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2005 Marketing and Food Systems Initiative Grants
[Return to Marketing Initiative page]
News release [2-8-05]
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Project Descriptions |
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The role of collaborative Community Supported Agriculture: A community, state and regional study |
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$13,429, 1 year, Cornelia Flora and Corry Bregendahl, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, ISU (M01-05)
This project will study the role played by for-profit, multi-producer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enterprises in strengthening local and regional food systems. Specifically, the study will determine whether collaborative CSAs in Iowa and the North Central U.S. region act as business incubators for single family-owned CSAs. The study also will examine how CSA business decisions and actions inform local agricultural entrepreneurs. Partners are central Iowa CSA producers, organizers, members, and the Iowa Network for Community Agriculture. Results will be used to encourage small-scale, rural enterprise at the community, state and regional levels.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
NCRCRD Research Brief, October 2006 [PDF]
More results from this project
 Cornelia Flora
(principal investigator) is the Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Sociology at Iowa State University and director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD). She has conducted ground-breaking sociological research on the impacts of human communities and the ecosystem, community processes, and gender and social institutions. Many of her articles have been used widely by nonprofit organizations that work with farmer groups, particularly in sustainable agriculture, to build stronger communities and a stronger economic base.
Corry Bregendahl is a research associate at the NCRCRD.
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Taste of place: Place-based foods in Iowa |
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$25,000, 1 year, Rachelle H. Saltzman, Iowa Arts Council, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs (M02-05)
This project will document a variety of place-based Iowa foods that connect the ecological production capacity of a region with the culture and traditions of its inhabitants. Five to 10 place-based Iowa foods will be identified that meet certain cultural, geographic and ecological criteria: ingredients must be or have been grown and/or processed in Iowa; the food must have some historical, ethnic, ecological or geographic heritage; and the food must have some kind of "story" related to it, which would make its Iowa connection clear. The unique "stories" from each of the state's major ecological regions may play a role in marketing those foods locally, regionally and nationally.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
Foods that tell the Iowa story [news release about
research results, March 2006]
 Rachelle H. Saltzman has been folklife coordinator for the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, for 10 years and is adjunct Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iowa. Saltzman has worked in the public sector for nearly 20 years with a large portion of that time spent documenting food folklore. Most recently, she has recorded Iowa food traditions for the public radio series Iowa Roots. In 1995 and 1996, she documented a variety of culinary stories and techniques for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Sesquicentennial Festival of Iowa Folklife. She has researched a range of ethnic food traditions in Iowa for a variety of grant-funded programs as well as century/family dairy farms in New York, forest products industries in northern Florida, and maritime traditions in Maryland. She is the author of numerous public folklore publications as well as peer-reviewed articles in the numerous journals and edited collections.
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Sustainable agriculture marketing, entrepreneurship and business planning skills |
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$22,750 for each of 2 years, Joe Starcevich, Indian Hills Community College (M03-05)
This project will complete the remaining curriculum for a new Land-Based Business/Entrepreneurship program at Indian Hills Community College in Centerville. The goal of that program is to help revitalize the area's rural economy by increasing opportunities for landowners to add value to their land or business, developing regional marketing strategies for locally produced foods, and integrating locally produced foods and farmers into southern Iowa tourism and commerce.
Project activities include: developing plots for instructional labs on campus and on the property of participating landowners; organizing a regional consortium of growers, processors and retailers; helping Area 15 vocational agriculture faculty integrate sustainable agriculture into the high school curriculum; and hosting a seminar series to raise awareness about local foods and regional marketing efforts.
Summary of research findings [PDF]
 Joe Starcevich
has been dean of the Centerville campus of Indian Hills Community College since August 2004. Prior to his appointment, he was elementary principal with the Centerville Community School District, superintendent of schools at the Lynnville-Sully and Fredericksburg school districts, and high school principal and athletic director at the Seymour Community School District. He is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Truman State University and Northwest Missouri State University.
