Local Food Systems
and the Local Food and
Farm Program
Craig Chase
ISUEO Specialist – Local Foods
LFFP Coordinator
LCSA MFSI Program Leader
Local Food System Quiz
1. It is estimated that Iowans spend how
many $billion on food each year?
a) $2 b) $8 c) $14 d) $21
2. What percent of local food purchased
is produced in Iowa?
a) 2% b) 6% c) 14% d) 26%
Local Food System Quiz
3. If Iowans ate and purchased locally 5
servings of fruit and vegetables per
day for 3 months, how much would it
add to the Iowa economy?
a) $165M b) $212M c) $287M d) $302M
4. How many jobs would it add to the
Iowa economy?
a) 1,015 b) 2,752 c) 4,094 d) 6,389
Local Food System Quiz
5. Iowa has how many of the following:
a. Farmers’ Markets? (114,226, 301, 349)
b. CSA farms? (41, 52, 93, 167)
c. Buy Fresh, Buy Local chapters? (11,19,27,40)
d. Farm to School chapters? (2, 4, 11, 15)
e. Regional Food System Working Groups?
(9,16,17,24)
f. Organizations, non-profits, etc. that serve as
local food resources (50, 65, 75, over 85)
Why Local?
Problem #1
• Who is going to farm and what are the
opportunities for a beginning farmer?
• Can most beginning farmers make a living with
a conventional C-Sb farming operation given…
– Current land prices
– Current machinery prices?
• What are the expectations that a beginning CSb conventional farmer can be large enough to
make a living?
Percent of Iowa Farmers Over 65 and Under 35 Years Old
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
1959
1964
1969
1974
1978
< 35
1982
1987
> 65
1992
1997
2002
2007
Farms and Sales by Sales Class in Iowa, 2007
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than $1,000 to $2,500 to $5,000 to $10,000 to $25,000 to $50,000 to $100,000 $250,000 $500,000 $1,000,000
$1,000
$2,499
$4,999
$9,999
$24,999
$49,999
$99,999
to
to
to
or more
$249,999 $499,999 $999,999
Farms
Sales
Local Food Systems Benefits
• Opportunity #1 – the capital costs for
beginning farmers is much less due to smaller
machinery and land base needed.
– Fruit and vegetable operations, along with niche
livestock offer an opportunity for beginning farmers
that want to farm, to be able to farm with less risk
and less capital outlay.
Problem #2
• With fewer farms surrounding small rural
communities, there are fewer young families
with children in school and fewer consumers to
purchase local merchandise resulting in
declining small rural communities.
• Declining communities lead to fewer
opportunities for non-farm kids to remain in the
communities they grew up in.
Local Food Systems Benefits
• Opportunity #2 – Development of local food
systems contributes jobs to the Iowa economy.
– According to Dave Swenson at ISU, if all Iowans
purchased locally 5 servings of fruits and
vegetables for 3 months, $302 million in economic
activity would accrue along with the creation of
4,094 jobs.
– According to a recent USDA study, for every $1M
in local produce sales, 13 FTE on-farm jobs are
created.
Problem #3
• There are changes occurring to the global
climate resulting in wider swings in
temperatures and weather events (droughts,
floods, etc.) due to increases in greenhouse
gases.
• Non-renewable energy supplies are
decreasing and prices are more sensitive to
supply swings.
Local Food Systems Benefits
• Opportunity #3 – Local food systems offers the
potential to lower greenhouse gases and fuel
usage through a more regional distribution
system than the global system that is currently
in place.
Problem #4
• One third of U. S. children are obese or overweight.
Over the past three decades, obesity rates have
doubled in 6-11 year olds and tripled in 12-19 year
olds.
• Obese children are more likely to develop Type 2
Diabetes, high blood pressure and high blood lipids.
1 in 3 children born in 2000 will be diabetic in their
lifetime (CDC).
• Our children will be the first generation to have a life
expectancy shorter than their parents.
Local Food Systems Benefits
• Opportunity #4 - Promote healthier eating
habits
– Students: Regular access to healthy food has been
proven to be one of the strongest predictors of
improved school performance
– Food Service: school meal participation average
increase +9%
– Farmers: market diversification
– Economy: 1.87 economic multiplier
Why Now?
Local Food Systems Interest
• Interest is increasing rapidly because of the
benefits of local food system development
• Local food can add diversity to Iowa’s
agricultural landscape
Local Food Systems Interest
INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL DISTRICT
•Spent almost $7000 on local food for school meals in the 09-10 school year
•Successfully put in a brand new school garden in May 2010, named "Mustang Roots n'
Shoots" by a student vote
•Mobilized community volunteers during summer 2010 to help preserve local
strawberries for use during the school year
•Kelly Crossley, Independence’s Food Service Director, presented about her farm to
school program to a group of Iowa food service workers at NIFFP’s Farm to School
workshop in April
•Independence was one of 9 out of over 300 national applicants selected by the
USDA’s farm to school tactical as a site to visit to learn more about implementing Farm
to School programs across the country
•Seventh graders participated in a field trip to a nearby dairy to get an up close look at
where local milk and cheese come from
•A first grade class was visited by a local dairy farmer, who entertained and educated
students with a mozzarella cheese making demonstration
Response from Iowa State University
• The Leopold Center along with the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences entered into a 3yr agreement in the summer of 2010.
