currently funded by the Center’s Marketing and Food Systems Initiative and the Value Chain Partnerships project.

“Since its inception in 2001, this initiative has worked to find marketing solutions for Iowa farmers,” said initiative leader Rich Pirog. “Between 2001 and 2008, there were 80 projects supported in this area.”

The Leopold Center also has become a national leader in marketing and food systems research, said Director Jerry DeWitt. He said a study conducted for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders shows the Leopold Center ranked ninth nationally in the amount of funds provided for sustainable agriculture and food systems projects between 2003 and 2006.

Headlining the workshop were reports from four working groups that focus on niche pork, local and regional foods, fruit and vegetable production, and small meat processing. Concurrent sessions looked at:

  • Financing niche agricultural businesses;
  • Fostering agricultural entrepreneurship in Iowa’s immigrant communities;
  • Economics of one of Iowa’s fastest growing ethnic markets for chevon, or goat meat;
  • Tools to help farmers succeed in niche markets;
  • Grass-based and organic dairy options;
  • Selling local food to colleges and universities;
  • Web-based local food ordering tools; and
  • Business planning programs for entrepreneurs and farmers.

In addition to summaries from several sessions that appear here, you can find materials from most of the workshop presenters on the Leopold Center web site.

Local food goes to college

Incorporating local foods into college dining can present challenges, but presentations from the University of Iowa and Iowa State University showed that it can be done.

Leah Wilson presented results from her project, Strengthening the Regional and Local Food Systems in the Iowa Valley. Her goal was to answer the question: How can we make the University of Iowa food system more sustainable? Wilson, from the Johnson County Local Food Alliance, organized a group of stakeholders to address the question. At this point their accomplishments include a five-year strategic plan and the development of a set of indicators for the university to move toward the sustainability of their food system.

At Iowa State University, the approach was slightly different. Sue DeBlieck, a student in the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, has been working with ISU Dining to add more local foods to offerings in residential dining halls, cafes, convenience stores and catering services on campus. The Farm to ISU program is celebrating its first year, which served as cause for reflection on how to improve the program.

Two challenges have been the difficulty finding local produce on the scale that ISU wants to purchase, and bringing awareness and appreciation of these local foods to campus. The Leopold Center funded five events that brought local food vendors and ISU Dining together, keeping the communication open to help resolve these issues. ISU Dining drew upon the talents of the College of Design, having art students create posters about the local vendors that were displayed across campus. From August 2007 through January 2008, ISU Dining spent more than $342,600 for produce, meat and dairy items from Iowa producers.

Building vibrant food systems

One of the simplest keys to building strong regional food systems may be to help consumers find local foods. Kamyar Enshayan from the University of Northern Iowa and Robin Gaines from Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly shared experiences from their project, “New Champions Expanded Scope.” The new Northern Iowa Food and Farm Partnership has been created to increase the availability and purchase of foods in the eight-county area surrounding Waterloo.

Knowing your community’s strengths is another good first step in enhancing the regional food system. Christine Taliga, from the Iowa Valley RC&D, shared initial data collected as part of her project in the Cedar Rapids area. Known as the Iowa Valley Regional Food Initiative, or I-Food, they first looked at what options already existed in the six-county area. The region includes the state’s second largest city, the state’s only Native American community and the largest Amish Mennonite settlement west of the Mississippi River. The region has about 7,000 farms, 12 percent of the state’s vegetable farmers and more than 360 acres in fruit production. Taliga said the group is interested in working with the Amish community on the benefits of organic meat, and food access also has been identified as a key issue.

Financial assistance for niche producers, food businesses

An overview of three projects, funded this year by the Leopold Center, showed that while the audiences and goals were not the same, all found a common message—help is out there for small businesses; they just need ways of finding it.

Verl Anders, from the ISU’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS), presented results from his project with small meat processors. The goal was to improve the financial viability of these firms by introducing processors to an Excel-based software program that helps track expenses and revenue. They conducted several workshops, exposing these small business owners to ways they can better manage costs. Anders has scheduled additional workshops throughout Iowa for new participants, and will follow up with past attendees.

Another presentation by Howard Van Auken, ISU Department of Finance, analyzed how small ag producers accessed capital for their businesses. He surveyed agencies that fund niche producers to determine who was being served and what funding criteria and technical assistance were provided. He then surveyed niche ag producers, asking about their sources of capital, funding agencies and technical assistance. He found that the relationship between potential funders and small producers was disjointed and that communication was lacking, thus making access to capital highly difficult to obtain.

Ron Prescott, ISU Department of Economics, presented an overview of his project that will help niche producers access capital. He discussed the establishment of the Iowa Foundation for Micro-business and Community Vitality. This foundation is still being developed with a roll-out set for July 2008. The organization will be a resource for micro-loans, technical assistance and networking among Iowa small businesses. It is the goal of the foundation to help build the capacity of high-risk businesses so that they become lower-risk businesses after six years.
 

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