2005 Marketing and Food Systems competitive grant
descriptions
The Leopold Center's Marketing and Food
Systems Initiative has awarded competitive grants for 19 new
projects that include development of place-based foods in
Iowa, business training for farmers interested in niche
markets, online resources for organic food processors and
consumer research on differentiated beef products.
The projects, which total nearly $400,000 for the first year
of work, represent a wide range of research, educational and
outreach efforts. They are the result of the initiative's
second call for preproposals issued in July 2004. Grants for
10 of the new projects are for one year, and the other nine
grants will run for two years.
Initiative leader Rich Pirog said the projects will help
Iowa farmers explore and understand a number of new and
emerging markets and determine those that will be most
profitable. He said many of the projects focus on a growing
interest in local, regional and place-based foods and the
economic opportunities that are created for farmers and
their rural communities.
"We're only beginning to see the potential for sales of
regionally grown food, specialty and place-based foods,"
Pirog said. "Some of these projects will lay the groundwork
for that to happen, and help document the impact of these
new markets."
One new project will document the impact of local foods in
eight northeast Iowa counties. The University of Northern
Iowa's Local Food Project will conduct case studies of the
impact created by at least 10 firms that have provided
locally grown or processed foods to restaurants,
institutions and retailers.
In eastern Iowa, the Limestone Bluffs Resource Conservation
and Development (RC&D) Area will use a grant to help grape
growers and wineries create the state's first grape-growing
region, or American Viticultural Area (AVA). The grant will
be used to collect information for the AVA application
process and to create a "wine trail" in cooperation with the
Iowa Department of Economic Development Tourism Office.
In addition to documenting the impacts of food sales, the
new round of marketing grants is targeted to help farmers
acquire the skills and training they need to compete in
these markets, Pirog said.
Indian Hills Community College in Centerville will receive a
two-year grant for its new Land-Based
Business/Entrepreneurship program, designed to help
revitalize the area's rural economy by increasing
opportunities for landowners and developing regional
marketing strategies for locally produced foods. Other
grants to the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and
the Iowa Small Business Development Center in Urbandale will
be used to offer workshops and seminars for farmers and
others interested in niche markets. Another project will
look at contracts to expand produce marketing opportunities
for farmers.
Three grants to the Iowa State University College of
Business target the development of new markets for
producers. One study will look at how consumers value
"organic beef" and "pasture-raised beef" relative to other
characteristics such as taste and appearance. A second
research project will look at the effects of producer size,
environmental positioning and social positioning on
restaurants and grocery retailers. A third project will
measure the relevant costs of production for farmers in
niche markets.
Grant descriptions and contact information for principal
investigators are on the Center's web site at:
www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketing_files/2005grants.htm.
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