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Pilot project to identify and measure the relevant costs of production for sustainable agricultural products |
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$16,000 over 2 years, Sue Ravenscroft and Mike Doran, ISU College of Business Department of Accounting (M04-05)
The goal of this project is to help sustainable agricultural producers better identify and measure their relevant costs of production. Investigators will work with producers identified in two related Leopold Center marketing projects (M17 and M18). They will analyze current costs of production and work with the producers to create cost models that will help them make more informed decisions about production and pricing.
 Sue Ravenscroft (principal investigator) is professor of accounting in the ISU College of Business. She came to ISU in 1998, after teaching at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) for ten years. She received the Excellence in Research Award at ISU (2000) and a similar award at EMU. Her research has been published in numerous journals and she is currently an associate editor for Issues in Accounting Education and serves on the editorial boards of five other publications.
Mike Doran (co-investigator) is associate professor of accounting in the ISU College of Business. His expertise is in financial accounting, reporting and disclosure, which he teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has taught a financial statement analysis course over the Iowa Communications Network in the College's Saturday MBA program, and received the Innovation in Teaching Award in 1996 and the Advisor of the Year Award from the College of Business in 1992.
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Small and midsize Iowa farmer training program: Marketing entrepreneurship and business planning skills |
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$26,000, 1 year, Ron Padavich, Strategic Marketing Services and Management and Professional Development Center, UNI (M06-05)
This project will develop a highly customized training program targeted to small and midsize farmers as well as off-farm ag-related entrepreneurs in northeast Iowa. Included will be business principles essential to identifying, starting and operating an ag-based business enterprise. Partners are the UNI Small Business Development Center and MyEntreNet, a rural-based business accelerator program that connects entrepreneurs with business resources in rural regions nationwide.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
 Ron Padavich has been the director of Strategic Marketing Services at the University of Northern Iowa since 1991 and has more than 25 years of business experience in the public and private sectors. He works with clients and manages projects in areas of marketing intelligence (research and analysis), strategic planning, marketing strategies, market segmentation and competitor analysis. He also teaches business management skills through UNI's Management and Professional Development Center.
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Reputational and environmental positioning as sources of competitive advantage for sustainable agricultural producers: Retailer-level effects |
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$27,000,1 year, Michael J. Barone and Tom DeCarlo, ISU College of Business Department of Marketing (M07-05)
In commoditized markets, the most efficient companies often are the ultimate winners, prompting many firms to employ strategies that favor bigger producers (e.g., emphasizing lower costs and higher volumes). However, an alternative approach for differentiating products involves reputational and environmental positioning strategies.
This project will look at the effects of producer size, environmental positioning and social positioning on restaurants and grocery retailers, who play a fundamental role in the assortment of food products to which consumers are exposed. Surveys will be distributed to managers of retailers that are relevant to sustainable agricultural producers. This research complements an earlier Leopold Center project on consumer-level perceptions.
Summary of research findings [PDF]
 Michael Barone (principal investigator) is associate professor of marketing in the ISU College of Business. His expertise is in consumer responses to advertising, consumer choice and new product strategies. His work has been published in numerous journals and he has received awards for both his teaching and research. He consults for various companies and organizations and has served as an expert witness for legal cases involving consumer behavior and marketing in general.
 Tom DeCarlo (co-principal investigator) joined the ISU faculty in 1993 and is now associate professor and ISU Business Analysis Faculty Scholar. His research interests in agriculture deal with strategic marketing issues facing producers, especially with smaller, independently-owned operations. His research projects include topics such as creating perceived differentiation in the face of physical product parity, assessing eco-label efficacy, and other consumer-based marketing projects dealing with sustainable agricultural issues.
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Community economic impact assessment for a multi-county local food system in northeast Iowa |
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$24,450 for each of 2 years, Kamyar Enshayan, Center for Energy and Environmental Education, UNI (M08-05)
This project will document the multiple economic impacts of a cluster of food and farm businesses such as direct-marketing farms, local vendors/suppliers of these farms and grocery stores and institutions that buy locally grown products. For example, data gathered will show the extent to which a vegetable farm with an orchard and an on-farm bakery contributes economically to the community through its payroll and trade with other local firms. The Crossroads Resource Center in Minnesota will collaborate on the project.
