Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

New guide reviews Iowa food marketing rules

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2012

Farmers who want to sell food products have a new resource to help them navigate the maze of rules and regulations.

Iowa Food Marketing Regulations: A Guide for Small-Scale Producers is now available on the Leopold Center website. It covers sales of locally raised fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, honey, eggs and dairy products.

The guide summarizes various licenses required to sell food in Iowa and state regulations that govern those sales. The rules are based on type of food, where it is sold, how it is processed, scale of operation and type of customer. The guide also directs readers to the appropriate agency or official who can answer specific questions about an operation or how to begin the process of obtaining each license.

“We receive many questions about food marketing rules and regulations, which are quite detailed and sometimes can be confusing,” said Craig Chase, who directs local food programs for the Leopold Center, Iowa State University Extension and the statewide Local Food and Farm Initiative. “This is by no means a substitute for legal advice, but it should help direct people to the appropriate departments and agencies for further discussions.”

The guide was developed over the past year and compiled by Tufts University graduate student Joanna Hamilton, a 2011 intern at the Leopold Center. All information was reviewed by a team of people who work with small-scale producers as well as officials that administer food marketing regulations in the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The guide is modeled after similar resources available in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2012