By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

AMES, Iowa — A new statewide plan mandated by the Iowa legislature would boost the local food economy and increase opportunities for those who want to buy or sell Iowa-raised meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fruit, vegetables and other crops in local and regional markets, according to its lead author.

“Iowa has the potential to grow the local food economy with strategic but modest investments, incentives and better coordination of existing resources,” said Rich Pirog, associate director of Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, who led the development of the Iowa Local Food and Farm Plan.

The plan is estimated to increase sales of local food, which is estimated to account for only 14 percent of the $8 billion that residents spend on groceries each year. The 34 recommendations outlined in the plan were submitted last month to the Iowa Legislature.

During the 2010 legislative session, lawmakers requested the Center create a plan that would provide specific policy and funding actions to support and expand local and regional food systems in Iowa. The amendment asked for actionable items that would increase local food production and marketing in Iowa.

 “The Iowa Local Food and Farm Plan truly is a plan, not just a set of recommendations,” Pirog said. “The plan offers specific actions, and for each action the plan outlines why it is important, who would implement it, where resources would come from and the benefits.”

In addition, the Center was asked to lead development of the plan because it has created partnerships and networks for local food throughout the state as a result of its programs.

The plan includes the creation of a state-level local food and farm program, education and training for producers and local food businesses, changes in state policy to benefit local food businesses and data collection to track growth of local food sales. A one-year state appropriation would also be created to hire a local food and farm state coordinator. In subsequent years, a voluntary Local Food and Farm Program Fund would support the position and cost to implement other recommendations.

More than 1,000 people from 95 of Iowa’s 99 counties contributed to the plan, where information was gathered at workshops, 15 listening sessions throughout the state and two surveys. The draft recommendations were discussed with leaders of 21 state agencies, institutions and organizations.

The plan is also designed to increase direct-to-consumer sales as well as retail and institutional sales by providing the infrastructure, research and development and incentives to support increased local food production and marketing.

Pirog said farmers and local food businesses are expected to see benefits with increases in profitability and market venues, and communities are expected to benefit from additional jobs. He added an unintended but positive part of the past year’s work has been relationships built among those interested in seeing local foods contribute more to the state’s economy and communities.
“Together, we can make a vibrant local food economy a reality to the benefit of Iowa farmers, entrepreneurs and communities, and add another chapter to Iowa’s storied agricultural heritage,” he said.

Among the 34 recommendations, only two require state appropriations, which are to hire a statewide coordinator for a Local Food and Farm Program (to be supported by a voluntary funding mechanism after year one) and to provide two years of support to Iowa’s Farm-to-School Program.

Other recommendations include:

•Creation of a Local Food and Farm Program Fund to support local food programs from the sale of collectible local food posters, bumper stickers, stamps and license plates
•Business development and financial assistance for farmers and local food businesses
•Food and meat processing education and training programs
•Food safety education and a pilot cost-share program for food safety audits
•Business training programs that target beginning, minority or transitioning farmers
•Data collection to assess progress and track state agency and educational institution purchases of local foods
•Pilot incentive programs for five K-12 school districts and five health care facilities that serve Iowa produce

To date, local food and farm plans have been developed in at least a dozen other places, including Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina and the city of New York. At a recent conference on sustainable agriculture, Louisville, Ky. Mayor Greg Fischer announced his plans to create one or more special enterprise zones in the city to “help bring more locally grown food from the farm to the table.”

The plan would allow local businesses to get tax breaks and relocate to the Life Zone, which would accommodate local food-related businesses and organizations. “There’s a huge opportunity for the city to figure out how to move local food from the farm to the table efficiently, cost effectively and on a greater scale,” Fischer said.

In 2009, a statewide task force report submitted to the Illinois General Assembly presented a local farm-and-food development strategy that researchers said could create $20 billion-$30 billion in new economic activity every year.