Project update
-- Economic assessment of the Black Hawk County
Region prepared by Ken Meter [PDF]
 Kamyar Enshayan is program manager for the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He directs these community-wide projects: "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" designed to make it easier for people to find locally grown food items; "Yard for Kids," a community health education program aimed at significantly reducing the use of lawn weed killers and reducing children's exposure to these toxins at schools, parks and home; and "UNI Energywi$e," that is working to cut energy waste on campus. He is an agricultural engineer and teaches environmental studies as an adjunct faculty member at UNI.
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Southwest Iowa institutional foods survey and producer training program |
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$18,500 over 2 years, Steve Adams, ISU Extension, Malvern (M12-05)
This project will determine the potential for locally grown products in southwest Iowa by surveying institutional food providers in an 10-county area. A second phase of the project will establish a network of existing organic or natural producers to create a delivery system for products, and to recruit new growers.
 Steve Adams
is an Iowa State University Extension community development specialist responsible for a 10-county area in southwest Iowa. He has more than 20 years of experience in business and community development specializing in recruitment/retention programs and community betterment projects including day care facilities, recreation centers, housing, historic preservation and landscaping/beautification projects. Prior to joining ISU Extension in 1999, he was director of the Red Oak Chamber of Commerce and held a similar position in Texas.
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Southwest Iowa Entrepreneurial Center: An achievable product-to-market business model for small/niche ag producers |
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$21,742, 1 year, Lynn Adams, ISU Extension, Corning (M13-05)
This project will bring together small ag producers who produce value-added food products and people in the food service sector to consider niche marketing opportunities, specifically for home-meal replacement businesses. Menus will be developed around locally raised, seasonal foods. It is hoped that the project also will strengthen the regional food system and lay groundwork for a network of producers to supply locally grown food products to small and medium-sized area institutions.
Summary of research findings [PDF]
 Lynn Adams is a community resource development specialist with Iowa State University Extension who provides counties in southwest Iowa with community and economic development expertise. Based in Adams County, she also operates a marketing firm that has worked with museums, industrial foundations, franchise-owned businesses and small businesses. She also works with the Southwest Iowa Coalition and a group of regional partners seeking to establish the regional Southwest Iowa Entrepreneurial Center.
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Development of a regional wine culture in Iowa |
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$14,950 over 2 years, Warren Johnson, Limestone Bluffs RC&D, Maquoketa (M14-05)
This project will research and create a geographically-based identity for grape and wine production in eastern Iowa. The investigator will work with grape growers and wineries in eastern Iowa to create the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the state and will document the economic impacts of wine tourism that may come with this designation. The project also will establish a wine trail to market the unique characteristics of the region.
Partners include the Mississippi Valley Grape Growers Association, the Sustainable Tourism and Environment Program at the University of Northern Iowa, Drake University Law School, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
 Warren Johnson is coordinator of the Limestone Bluffs RC&D, a nonprofit organization that serves six counties in eastern Iowa. For the past 10 years, he has worked with Limestone Bluffs to provide technical assistance in project development and implementation. He has a degree in agronomy from Iowa State University and has worked for the Soil Conservation Service, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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Economic viability of local food marketing for restaurant operations and growers/producers in Iowa |
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$39,672 over 2 years, Amit Sharma, ISU Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management Program (M17-05)
This project will investigate the economic costs, benefits and non-economic factors that influence restaurants to buy and producers to sell locally grown/produced foods. The investigator will look at whether locally purchased food can be developed into a competitive advantage for restaurants through increased market share and variable pricing strategies, identify economic implications for local growers/producers who wish to establish sustainable partnerships with local foodservice operations, and educate Iowa restauranteurs about the economic viability of local food puchasing. Included will be a survey of restaurant chefs, interviews with producers, and presentations at the annual Iowa Hospitality Association meeting and other events.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
 Amit Sharma is assistant professor with the ISU Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management Program. He teaches courses in strategic management, financial management, cost control and international tourism development. His research interests include the economic impact, competitivenss and financial aspects of hospitality and tourism businesses. He has been a consultant for the World Bank and worked with the hotel industry in East Africa.
