Leopold Center - New web tool explores potential produce markets

11-28-05

NEW WEB TOOL EXPLORES POTENTIAL PRODUCE MARKETS

AMES, Iowa -- Here's a fact for the holiday dinner table: Only 1 percent of the broccoli eaten in Iowa actually comes from an Iowa farm. The same can be said about cauliflower, sweet potatoes and many of the other 37 fruit and vegetable crops that can be grown in Iowa.

Now add this challenge: If Iowa's farmers could raise enough of those vegetables to supply 30 percent of those markets each year, they could generate annual sales of more than $6.2 million for broccoli, $1.7 million for cauliflower, and $2.4 million for sweet potatoes.

The new tool used to calculate these numbers is the Iowa Produce Market Potential Calculator. It was developed by the Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE) and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. It was designed to show markets that could be created if Iowa consumers ate more locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables rather than produce from conventional sources outside the state.

"This tool makes it easy to compare what Iowans eat to what Iowa farmers produce. We think it will be a valuable tool for farmers and other entrepreneurs to explore potential markets," said Rich Pirog, who leads the Leopold Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative. Pirog has worked with CTRE transportation engineer Randy Boeckenstedt and others to develop and refine the calculator over the past 18 months.

The calculator has an Iowa map that shows both statewide and county-by-county supply and demand for each of the 37 fruit and vegetable crops that can be grown in Iowa. Crops include tree fruits such as apples, pears and plums, several types of berries, melons, garlic, and a variety of vegetables such as asparagus, carrots, cabbage, green beans, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn and tomatoes.

Supply - where and how much of a certain crop is grown in Iowa - is based on information from the U.S. Census of Agriculture. Demand - or what Iowans eat - is based on national per capita consumption data.

The calculator can show results in a variety of weight-based units - pounds, bushels, even by one-ton, 10-ton or 20-ton truck loads. It also figures potential farm revenues if the local markets were fully realized.

"The calculator helps make the case for supporting infrastructure and incentives that would increase production and marketing of locally grown produce by showing the potential economic impact," Pirog said. "Keeping money in the state is desirable because money that leaves Iowa rarely finds its way back in."

Pirog said the calculator has generated a lot of interest during its development. He said he has had numerous requests from people who want to duplicate the model in other states. CTRE and the Leopold Center already are working on a more sophisticated version that can be adapted to regional and seasonal uses.

To see the Iowa Produce Market Potential Calculator, go to www.leopold.iastate.edu, and look under "Resources." First-time users should read the introductory page before attempting their own calculations. A demonstration takes users through a sample scenario on broccoli.

The tool also will be demonstrated during a Leopold Center Marketing and Food Systems Initiative workshop December 8 in Ames. The workshop is free, but registration is required at www.leopold.iastate.edu/workshop.htm.

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