• Agreement enabled Ajay Nair and Joe Hannan
(horticulturalists) to be hired and Craig Chase
(farm management) to be reassigned.
• Purpose – increase research and outreach
related to fruits and vegetable production and
profitability.
Response from Iowa State University
• In September 2010 ISU Extension and Outreach
began the following:
– Develop an Extension-wide Plan of Work.
– Inventory activities and aggregate outcomes related
to food system work.
– Obtain grant dollars to develop in-service training for
all ISU employees.
– Develop interdisciplinary teams to increase likelihood
of receiving larger grants (e.g., Sustainable Food
Systems to Improve Food Security).
Response from the LCSA
• Marketing Food Systems Initiative.
– 16 Regional Food System Working Groups covering
83 counties in Iowa.
– Support for various other working groups (grassbased livestock, pork-niche, energy,…).
– Grant funding – approximately $200K new funding
per year (6-8 new grants).
– Development of resources (Growers manual,
Learning about Local, etc.).
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
• Enhance Networks and Partners
– Practical Farmers of Iowa
• Young and beginning farmers is a growth area; most
farmers are producing food.
– Iowa Food System Council
• Diverse group of individuals and organizations focused
on finding common ground and developing partnerships
to address food system issues.
– Iowa Innovation Council
• Food is one of their targeted economic development
areas.
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
• Networks and Partners
– Sysco of Iowa – working with Primus and others
regarding GAPs training and audits.
– Hy-Vee – working on GAPs training and other
barriers for producers.
– Luther College, ISU Dining, UNI Dining, and others
– working on barriers for food to institution.
– Malcolm Price, Independence, … and others –
working on barriers for farm to school.
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
• Networks and Partners
– GROWN Locally – working on GAPs training, food
hub development, producer manuals.
– Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D)
districts. Many of these have local food
coordinators.
– In total over 85 organizations and individuals are
working on local food projects (Learning About
Local).
Response from the Legislature
• Iowa Local Food and Farm Plan was a response
to increasing consumer demand for local food.
– Requested by Iowa legislature in 2010, presented in
January 2011.
– 29 operational recommendations / six sections:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Business development and financial assistance
Processing
Food safety
Beginning, minority, and transitioning farmers
Assessing progress
Local food incentives.
Response from the Legislature
• Local Food and Farm Initiative passed legislation
(based on Plan).
• Initiated Coordinator and Advisory Council.
• Preliminary report due February 2012, final report
due June 2012.
• 6 section leaders to assess progress, identify
barriers, and outline next steps for each
recommendation.
• Identify projects to fund based on section leader
findings and recommendations.
Progress – Based on ILFFP
• Business development and financial assistance
– Implementation of 4-6 food business projects
• Food hub, shared-use kitchen, other ideas
– Iowa Small Business Loan Program extension
– Local food development training for lenders
• Processing
– Expanding education for small meat processors
Progress
• Food Safety
– Offering recurring GAP training.
– Offering food safety audit cost-share program.
– Food regulations publication is underway.
– Producer manual for post-harvest handling is
completed.
– Producer was added to Iowa Department of
Inspections and Appeals Food Safety Task Force
Progress
• Beginning, minority, transitioning farmers
– Surveys are underway to determine the number of
organizations working in this area and programs
currently being offered.
– Initial findings indicate a wide range of programs,
but limited programming related to optimizing labor
and farmers working together to aggregate supply.
Progress
• Assessing progress
– Different organizations and grant programs are
seeking consistency with measuring local food
purchases and sales.
– Data base development for identification of
producers and purchasers is being studied.
Progress
• Local food incentives
– Farm to school programs are being identified, new
pilot programs are being sought.
– Farm to institution programs are being identified,
new pilot programs are being sought.
• Keep in mind that the section team has been in
place for a little over 90 days. Further progress
will be made over the next few months.
Next Steps…
• From regional and national studies, it appears:
– The largest barrier is likely to be expanding
production and aggregation; second largest is likely
to be food safety.
– Other areas of expanding opportunities include
working with beginning, minority, and transitioning
farmers and urban agriculture.
Next Steps…
Key: The pace and the breadth of what happens
next is dependent upon financial and time
commitments made by interested parties such as
yourselves.
SO…
Join us April 3 for the Iowa Local Food Summit
where we will develop a strategic plan together to
move local food system development in Iowa
forward. Registration information out soon…
Questions…..
Any questions or comments?
Thank You for This Opportunity!
Craig A. Chase
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Marketing and Food System Initiative Program Leader
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Local Food and Farm Program Coordinator
Local Food Systems and Alternative Enterprise Analysis
209B Curtiss Hall
Ames, IA 50014
(515) 294-1854
cchase@iastate.edu