Farm & food Business development
GROWING BUSINESS INNOVATION
Goal: To expand the number of socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable farm and food businesses in Iowa by providing technical assistance, investment, and policy development, with unique consideration of those who have been historically underserved.
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The business model driving our predominant food system puts Iowans and Iowa at risk.
Most of the food in Iowa’s grocery stores is grown and processed outside of the state, leaving Iowa’s citizens at risk to brittle supply chain disruptions like the Covid pandemic, natural disasters, conflicts, and economic turbulence (McGee, 2021).
Dependence upon food from outside the state denies Iowans the opportunity to develop economically viable and nutritionally-sound food and farming businesses.
Corporate consolidation of food production, processing, and distribution in the U.S. over the past 40 years has limited what food is grown, where, and by whom, and who gets to eat it (Howard, Hendrickson, 2021).
Iowa has networks of farmers, food businesses, institutional service providers, and nonprofits that are well-positioned to take food and farm business development to the next level.
Expanding current technical assistance and public and private investment to support “food business clusters”, “community food webs”, and “community-based, circular food systems” is an emergent strategy that holds promise. Clusters of product development feed into an interconnected web and the web supports a circular food system economy.
Attention to community health and well-being, minimizing waste, and protection of natural resources are all inherent parts of this business model.
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To achieve our goal of expanding the number of socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable farm and food businesses, we have determined that four strategies and associated actions are urgently needed.
Strategy 1: Establish a statewide farm and food system cluster development program or network.
Strategy 2: Implement a program of developing local/regional food system clusters in Iowa with unique consideration for involving people in historically underserved groups.
Strategy 3: Monitor the progress in cluster development.
Strategy 4: Identify and advocate for policy changes needed to advance local/regional food system clusters.
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Iowa Food & Farm Baseline Report (2024–2025)
This first-of-its-kind report maps and analyzes more than 1,400 Iowa farms and food businesses engaged in local and regional food systems. It establishes a foundation for tracking growth, identifying gaps, and informing future investments in Iowa’s food and farm economy. Read the Report > -
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• Modern Iowa agriculture is dominated by corn, soybeans, pork, and eggs, driven by export markets, contributing $88.3 billion to the economy and employing over 315,000 people.
• Smaller scale farming alternatives, such as farmers markets and CSAs, have grown due to local food demand, yet Iowa remains heavily reliant on national and global food supply chains.
• Community food webs are networked food supply chains that offer dynamic business development opportunities, but require unique business planning support.
• Read the Existing Conditions section in this chapter to learn about these and other important details about this priority.
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The Farm and Food Business priority team is dedicated to fostering expanded partnerships and creating space to support the outlined strategies. This team is currently led by Golden Hills Resource, Conservation, and Development, Harrisdale Homestead, and SE Iowa Community Food Web. We welcome the participation of others who are also playing a critical role in and who are interested in contributing to this work.
• Jamie Fowler - Golden Hills RC&D- jamie.fowler@goldenhillsrcd.org
• Bob Ferguson - SE Iowa Community Food Web - bob@fergusonleadersunlimited.com
• Gil Gillespie - Harrisdale Homestead - gwg2@cornell.edu
Participants in the Iowa Food System Coalition work together, rely upon each other, and hold one another accountable in the work to advance the priorities of the Iowa Food System Plan. Interested in working together to advance a thriving, equitable food system in Iowa? Fill out our Interest Form here.
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Relevant resources for practitioners across this priority area.
Beginning Farmer Resources (Practical Farmers of Iowa)
Farmer Development Initiative (Iowa Valley RC&D)
Photo: Early Morning Harvest has developed an on-farm store to feature their own diverse products along with a wide selection of products from other Midwest based producers. Source: Early Morning Harvest