New PFI director Robert Karp talks about Leopold Center partnership, new directions for farmer group

By Laura Miller, Newsletter editor

• Your grove produces some of the best hickory nuts around, and you have a bumper crop this year. Where can you sell them?

• You're a midsize conventional livestock producer and wonder about alternative markets that might pay a premium. Does it pay to make the transition?

• You're a small-scale market gardener and want to diversify by serving wholesale markets, such as upscale restaurants. But you don't see yourself as a good marketer. What should you do?

Such topics have been fodder for coffeeshop talk for years. This friendly forum may no longer be an option for many producers who are working second jobs, covering multi-farm operations or competing in a tight marketplace.

But there may be other avenues for advice, says Robert Karp, selected in February to be the first executive director of Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI). One of his first tasks has been to set a direction for PFI, which has worked closely with the Leopold Center throughout much of PFI's 15-year existence.

Marketing cooperators
One direction he would like to explore is the idea of marketing cooperators—farmers who have participated in alternative markets and are willing to share their experiences. With the support of a statewide network of marketing cooperators, Karp would like PFI to help at least 50 Iowa farmers each year find new market opportunities.

"Doing on-farm research with replicated trials is one way of gaining important knowledge, but there are other types of research we can learn from," Karp explains. "For example, when a farmer learns how to profitably sell pork raised in a hoop barn to a grocery store or at a farmers market, and keeps good records, it's a form of research that can have enormous value for other farmers."

Marketing cooperators could be patterned after PFI's successful and unique on-farm research program. Each year, 25 to 30 PFI farmer-members, called research cooperators, conduct trials and host field days that attract more than 1,000 visitors. On-farm research topics have included nitrogen application studies and hoop house-related issues such as composting waste and parasite control in livestock. Other cooperators have explored topics related to vegetable production such as controlling cucumber beetles, weed management and the effectiveness of weed flaming and various organic practices.

Karp would like to connect PFI's on-farm research more strongly with its food systems program and work in alternative market development. He said he feels that farmers need more help with business planning, market development and learning to cooperate effectively.

Formal partners since 1998
In February 1998, the Leopold Center signed a formal agreement with PFI to support a portion of its on-farm research and outreach program as a way to develop more integrated and effective sustainable agriculture practices in Iowa. The agreement provided $50,000 a year, to be reviewed after three years. In the upcoming year, both organizations are evaluating current programs.

"We're very grateful to the Leopold Center and we're also very excited about where our work together might go in the future," Karp says.

When the nonprofit organization was founded in 1985, most of the member-producers were innovators and early adopters of alternative methods of agriculture. "Now we are trying to address the needs of a wider circle of farmers," he adds, "and we need to be sure that all we have learned is readily available along with adequate technical assistance."

Ultimately, Karp said he sees PFI as a community that nurtures people's creativity and passion for farming, which can maintain people through tough times. He also sees an increasing number of non-farmers joining PFI because they can relate to the vision they have for Iowa agriculture.

"Our strength has always been in the wisdom and vision of our members throughout the state."

Title: Half-time executive director, Practical Farmers of Iowa. He also continues work with PFI's food systems program.

Educational background: BA in English Literature, MS (in process) in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Iowa State University.

Work experience: Helped organize the Magic Beanstalk, one of Iowa's first community supported agriculture enterprises, in 1995. Started and co-directed PFI's Field to Family project, from 1996 to 2000. Has also worked as a counselor, publisher, teacher and stage manager.

Family background: Born in Janesville, Wisconsin, grew up in Arizona, and returned to the Midwest in 1993.

Contact: (515) 233-3622, or email rkarp@isunet.net

Check the schedule for this summer's PFI Field Days and Community Days.

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