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Using contracts to expand produce market opportunities |
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$39,072 over 2 years, Jason Ellis, ISU Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management Program (M18-05)
This project will work with focus groups to conduct a needs assessment that explores how contracts or marketing agreements can help producers manage the risk of increasing production while assuring foodservice operators of adequate supplies of quality produce. One of the project goals is to shorten the food chain and allow Iowa produce growers and foodservice operators to retain more of the food dollar.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
 Jason Ellis is project coordinator and extension specialist for the ISU Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management Program. His research interests include federal food safety applications and consumer acceptance of food.
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Growing Your Small Market Farm Business planning program |
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$19,600 for each of 2 years, Sharon Shafer, Iowa Small Business Development Center, Urbandale (M19-05)
This project will enhance the successful Grow Your Small Market Farm Business planning program that has trained 122 people from 49 farm businesses since it began in 2001. The program helps midsize and small, specialty niche farmers build their value-added business through writing a business plan, providing a year of one-on-one support, developing marketing materials, and training on Quick Books Pro. The grant will be used to recruit 26 businesses, expand the classroom offerings from 11 to 15 weeks, bring in a design expert for one day, and develop a newsletter for current and former participants.
Organizations involved with this program are the Iowa Small Business Development Center, the Business Network and Rural Community Economic Vitality Project of the ISU Sociology Department, Iowa Agricultural Development Authority, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Drake University Agricultural Law Center, Marshalltown Community College, Practical Farmers of Iowa and Iowa Network for Community Agriculture.
Sharon Shafer is director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Des Moines. She has directed other SBDCs in Iowa and has extensive marketing and public relations experience.
Read the latest newsletter
for project participants
[PDF]
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Development of resources for organic food processors in the state of Iowa |
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$24,400, 1 year, Sam Beattie, ISU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (M24-05)
This project will develop web-based resources for food processors who are interested in processing organically grown foods into finished products. While there are many resources available for sustainable and organic agricultural producers, resources are lacking for those who wish to process these materials according to certified organic and other processing-specific regulations. The grant also will fund a workshop for organic food processors in Iowa and surrounding states.
 Sam Beattie is a food safety and processing extension specialist for the ISU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. His background in organic food processing began in 1987 when he assisted Oregon Tilth in developing processing standards and inspection forms. He also has worked as an inspector and trainer.
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A proposal to use the conjoint market analysis tool to examine the factors that influence consumer attitudes toward beef products |
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$34,399, Brian Mennecke, Anthony Hendrickson and Anthony Townsend, Management Information Systems; and Dermot Hayes, Finance, ISU College of Business, and Steven Lonergan, ISU Animal Science (M27-05)
This study will examine the consumer decision-making process related to beef. Specifically, it will look at how much each attribute (organic, pasture-raised) is valued by consumers relative to other attributes such as appearance and taste. It is hoped that the results will yield useful information that will produce the greatest value for consumers and the optimum profitability for producers. The study will use focus groups and conjoint market analysis of web survey data.
 Brian Mennecke (principal investigator) is the Deans Faculty Fellow in Management Information Systems and an associate professor of management information systems in the ISU College of Business. His general teaching and research interests relate to the use of information systems in organizations and society, specifically to the use of geographic and location-based technologies by business organizations and industries. He also has studied the role of location services in mobile commerce, how individuals and groups communicate and make decisions, and the role of communication technologies in supporting teaching and learning. He is actively involved in teaching and consulting related to mobile commerce and geographic information systems (GIS).
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Developing an integrated research and outreach program for niche pork production |
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$25,000, 1 year, Gary Huber, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames (M28-05)
The goals of this project are to increase interaction among niche pork farmers, researchers and technical assistance providers on production issues facing farmers who raise hogs for niche pork markets; increase the abilities of niche pork farmers and farmer-owned niche pork companies to raise hogs needed for filling these markets; and increase the financial success and long-term viability of these farmers and companies. The investigator will work with key individuals and groups to develop, fund and deliver an integrated research and outreach program on niche pork production; and continue to facilitate the Pork Niche Market Working Group (PNMWG).
Collaborators include the Iowa Farm Business Association; Iowa Pork Industry Center; ISU Animal Science Department; ISU College of Agriculture; ISU College of Veterinary Medicine; ISU Department of Economics; ISU Extension; ISU Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine Department; Niman Ranch Pork Company; Organic Valley Family of Farms; University of Nebraska Animal Science Department; and Wholesome Harvest Organic Meat Company.
Summary of research findings [PDF]
 Gary Huber is a director of the Food Systems Program staff at Practical Farmers of Iowa. He is a certified instructor for the NxLeveL for Agricultural Entrepreneurs program and teaches marketing for specialty farmers. His work focuses on developing new markets for farmers and supporting farmers to successfully sell to these markets.
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Market Maker for Iowa |
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$25,000, 1 year, Craig Tordsen, ISU Extension
Value Added Agriculture Program (M29-05)
This project will develop a web-based marketing tool for
Iowa producers that is similar to the Market Maker program
developed by the University of Illinois Extension. Using the web
site, producers of value added agricultural products will be
able to find processors or markets in Iowa and Illinois. The
site also can be used by processors or markets to find producers
of value-added agricultural products, or by producers,
individuals, cooperatives, groups or networks to form even
broader networks.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
Go to
Iowa Market Maker web site
 Craig Tordsen is an extension value-added agriculture specialist at Iowa State University. In that role, he works with producer groups starting up value-added ag businesses. He most recently completed feasibility studies for a soybean food company, a winery cooperative, a short-line farm machinery manufacturer, a seed company producing eco-type flower and grass seed, a company producing a unique fertilizer product, several ethanol companies and a firm creating a soybean adhesive for use in the plywood manufacturing business.
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Organic, natural and grass-fed beef: Profitability and constraints to production in the midwestern United States |
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$31,850, 1 year, Margaret Smith, ISU Value Added Agriculture Program; John Lawrence, Iowa Beef Center, ISU (M30-05)
This project will determine the average costs of production to achieve current market grade standards for organic, natural and grass-fed beef, and the costs of transitioning to these production systems. As part of the project, investigators will develop a user-friendly computer spreadsheet tool that farmers can use to quickly evaluate the cost and return potential for these niche market products. They will identity 15 Iowa producers in each production system. They also plan to survey local direct marketers and current marketing companies and cooperatives across the United States to determine their projects' sales growth in the next 10 years.
 Margaret Smith (principal investigator) has spent 16 years with Iowa State University Extension in several positions. Her current work with Value-Added Extension includes an emphasis on local food systems, small-scale processing, and cooperative business development efforts. Past experience in the ISU Extension system includes serving as an area crop production specialist, water quality specialist and sustainable agriculture specialist and as a County Extension Education Director. She has also worked with subsistence farmers in southern Africa. She is co-manager of a 1000-acre organic farm where they produce food and feed-grade corn and soybeans, oats, barley, forages, beef cows, and market beef.
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Assessing the market potential for goat meat among recent immigrants to Siouxland |
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$8,727 over 2 years, Betty Wells and Hannah Lewis, ISU Department of Sociology (M33-05)
This project will assess the level and character of demand for goat meat among immigrants from the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America living in or near Sioux City. They will identify barriers and specify strategies that would increase the processing and marketing of goat meat; interview members of ethnic groups with similar diets; survey consumers at cultural festivals and immigration outreach clinics; and interview selected processors, grocers and restaurateurs, and goat meat producers experienced in marketing to immigrant communities. Investigators will work with a community advisory committee during the project and results will be presented at local events.
Summary of
research findings [PDF]
 Betty Wells (principal investigator) is professor and extension sociologist in the Department of Sociology at Iowa State University. Her expertise is in cross-cultural applications of community development programming, gender relations in agricultural organizations and institutions, and rural women's networks (local/bioregional, national and transnational). She is associate chair of the ISU Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture and has studied community food systems and women farmland owners. Hannah Lewis (co-principal investigator) is a research assistant and student in the ISU Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture.
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